Polishing tips?

**isDeadly** · 18th July 2005, 12:24

Originally Posted by bugjuice

mine is a clean buff/mirror type polish.. no grain in it, aside from the scratches of stones pinging past... but I know what you mean

Yea It may cause minor scratching/cutting - I used it on my headers/forks (hard chromed and my fork stanctions), and it left no marks - but it certainly removed bits of ....

**placidfemme** · 18th July 2005, 13:49

Originally Posted by Big Dave

You are on the right track with the autosol - it is the best polish for a motorcycle. Meguiars and Mothers make good products too.
Except for putting on your exhausts - it will cause them to discolour when it burns on. Use it only occasionally as a last resort on pipes.

everywhere else it give an outstanding result - the more you use it the less black it turns.

If you are really serious (ly anal) then you use a dremel tool and buffing pad and it comes up bewdiful

I like to be as anal as possible (hehe) when it comes to my bike...

You said it's not the best option to use Autosol on the pipe...

I've used it about 4 times on my pipe... I havn't noticed any discolouring... My pipe is an aftermarket pipe, but I'm unsure of the brand...

where can I get a dremel Tool and buffing pad? And about how much to they cost?

The picture below is the best picture I have of my pipe... it's not very good... but can give you a slight idea of what it looks like...

Thanks again

**Big Dave** · 18th July 2005, 14:00

Originally Posted by placidfemme

I like to be as anal as possible (hehe) when it comes to my bike...

You said it's not the best option to use Autosol on the pipe...

I've used it about 4 times on my pipe... I havn't noticed any discolouring... My pipe is an aftermarket pipe, but I'm unsure of the brand...

where can I get a dremel Tool and buffing pad? And about how much to they cost?

The picture below is the best picture I have of my pipe... it's not very good... but can give you a slight idea of what it looks like...

Thanks again

Muffler is OK and exhaust pipe close to it - keep it away from the headers and close to the engine - the warning about discolouration used to be on the Autosol packaging.

Dremel too is $150 I'm guessing - (mine was a gift) - any big hardware store and a few packs of no404 ploishing wheels for it. try borrowing one to see if you can be arsed with it first - quite fiddly, but a nice way to spend a rainy afternoon.

**Paul in NZ** · 18th July 2005, 14:04

If your pipe (I take it you mean your 'can' or muffler) is stainless steel then Autosol is GREAT. If its chrome, or plated I'd find something else to use.

Note - Some stainless finishes are not supposed to be shiney...

Autosol does produce a good shine on chrome BUT it is quite abrasive and I only use it once in a while. There are several liquid chrome cleaners that are also very good but non abrasive. It dose sort of depend on the quality of the chrome though!

Paul N

ps - best polishing cloths are old nappies, washed cheese cloth, old tea towels etc all cotton based. I find 'hard' synthetics don't have an open enough weave to pick up the old polish.

**placidfemme** · 18th July 2005, 14:04

Originally Posted by Big Dave

Muffler is OK and exhaust pipe close to it - keep it away from the headers and close to the engine - the warning about discolouration used to be on the Autosol packaging.

Dremel too is $150 I'm guessing - (mine was a gift) - any big hardware store and a few packs of no404 ploishing wheels for it. try borrowing one to see if you can be arsed with it first - quite fiddly, but a nice way to spend a rainy afternoon.

Oh ok... Yeah I just polish the actual exhaust pipe and the other shiney pipe leading from the exhaust to under the bike... The rest of the pipes look pretty rusty as it is so I don't polish them...

I only polish near my pegs and the metal bits that hold the pillion pegs to the bike (and also the pipe to the bike). I also tried polishing the metal bit (sorry not good with actual names of parts) between the handlebars just under where you put in the key to start it... That didn't work out well... made it look duller than when I started... and obviously the pipe...

**placidfemme** · 18th July 2005, 14:08

Originally Posted by Paul in NZ

If your pipe (I take it you mean your 'can' or muffler) is stainless steel then Autosol is GREAT. If its chrome, or plated I'd find something else to use.

Note - Some stainless finishes are not supposed to be shiney...

Autosol does produce a good shine on chrome BUT it is quite abrasive and I only use it once in a while. There are several liquid chrome cleaners that are also very good but non abrasive. It dose sort of depend on the quality of the chrome though!

Paul N

ps - best polishing cloths are old nappies, washed cheese cloth, old tea towels etc all cotton based. I find 'hard' synthetics don't have an open enough weave to pick up the old polish.

I don't think my pipe/can is chromed, but it's silver and seems to have the potential to be shiney... it shines normally, just with a dull look to it... after usuing Autosol it does look a little better, but I seem to be the only one who notices... What I mean is, I sit there and spend 30 minutes trying to make it shiney... call Sam outside and ask her if she can notice what I've cleaned... and she comments on something other than the pipe... so it's not very noticable...

lol I use old tea towels... Sam never fails to lecture me about that... and my response "but they're 4 for $3 at the supermarket" hehe

**Hitcher** · 18th July 2005, 14:33

Originally Posted by placidfemme

I brought AutoSol polish in the tube that looks like a toothpaste tube...

I suspect that you bought (purchased) rather than brought (carried) the AutoSol...

Some people (White Trash for one) warn against using this stuff on the basis that it removes chrome, thus making your metal bits more susceptible to corrosion.

**placidfemme** · 18th July 2005, 14:42

Originally Posted by Hitcher

I suspect that you bought (purchased) rather than brought (carried) the AutoSol...

Some people (White Trash for one) warn against using this stuff on the basis that it removes chrome, thus making your metal bits more susceptible to corrosion.

Yes I "purchased" it...

lol by the time I go through all the products advised for my bike, I'll have 200 things I don't use and 3 that I do... lol so far the only thing regarding my bike that I havn't had issues with is the Turtle Wax

**Paul in NZ** · 18th July 2005, 14:42

Originally Posted by placidfemme

I don't think my pipe/can is chromed, but it's silver and seems to have the potential to be shiney... it shines normally, just with a dull look to it... after usuing Autosol it does look a little better, but I seem to be the only one who notices... What I mean is, I sit there and spend 30 minutes trying to make it shiney... call Sam outside and ask her if she can notice what I've cleaned... and she comments on something other than the pipe... so it's not very noticable...

lol I use old tea towels... Sam never fails to lecture me about that... and my response "but they're 4 for $3 at the supermarket" hehe

We used to have a beautiful old car. A 1955 Sunbeam-Talbot Mk3. I LOVED that car an polished it and polished it but it never looked clean.... I finally admitted I needed glasses..... First thing I noticed. Holy crap that is one shiney car...

Just a thought!

**placidfemme** · 18th July 2005, 14:46

Wow that is a pretty kewl car... do you still have it?

Yeah Sam reckons my bike looks fine, and as she's saying that I'm wiping off a little bit of dust which makes me look closer at the bike and I see something else and start to clean that...

Sam is REALLY happy we don't have a garage otherwise I would've taken the bike to bits by now lol and Sam would never see me...

**Paul in NZ** · 18th July 2005, 15:06

Originally Posted by placidfemme

Wow that is a pretty kewl car... do you still have it?

Yeah Sam reckons my bike looks fine, and as she's saying that I'm wiping off a little bit of dust which makes me look closer at the bike and I see something else and start to clean that...

Sam is REALLY happy we don't have a garage otherwise I would've taken the bike to bits by now lol and Sam would never see me...

Thats the only piccy I could find in a hurry - ours was green all over and had chrome driving lamps... Sadly, it had to go to fund the house... I traded a mint Triumph Spitfire Mk2 on it when Vicki got pregnant. I'd long coverted one and when I saw it lurking on the back of the lot I could not believe it and when Vicki fell in love with it too... Well.... We had more smiles per gallon out of that car than any vehicle we have owned.. Loverly old thing and more than capable of trundling along at an indecent speed once it got rolling...

Ah - happy days....

It shared the garage with a rough old Sunbeam Rapier MkV which was fun in a different kinda way..

sigh.....

**hondacmx450** · 18th July 2005, 16:52

i do polishing on rims and all other parts of bikes and on some hotrods to if you want to polish alley get a polish called tripoly it is brown start with that
then go to alimco that is the finishing polish then your wife can use what ever you r polishing to do her make up same as stainless to i use these to do rims and frames engin covers and so on the flater you get the last stage the better the finish and it will take longer to blemish again

**Waylander** · 18th July 2005, 16:54

Originally Posted by Hitcher

I suspect that you bought (purchased) rather than brought (carried) the AutoSol...

You'de be surprised how many peaple make that mistake here...

Anyway I use the dremel tool on mine. Havn't done it in a while though. Gonna have to spend a good day or two just polishing the ride up to get it back to the shineyness it once was. Gonna cheat on my pipes though and see about getting them and the headers re-chromed.

**placidfemme** · 18th July 2005, 16:56

Originally Posted by Waylander

You'de be surprised how many peaple make that mistake here...

You mean shoplifting?

Anyway... I understand that your bike is different to mine... but do you think it would be worth it to get my headers chromed (just to get rid of the rust) or is that just too much effort for nothing?