Hardcore Biker
Bored yesterday, managed to get this done. Not perfect but I ran out of autosol so what can i say? The great thing about polishing stuff is if you dont like it you can just paint over itbut I think the front wheel and forks are really going to go well with my spare polished rear wheel, which I think I'll be using all the time now. As i said not perfect but when I have the time ill whip the wheel off again and go over the entire thing and make it prurrrdy.
What du ya fink?
Pasta La Vista
Great stuff that autosol.Just add elbow grease!
Never too old to Rock n Roll.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
I've got miserly tourettes and I don't give a fuck.
Buy my bike
autosol mixed with steel wool can work well on exhaust systems to , stainless ones of course. myte try the forks as well.Originally Posted by MIXONE
" yah trick yah "
For whom the bell tolls
Dont be leaving it outside overnight or riding in the rain. Polished bits on vehicles become a labour of love - i used to spend nearly every weekend polishing the exhaust on my old R6. The guy i sold it to left it for a few months and now its an oxidised piece of shit.
KiwiBitcher
where opinion holds more weight than fact.
It's better to not pass and know that you could have than to pass and find out that you can't. Wait for the straight.
parting of the sensory
On the other hand, sometimes it's more betterer.
My VFR750 had white painted wheels, which were veritable road spooge magnets. I stripped and polished them, and instead of having to scrub them every few weeks, I just needed to give them a quick wash every couple of months.
... and that's what I think.
Or summat.
Or maybe not...
Dunno really....
Hardcore Biker
I have had one of my rear wheels fully polished up for months, a quick once over with autosol every few months and it looks fine. I dont mind polishing, wheels and forks arent hard to get at so it doesnt really bother me.
parting of the sensory
When the silver paint on the VFR's wheels gets a bit more ratty looking, I fully intend to either strip'n'polish the wheels, or have it done. The fork sliders already look ratty, but I've no intention of doing those - they'll get stripped and repainted.
... and that's what I think.
Or summat.
Or maybe not...
Dunno really....
Hardcore Biker
you must have to much time on your hands mark
Forum whore
Had polished rims on the ZX9 and they were a doddle to keep clean...
“- He felt that his whole life was some kind of dream and he sometimes wondered whose it was and whether they were enjoying it.”
Hardcore Biker
Certainly do.
Hardcore Biker
I'm making a cafe racer out of an old gt50 and the forks and a few other alloy parts are oxidised. I'm looking to make them shine, can you kind guys tell me the steps to making them stunners?
cheers
Re(tarder)
my rvf had a fully sand blasted and polished up engine. man it looked cool. but no way was i pulling the thing out to clean it up and several days on a trailer made it dull again. soo sad.
nice looking forks though.
Scooter boy
Glad I'm not the only one that spent a whole day polishing my bike..
Wife came home the other week (Went back to work a week earlier than me), and asked what i had done with the day..
Said... "Can you see the shine on the bike?"
She still gives me grief about it!
hehe.. my bike was neglected by a year of storage from previous owner!
Forum whore
1. Strip the existing coating - a paint stripper is quick but obviously be careful as it will strip anything it touches - including fingerprints!
2. Get some wet & dry sandpaper (Bunnings, Placemakers etc) if its a bit crappy maybe start with a 400 grit working your way to 600, 800, 1000. You can go higher if desired/required - 1200 & 1500. The higher the number the finer the paper thus the greater the shine.
3. Start on a practice piece to check the grit is correct. Using the wet & dry paper - keep it wet (by dipping into a bucket of water) and start sanding - best to do this in one direction. Keep clean by wiping every now and again with a wet rag. It will start to buff and smooth the alloy leaving it in a satin finish. Once smooth do it all again with the next higher grit, keep doing this until you hit the 1000 grit. Each successive higher grit will polish and smooth the alloy.
Note it will be wet and messyand you'll be covered in black stuff (extremely fine alloy filings) - I wear latex gloves.
4. Start with the Autosol (or any good alloy/metal polish) and a lot of soft rags. Or pop off to your local tool store and buy a stick of alloy finishing polish and a buffing wheel that fits a hand drill. Polish to buggery. Polish to buggery again.
5. Admire your reflection in the mirror finish
Note if the alloy is really shitty you can start with a lower grit than 400 but be careful as it will give deeper initial scratches.
I've managed to clean up road rash on older bikes by carefully filing out the deep marks and applying the above system ending up with a polished show shine. The same method may be used on scratched painted engine cases etc the 400/600 grit finish will leave a surface 'keyed' enough for top coating with paint.
Rolling Italian Orchestra
What's wrong with white wheels?
I've had white wheels on two of me dukes, looking after them is a piece of piss, Here's how I do it....
1. Polish them with a good car polish, twice!
2. Spray them with silicon spray..
When bike / wheels get dirty hit it with the wash brush / hose when you wash the bike and all the dirt falls off, once dry spray again with silicon spray!
I polish them two to three times per year, at 30,000k they looked as good as the day I picked up the bike brand new.
I also spray the engine in silicon as well, same thing dirt just falls off and when it's dry spray again. It really is the easy way out for keeping a bike clean.
As it's pictured here off memory it's got just over 20,000k on it! you can see the silicon on the belt side covers.
L'arte italiana cammina su due rotelle!
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks