Buffing Aluminum

[shibby_cbs]

so today i tried my hand at buffing my case covers as they are way outta shape. picked up a buffing motor from harbor freight. some extra buffing wheels, black, brown, and white compound... 400, 600, 1000, and 2000 grit sandpaper. first thing i did was progressively wetsand the cover with the wet/dry sandpaper... starting with 400 all the way to 2000 with wd-40. i then began the buffing...first starting with an agressive wheel with the black compound. this compound is used for removing rust, pitting, and scratches from the surface, i then moved to the brown compound with a medium wheel. i then finished up with the white compound with a light wheel and it turned out 100 times beter than i expected. almost looks as good as chrome...i cant wait to finish the other covers. what do you guys think?

 

[Adler]

well done!

 

[JEEPRUSTY]

nice sandals

 

[shibby_cbs]

nice sandals

flip flops dude...this is the mid-west....its how we roll

 

[Agemax]

its hard work but well worth it. polishing is easy to keep shiney, chrome is a bitch when it starts yellowing and flaking.
you done a good job there, just all the other covers to do now!

 

[Hammered]

HB has a new palm sized buffer thats nice looking. Hoping to pick one and see if its worth it.

 

[Flyboy]

WOW, that looks wicked, that bike is going to look super sweet, now I do hope you are going to finish it off nicely by turfing those fastners and replacing them with some shiny stainless allen caps? Or at least buff those up as well.

 

[shibby_cbs]

WOW, that looks wicked, that bike is going to look super sweet, now I do hope you are going to finish it off nicely by turfing those fastners and replacing them with some shiny stainless allen caps? Or at least buff those up as well.

i was deffinately gonna do somethin with them...ill try polishing the factory fasteners just to see how it comes out but im also thinkin about getting some black allen caps...wondering how that might look

 

[steve murdoch]

Nice work, shibby.
Remember, the black ground into your fingers will only take a week or so to go away.

 

[Agemax]

Nice work, shibby.
Remember, the black ground into your fingers will only take a week or so to go away.

comes off in seconds with swarfega.......(other hand cleaners available!)

 

[Steve]

WOW, that looks wicked, that bike is going to look super sweet, now I do hope you are going to finish it off nicely by turfing those fastners and replacing them with some shiny stainless allen caps? Or at least buff those up as well.

I have found that if you buff up the stock fasteners enough to get them to shine,
you have removed any protective coating they might have had, and they will soon rust.

Skip polishing the fasteners, go straight to the stainless ones.

.

 

[chuck hahn]

go to your local industrial abrasive supply house and get BLACK MAGIC rouge..will do that in one application it cuts off the crap and polishes at the same time..no need for sanding, pretreating, or sandblasting..OH..and to do the point and stator cover, first heat up the backs of the emblems witha propane torch and use the blade from a utility knife to get under the edge and gently pry them off the covers. You can get emblem tape or other adhesives to reapply themonce the covers are polished.

 

[Guest]

comes off in seconds with swarfega.......(other hand cleaners available!)

Or ya can simply wear gloves.
Welding gloves work best.

 

[Agemax]

Or ya can simply wear gloves.
Welding gloves work best.

thats a good move, i use disposable gloves myself on a big job.(latex free)

 

[Guest]

thats a good move, i use disposable gloves myself on a big job.(latex free)

Yeah but what about the heat from the parts? Perhaps a bucket of water but that tends to be a bit on the messy side.
Sometimes I use just plain old leather work gloves.

 

[Agemax]

Yeah but what about the heat from the parts? Perhaps a bucket of water but that tends to be a bit on the messy side.
Sometimes I use just plain old leather work gloves.

the heat problem is easily solved, work for 10 minutes then stop for a ciggarette lol

 

[Steve]

the heat problem is easily solved, work for 10 minutes then stop for a ciggarette lol

You mean I have to take up smoking to keep polishing?

Unless you are talking about this kind of cigarette:

By the way, I can heat a piece so it's too hot to hold long before 10 minutes.

I use gloves like this for the grip and the thermal protection:

.

 

[Planecrazy]

That really looks terrific - Nice work!

Regards,

 

[Nessism]

I swore off the hand sanding since getting a sisal wheel and some heavy gray cutting compound. Saves a ton of time and effort, but as other have mentioned, gloves are needed since the parts get HOT.

 

[alke46]

so today i tried my hand at buffing my case covers as they are way outta shape. picked up a buffing motor from harbor freight. some extra buffing wheels, black, brown, and white compound... 400, 600, 1000, and 2000 grit sandpaper. first thing i did was progressively wetsand the cover with the wet/dry sandpaper... starting with 400 all the way to 2000 with wd-40. i then began the buffing...first starting with an agressive wheel with the black compound. this compound is used for removing rust, pitting, and scratches from the surface, i then moved to the brown compound with a medium wheel. i then finished up with the white compound with a light wheel and it turned out 100 times beter than i expected. almost looks as good as chrome...i cant wait to finish the other covers. what do you guys think?

Very nice looking end result. Keep up the work and you will have something to really be proud of