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I hate polishing aluminum..but..

nvr2old

nvr2old

Forum Sage
..when a good friend who helped you do an engine swap asks if you can do up a pair of valve covers like the ones on the engine he just helped you with..



how can I say no. These are the vintage Mickey Thompson valve covers he brought me.



I'm thinking the process on these would be the same as doing engine parts or any polished aluminum parts on our GS's..so here goes.. These look like they went down with the Titanic.



After simply scrubbing them down with an SOS pad they look better already.



Pretty bad chip..I got it out with 80 grit sandpaper.



I figured I'd use 120 grit to start with and came to this bad oxidation..literally eating the aluminum.



I took a DA sander and 80 grit to get it to this point..man that thing was deep. Can't get every bit of it out..dang. But it is much better.



The bottom one already looks better after sanding with 120 grit to get the coat of oxidation off.



Tools and materials to continue from here. Dremel to get into the the tight spots, electric drill with medium grinder pads..180 grit roll of sand paper followed by 320-400-600-800-1,000-and 1,500 to wrap it up.

 
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After scrubbing them both with 120, I used the drill and sanding disks to get rid of as many pits as I could. There was a ton of them. 180 grit was next which got the covers pretty well prepped for the finer grits to follow. So much hand sanding ahead..argh..



Four hours later..these babies are starting to come around. This is a 1,500 finish.



Next weekend, polish and black paint. They should look way better.
 
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Looks good even at this stage.
I polished a set of VFR wheels years ago after they had the powder-coating removed and it was a ton of work.
 
Getting away from polishing was one of the main reasons I painted all the aluminum parts on my bike, black...;)

 
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I've only done a little polishing and that was decades ago, would never had considered going with something as rough as 80 grit to start but you can't argue with the results.
 
I've polished quite a few parts by hand but found that power tools are far easier! Sandpaper on a DA, with some sandpaper rolls on a rotating tool for the nooks and crannies. Work your way up to 220 then switch to a sisal wheel and black cutting compound. I use my car polisher to drive the wheel since I don't have a dedicated polishing motor. You can move to stitched or even unstiched wheels and rouge after that if you are looking for a mirror polish look but I usually stop after the sisal. Anyway, those covers are looking good and there is more than one way to skin a cat.
 
I would go your way in a heartbeat, Ed. I just don't have the motor, polishing wheels, and compounds that would make it so much easier. Right tool for the right job they say. I'm a glutton for punishment when it comes to doing things by hand. They should polish right up with very little effort at this stage. Just like cutting and buffing a paint job.

Thanks for the compliment, Mal. I love that bike. It's been so rippin' hot with thick wild fire smoke all summer long. Hard to comfortably get out on it enough this year.
 
Those covers look great. I bought a new set of olds school Offenhauser valvecovers for my ElCamino in the 90s. Out of the box, the finish wasn't great. They looked cool though.
Last year, with the car long gone, I pulled these out, hit them with Scotchbrite to knock off the oxidation and sold then for the next guy to polish. I was sad to see them go, but..... The GS needed insurance.
 
nvr2old said:
It's been so rippin' hot with thick wild fire smoke all summer long. Hard to comfortably get out on it enough this year.
Click to expand...

Same here, every few days we get smoke from Manitoba and Ontario ugh, and no rain for 6 weeks......
 
Larry..... You worked way too hard. After doing the DA To smooth it out all you need is a rouge called BLACK MAGIC
No bead blasting, no soda blasting, no prep other than paint stripper to remove any clear coat. I got th e Eastwood buffer motor years ago. I buy all my supplies from BROWN STAR in Ferndale MI. 12 inch hard yellow plete wheel and a bar of the black magic and in about 3 hours every engine cover and fork tube looks like mirrors. Clean them up with some windex when done......

The rouge is what's called a cut and color. In other words it cuts the oxidation and brings up the shine in the same application.
 
You're right, Chuck, If I did this more often, I would spring for the right tools and compounds. As it is, an embarrassing amount of time and effort to get these valve covers nice again.

Ready for polishing with rubbing compound and Mother's Mag polish.



After 3 steps of polishing, they turned out real nice. Time to spray the black.







I used Dupli-Color black engine enamel. Just sprayed the entire area.



Before it even has a chance to dry, wipe the fins clean with lacquer thinner.



Voila.





I think my friend Chis will be happy with the results. These are going on his '65 Chevy Malibu SS with a supercharged 500hp 383 small block. Thanks for looking, I appreciate it.
 
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He's a painter, so it's the old "if you have a spray gun"
 
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