For those who persevere in polishing the aluminum.....

[jackstraw650]

Guys, ran across a product today that might help those of us that try to polish our aluminum bits to a chrome like finish. One of main obstacles to getting a really good finish and one of the main time consumers in that finishing is the crappy clear coat that the Japanese manufacturers put on all the aluminum parts of their bikes. The stuff is very hard to get off completely and usually involves hours of sanding and steel wool work or the application of some chemical paint stripper.
I've noticed that the use of aircraft paint stripper is the main recommendation of the experts of this and other forums. Herm, from Dime City Cycles also uses it in their pictorial "how to" series on the Dime City website.
I was in Advance Auto today to buy some aircraft stripper and found something new or at least that I hadn't seen before. Apparently, Mar-hyde, who is one the leading players in the aircraft stripping business has brought out a product called Tal-Strip II. This product is designed specifically to remove coatings and finishes on aluminum parts....supposed to work faster and more completely than Mar-hyde' basic aircraft stripper, Tal-Strip extra strength, which was designed to strip paint from a wide variety of metals.
I will be starting some polishing in the next few days and will try a comparative test and let you know how it works. I'm for anything that speeds up the prep part of polishing! If any of you folks have already tried this stuff, let me know what you think............
Thanks!!

 

[Yamakazi]

Thread has been saved to my: Favorites/Motorcycles/Chrome plating-Alum shining.

Will be keeping up with your progress.

Thanks...

 

[jims428]

This could be a good subject. I'll throw our some suggestions to help get it started.
You want a really nice shine for your aluminum parts?
Mothers and similar aluminum products work OK but they take a lot of time consuming work. Save a lot of work and get the polishes that are used by the people who do airplanes or Airstream trailers.
Rolite and Nuvite and others make some nice products. They sell various grits of polishes that can turn the nastiest looking aluminum into a mirror finish with the least amount of work. The harsher grits are if you are starting with ultra nasty, highly corroded, and pitted / scratched aluminum (Usually never needed by most). The medium grits are what most of us start out with for our oxidized cases, forks, etc. The final grits are for the finishing touches. You can even get some sealers to help keep the shine.
I would recommend getting a kit but if you know what you need you can order those specific compounds. Here are some examples.
I am not saying to order from these specific vendors. I am only using them as examples so do some research.
Something like:
Rolite Polishing Kit http://www.topoftheline.com/rolmetpolkit.html
Nuvite Polishing Products http://www.nuvitechemical.com/categories.asp?CategoryID=1&IndustryID=2
For our Canadian Friends http://www.aircraftspruce.ca/menus/cs/polishes_alum.html and http://www.aircraftpolish.com/
Description of the Different Grades of Nuvite http://www.tompatterson.com/Trailers/Polish/Nuvite.php

 

[working class choppers]

i'm planning on tearing down the motor in a couple weeks
also planning alot of polishing
very interested in what you find

 

[jackstraw650]

For those of you who are looking for some good, basic information on polishing aluminum, check out Dime City Cycles website. Click on "tech Articles" and you will find a slide show presentation called "Aluminum Polishing 101.....with the Herminator". This a very well put together presentation that takes you through the subject from start to finish on an entry level. Herm does a great job with his demos and choosing materials, etc. He even has an email link where you can ask follow up questions concerning the slide show! I took advantage of this service and got a good, useful response in about 30 minutes. I was impressed! I guess I should mention at this time that I have no commercial interest in DCC and any recommendations I make concerning them or their products are solely because they have impressed me with their company and products.....for whatever that's worth, lol!
There are also good tips on many threads here on the forum......do a search and check them out.
Thanks to everyone who has chipped in on this thread,,,,we will try to keep it going with what we discover.

 

[jims428]

I thought I'd post some pictures of what some basic polishing of aluminum bits can do.
I recently received my Tkat Fork Brace and this thread inspired me to give it a little bling. The first two pics are as it was received from Tkat, folded up so it would fit wrapped up in the priority mail envelope. The last two pics are after a little polishing.
Here is his site showing the braces and how they are installed. Mine is for my 82 Heritage Special and was $92 USD shipped to me. http://www.tkat.com/forkbrace.html

Since it was freshly machined aluminum I started out with Nuvite NuShine II Grade C.
This results are similar to Mothers Mag and Wheel polish but it so much easier and faster to use. I them followed up with Nuvite NuShine II Grade S for the mirror like shine.
http://www.nuvitechemical.com/Company_Literature_PDF/Flyers/NuShineFlyerMod3.pdf
http://www.nuvitechemical.com/categories.asp?CategoryID=1&IndustryID=1
This was all done using a cloth and a few Q-tips, no machine. I have since ordered some polishing buffs for my die grinder with a flexible shaft and foot speed control so my next job will be even easier.
BTW - About the cheapest I've found Nuvite polish is at PerfectPolish. If it still works try entering the coupon code: Airstream for an extra 10% off. http://www.perfectpolish.com/.

 

[jackstraw650]

Good job, Jims! Those are some beautiful pieces of polishing. Just wanted to pass on a tip that is somewhat related to polishing....I left a post about different grades of aircraft paint stripper as the initial post in this thread...Although I haven't been able to try the new aluminum coating formula stripper yet, I have been working with the standard aircraft paint stripper trying to remove the original paint from my XS750 tank.
After finding out the hard way[my usual] that the stripper doesn't work in temps below 70*, I decided to try something new. My basement garage is heated but typically stays a few degrees below the house temp which is set at 70* so I decided to take my daughter's hair dryer down there and gently warm up the tank before applying the stripper......side note here, the stuff ain't cheap so avoid wasting it as I did! I warmed up the tank for about 8-10 minutes with the hair dryer...just enough to where it felt warm to the touch.....then sprayed on the stripper. Wow!! In about 2-3 minutes the paint began to blister and bubble and by 10-15 minutes it was ready to scrape and wipe off!! This is about three times as fast as it worked with a 70* room temp. I was most impressed! Anything that will speed up dealing with that nasty mess is fine with me!

 

[Hombre Verde]

I have not gotten to polishing my XS650 parts yet but I polished a bunch of parts on my 02' Yamaha Road Star Warrior. Removing the clear coat sucked! Aircraft paint stripper does not work. Then I found Bix Tough Job it worked great to remove the clear coat. Just paint it on, let is sit for a bit and the clear just bubbles right off. Some times it needs more than one application. When you are done just rinse it off with water. Homedepot is supposed to carry it but my local one does not. I had to get it from Sherwin Williams. Plus its cheap $20-$25 for a gallon. Here is a link to the stuff I used:
http://www.wmbarr.com/product.aspx?catid=104&prodid=225
I also used the spray on stripper and it works the same. I brushed it on, it comes with a spray bottle but does not spray very well.

 

[lassenc]

Nitromors works well, tried it today.

 

[jackstraw650]

I have not gotten to polishing my XS650 parts yet but I polished a bunch of parts on my 02' Yamaha Road Star Warrior. Removing the clear coat sucked! Aircraft paint stripper does not work. Then I found Bix Tough Job it worked great to remove the clear coat. Just paint it on, let is sit for a bit and the clear just bubbles right off. Some times it needs more than one application. When you are done just rinse it off with water. Homedepot is supposed to carry it but my local one does not. I had to get it from Sherwin Williams. Plus its cheap $20-$25 for a gallon. Here is a link to the stuff I used:
http://www.wmbarr.com/product.aspx?catid=104&prodid=225
I also used the spray on stripper and it works the same. I brushed it on, it comes with a spray bottle but does not spray very well.

I agree, the standard aircraft stripper does not seem to work very well on the clear coat pieces. I haven't tried the new Mar-Hyde Tal-Strip II that is designed especially to remove coatings from aluminum that I mentioned in my first post. I have hopes for it, but it is good to have a couple of proven alternatives. I'm finishing up stripping my XS750 tank and should be able to try the Tal-Strip II very soon. I'll let you know how it works. I'm really hoping we can find something that will work well, esp on the alloy rims.