Mild Polishing Tips & Advice???

[Bewarethemoon]

I have numerous alloy parts on my build that I’d like to bring up to a polished finish, fork lowers, fork brace, brake & clutch levers, foot controls & engine casings.

As the title states I don’t want to bring the parts up to a mirror finish, just a slight mild polish if that makes sense?

Does anybody have any tips for me, what grades of paper to work through, what products to use?

Daniel.

 

[gggGary]

Directly to your question; A street cred finish.
1) remove (any remaining) clear with paint stripper
2) use a blue dico wheel to remove corrosion pits and scratches.
3) black compound stick on hemp wheel.
4) blue magic on cotton wheel
5)work tight spots with 600 grit then blue magic on rag or about 16" of web from a ratchet strap.
My process for bikes I plan on riding, including rain dusty roads mud etc.
Spray on "instant shine" type products, blue magic 'n rags, for maintenance.

 

[Bewarethemoon]

Directly to your question; A street cred finish.
1) remove (any remaining) clear with paint stripper
2) use a blue dico wheel to remove corrosion pits and scratches.
3) black compound stick on hemp wheel.
4) blue magic on cotton wheel
5)work tight spots with 600 grit then blue magic on rag or about 16" of web from a ratchet strap.
My process for bikes I plan on riding, including rain dusty roads mud etc.
Spray on "instant shine" type products, blue magic 'n rags, for maintenance.

Cheers for the extensive tips
Gary, I’m excited to try it and I’ll post some photos of my results!

A ‘Street Cred Finish’ I like that! I don’t want anything to shine like a mirror but a ‘satin hue’ would be sweet! Sound about right?

 

[MaxPete]

Cool - JUST what I need to do on my bikes Gary.

What about clear coating AFTER that street-cred polishing job? Is that something one might consider?

Pete

 

[5twins]

I just finished up a fork leg and got away with doing no sanding what so ever. I followed Gary's routine with one addition, a step 2.5 you could say. After the Dico wheel, I used Roloc discs, medium (maroon) to remove major marks and casting flaws, fine (blue) to remove corrosion stains and smooth the finish, and finally super fine (gray) for a final finish. Then it was on to the buffing wheel and hand polish.

The fork legs I'm dealing with here are late model ones from my '83. They weren't terribly corroded but the clear coat was shot, all yellow and flaking off. Basically, they were just really grubby looking, lol .....

They also have lots of casting flaws and ridges. Yamaha put much less time and effort into finishing them off than they used to on the older models .....

Medium (maroon) Roloc discs made short work of all these flaws. I don't have pics yet of the finished product but I will get some soon.

Something else I like to do is polish the heads of the stainless bolts I use. They come with letters and numbers stamped or extruded on the heads. 20 to 30 seconds with a medium Roloc disc takes care of that .....

Another 30 seconds or so on the buffing wheel and Bob's your uncle, lol .....

 

[Jim]

1+ on 5twins polishing of stainless bolt. It really makes a difference in the looks of a bike. Only thing I do different is use a deepwell socket and elec. tape as a holder while workin' the head. Makes it easy to dip in a cup of water as required....

 

[5twins]

Yes, cheap and easy "bling", lol .....

 

[gggGary]

For a similar to stock look
1) remove (any remaining) clear with paint stripper
2) use a blue dico wheel to remove corrosion pits and scratches. Note and follow direction the factory used.
3) black compound stick on hemp wheel.
4) blue magic on cotton wheel

 

[5twins]

As promised, pics of a finished fork leg .....

Casting flash and ridges were removed using medium (maroon) Roloc discs. It was pretty easy .....

..... and back on the bike. Much better look than the yellowed, rough original .....

I decided to try something a little different with the gaiter color, gray instead of black. I figured it would go well with the all chromed out and polished Special front end .....

 

[MaxPete]

As promised, pics of a finished fork leg .....

Casting flash and ridges were removed using medium (maroon) Roloc discs. It was pretty easy .....

..... and back on the bike. Much better look than the yellowed, rough original .....

I decided to try something a little different with the gator color, gray instead of black. I figured it would go well with the all chromed out and polished Special front end .....

That looks really good 5T - may I ask where you got the gators?

Pete

 

[5twins]

I think these came from JC Whitney. They're Daystar truck shock boots, available from many places cheap in a variety of colors and will pretty much last a lifetime .....

This is the black part number .....

 

[MaxPete]

Thanks - that is very useful information!

I have heard folks say that some gators simply split and bust open - faster than an aftermarket rubber part.

 

[arcticXS]

Nice work! I sometimes machine fastener heads in the lathe, either "facing off" hex head bolts, or tapering socket heads. I find coupler nuts ("long nuts") very handy for holding bolts when turning, grinding or polishing. I always keep a few in M6/8/10/12 for that purpose.

 

[MadeThatMyself]

5twins- Are those shock boots wider on one end? I see that the bottom of the boot is secured over the fork seal. I like the look of those and might consider a pair on my bobber build.

 

[5twins]

Yes, they have a slight taper to them. The top bellow is a smaller diameter than the bottom one. This is what makes fitting them so easy. As they come, they are too long so need to be shortened. But, the small top is a perfect fit on the tube and the wider bottom is a perfect fit on the lower. It would be a shame to have to cut one end off and loose that nice fitting section. But, since they taper, there's a way to shorten them but still retain both nice fitting ends.

You start by cutting the top along with one bellow off. This is the smallest diameter bellow .....

Next, you shorten the remaining part to the length you need. On stock forks that haven't been lowered or have a fork brace that clamps on top of the lowers, that is usually about 8 bellows long. You end up cutting about 5 off. Then, you simply insert that nice fitting top and one bellow you cut off first into the top bellow of your shortened section. Since the bellow diameters increase the farther down you go, that small top one is a perfect fit inside the larger diameter one on top of your shortened section .....

It is a nice, snug fit and holds together with just friction, no need to glue it or anything. As mentioned, both ends are perfect fits on the forks. Even though I added a hose clamp at the bottom, you don't really need one. The boot will stay in place just fine without one. I put nothing at the top. The fit is nice and snug enough to stay in place by just friction.

 

[5twins]

As I mentioned, these things last pretty much forever. I put them on my '78 back in 2005 when I started riding it and they're still like new. They show no signs of drying out, cracking, splitting, etc. They're cheap too .....

https://www.amazon.com/Daystar-Universal-Therapy-KU20002BK-America/dp/B004IARRWW