Polishing questions?????

GLJ

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As I posted in another thread I picked up a buffer. Played with it today. I've read multiple threads on polishing and I have a few questions.
1: I went with wet sanding to start. 600 then 800 then 1000 then 1500 and finally 2000. After wet sanding how do you need to clean the part. I used my ultrasonic to clean it.
2: I buffed it with black then white on different wheels. When changing from black to white does the part need to be cleaned? If so what is best way to clean it?
3: When done buffing what next? Clean it, if so how? Blue Magic then wax, just Blue Magic, or just wax? Or Blue Magic then wax, if so should the part be cleaned before waxing, if so how?
Worked on my original left side cover today. Had spent a lot of times on it in the last couple of years. Could not get it acceptable. The buffer got it a lot better. No where close to show quality but good enough to use.
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It started out looking like this.
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Wow looks great. I switch grades of compound without cleaning in between. I haven’t used Blue Magic before. I use Solvall Autosol. It has some chemical in it that seems to protect the finish from oxidation. I don’t know if you are trying restore a factory finish or make it shine like chrome. gggGary recommends a blue Dico Nyalox blue bristle wheel to get a closer to factory finish. To clean off most compounds, mineral spirits will cut it.
 
Greg,
My usual routine is, 400 grit...800 grit....1500 grit, then on to the buffer. I only use a blue Dico wheel if there is significant corrosion. No cleaning required afterwards, just rinse and dry.

The buffer: I use a stitched wheel for the black compound ( it allows you to apply more pressure on the piece) and a loose cotton flap wheel for the white polishing compound. I also keep a spray bottle with water to use. I usually turn the buffer on and spray dampen the wheel before applying compound to it. I also spray water on the part I’m buffing a few times as I go along. It seems to lubricate and make the compound cut better. The compounds will leave a waxy residue on the part, mineral spirits on a rag takes it right off. Make sure all the black compound is off before moving to the white polishing side. After buffing , just make sure that residue is all off, using the mineral spirits.

It should look pretty good by this point, but for me , the finishing touch is always Blue Magic. You’ll be amazed at how a clean , shiny looking part, will turn clean rags black. It also really steps up the shine.
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It helps to realize that much 40 year old aluminum will never be show shine quality. Decades of corrosion have taken their toll, those dark or flaky white areas run deep.
For a bike that will be ridden, while you can go through that long progression of grits I think it's overkill. As bosco659 sez yeah dico wheels gray, orange, blue. But watch the gray and and orange they will leave pretty deep scratches. AND OR 320 grit "scotchbrite" wheels will get you ready to polish.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/180-240-32...347786?hash=item33d778c30a:g:evwAAOSwPrtdIv1D
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They don't last nearly as long as dico but are less likely to leave an uneven surface. especially in tight spots. Particularly good for getting rid of things like casting ridges Hint they round off sharp corners fast, mebbie TOO fast....
Yes black on a coarse sesal wheel then wipe down with paper towel and mineral spirits, then white on a cotton wheel. For really high gloss green or blue (colors/coarseness grades do vary by buff maker:banghead: these are caswells' color scheme) on yet another wheel after the white will bring up a higher shine. If you go there, don't use blue magic, it's more or less about the coarseness of white buff and can dull a really high gloss part a bit! High quality wax is a good protectant, I still haven't tried one of the ceramic products or that clear that you and Marty have used...
 
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Gentlemen
Thanks for the tips. Played around a bit more today. Getting better. Still have a ways to go in the learning curve.
It helps to realize that much 40 year old aluminum will never be show shine quality.
That may be the hard part. Realizing when it's as good as it's going to get.
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Honestly, I don't go for a "show" shine, just cleaned up and decent looking. I like the way polished aluminum looks, it shines but not the same as chrome. Like I said, I like the look. It will get better and better as you maintain it, polishing it by hand once or twice a season with Mothers or Blue Magic. The rag will always turn black when polishing aluminum. You're actually removing a very small amount.
 
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When I polish I start with a Roloc Disc
https://www.ebay.com/i/233616141508...MI-OSVqeyF7AIV7x-tBh2w_wXUEAYYBSABEgLLNfD_BwE
if there is a lot of corrosion or if the part has the factory coating. It removes it pretty fast and gets it ready for the black polish using 10" sisal wheel. In between grits I use a little WD40 on a rag to wipe off most of the previous grit. Then on to the brown grit using the 10" sewn wheel. Then on to a loose wheel and white compound. I normally rinse in warm water and Dawn soap then clean rinse to get all the grit off
 
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What color compound do I use for SS and AL. Have these compounds I also have a box with black red and two others.
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Didn't find a specific Jacksonlea chart but grab a shiny bar, run a stripe with each buff see what results.
This is a common set of colors, uses.
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I suspect the majority of all buffs are made by one or two manufacturers and rebranded for Caswell, Eastman etc.
 
I use the black mostly, occasionally move on to the brown, very seldom go as far as the white. I built myself a little portable "buffing station" on wheels so I can use it all over the place. I like to do it outside if possible because buffing is a dirty job, lol .....

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My buffers are just the HF units but work OK. The bigger 8" model has plenty of power and works well, the smaller 6" unit, not so much, lol. You can actually slow it down if you push too hard.
 
For Aluminum - Do not use a wire wheel. The metal will gall up on you and then it is hard to get smooth again. As for stainless steel, I have a future exhaust project planned that will require welds to be polished. What is the best approach here?
 
For SS I would start with the black. Normally I go black, brown,white. I do have blue but only because I could not get white,. I normally buy large bars from Caswell but Harbor Frt has small round bars of the colors also. I have not noticed any difference in quality. I also have a dedicated room I do all of my polishing with filters behind the wheel. I wear a full painters suit and mask even with the filtration system. It can be bad for your lungs if you breath them in.
 
Cra-z1, is the danger just any metal being polished or is there a special issue with stainless steel i.e. Chromium?
 
I do all my SS with black and go straight to white. Guess I could use an intermediate compound. As 5twins said it is a very dirty job. The disintegrating wheels create a lot of airborne dust and debris so it’s very advisable to wear a full face shield and I use a respirator with P100 cartridges. A buffing wheel with sisal cuts well and would do a nice job doing the heavy cutting before polishing.
 
As stated above its the fibers from the wheels as they break down. When I'm doing a large batch I use a respirator but my filtration system catches a lot of the fibers.
 
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