Aftermarket look on stock rim

[bertmoog]

does anybody know the in's and out's of metal polishing, i.e. materials, equipment, technique? wrightme43 ? bmccrary?

 

[motocross1]

they look professionally done, but i don't like how the silver stands out that much. maybe if you had silver frame or engine cases, but overall nicely done

 

[DefyInertia]

A very clean professional finish. I like it very much.

Nelly

+1

I'm impressed

 

[Fred]

does anybody know the in's and out's of metal polishing, i.e. materials, equipment, technique? wrightme43 ? bmccrary?

Yeah. I spent a year working at a bronze foundry. A lot of sculptures needed to be brought to a mirror finish. We had it down to a science. With the right tools and techniques, you can take rough metal to mirror polished in about five minutes.

So yeah, I know a bit about it. Ask away.

Fred

 

[bertmoog]

Yeah. I spent a year working at a bronze foundry. A lot of sculptures needed to be brought to a mirror finish. We had it down to a science. With the right tools and techniques, you can take rough metal to mirror polished in about five minutes.

So yeah, I know a bit about it. Ask away.

Fred

ok, im guessing you would use some kind of compound and a polishing wheel, cloth of some sort? any way to do it cheaply and in and around so many curves and nooks?
btw, fred, thank you for the thread on the headlight mod and the links to the pin diagram and all. i employed it for use on my bike and i love it. just today i saw another fz on the interstate and i thought, "you've got a headlight out."

 

[reiobard]

Those look awesome!!! congrats on the job well done!!!

 

[Fred]

See here for some choice abrasives.

3M Industrial Products Catalog: adhesives, tapes, abrasives and more

Generally, we'd use the roloc pads. For a pitted surface, start with a yellow pad. Then red, and finally blue.

For your wheels, you can start with a blue.

For odd shapes, try the Bristle line. You want the Radial Bristle Disks.
These will conform to strange shapes. But they don't last that long.

The Stars are also excellent for working into tight corners. At the foundry we had versions of these made of sandpaper. I never used the Scotchbrite Stars as shown here, but made similar tools by cutting up the Roloc disks when necessary.

This is all pre-polish stuff. For final polishing, just use buffing wheels with coarse and then fine polish. Use a different wheel for each grit of polish and don't mix them up. You don't want to put coarse polish on your fine polishing wheel.

As far as tools, get the most powerful tool you can. For your wheels, a die grinder is ideal, provided that you have a good source of compressed air. The air compressor you bought for $200 at Sears is not adequate unless you like working for 30 seconds and then waiting five minutes while the compressor refills. At the foundry our compressor had a two story tall air tank, and the compressor itself was a giant, electrically driven supercharger! And even that beast was running all day long, only shutting off when we went on break or to lunch.

If you can't use air, go with electric, and again, go big. If you were polishing a large item like a tank, I'd recommend an angle grinder with an adjustable speed control. For doing your wheels, you want some sort of electric die grinder like this. Electric Die Grinders | ToolBarn.com

A Dremel is not adequate. Well, it'll get the job done eventually, but it's going to take a really long time and about a hundred of those little wheels. And the polish won't be as good because with a small polishing wheel, you're working in small patches. That will show in your finished product.

Keep changing the angle you're working at. Coarse polish in one direction, and do your fine polishing at a 90 degree angle. This will help eliminate tool marks and make for a better looking result.

As far as working around the paint, I can't help you there. Everything we polished was bare metal. Finishes and patinas went on after we had finished our metalwork.

Hope this helps some.

Fred

 

[Fred]

I forgot to add something, and this is really important. So rather than editing my last post, I'm adding another post.

The dust from polishing your aluminum wheel can KILL YOUR ASS if you breathe it.

Get a good dust mask. Not a paper one. And set up a fan blowing fresh air on you.

Working with bronze at the foundry for a year, even with fans and a 3M mask that was professionally fitted to my face, I got sick on the order of twice a month. And bronze dust is a lot less hazardous than aluminum. So do whatever you can to limit your exposure.

Don't be like the Tin Man. snopes.com: Wizard of Oz and Buddy Ebsen

Fred

 

[OZXJR]

Heres What I did with mine

 

[wrightme43]

that's why i said in my initial post that i clearcoated it.
i recently read something about applying the solvent, that would have made it a lot easier! i didnt think it would work that well on the powder coating, plus, what would do to the tire if some got on it? oh well, next fz6 i get, i'll try it.:thumbup:

Sorry man, I must of skipped over the clearcoated it part. It is a cool look.

Theres what mine looked like done the same.

http://www.600riders.com/forum/atta...s-leaving-aninjaandmammothcavecamping-017.jpg

 

[bmccrary]

does anybody know the in's and out's of metal polishing, i.e. materials, equipment, technique? wrightme43 ? bmccrary?

I think fred has this one covered. But I was just going to say a mini power ball, some various polishes of different grit and some good ol' fashioned elboe grease and and lots of :iconbeer:

-bryan

 

[bertmoog]

Heres What I did with mine

that looks freakin' sweet!

 

[bertmoog]

See here for some choice abrasives.

3M Industrial Products Catalog: adhesives, tapes, abrasives and more

Generally, we'd use the roloc pads. For a pitted surface, start with a yellow pad. Then red, and finally blue.

For your wheels, you can start with a blue.

For odd shapes, try the Bristle line. You want the Radial Bristle Disks.
These will conform to strange shapes. But they don't last that long.

The Stars are also excellent for working into tight corners. At the foundry we had versions of these made of sandpaper. I never used the Scotchbrite Stars as shown here, but made similar tools by cutting up the Roloc disks when necessary.

This is all pre-polish stuff. For final polishing, just use buffing wheels with coarse and then fine polish. Use a different wheel for each grit of polish and don't mix them up. You don't want to put coarse polish on your fine polishing wheel.

As far as tools, get the most powerful tool you can. For your wheels, a die grinder is ideal, provided that you have a good source of compressed air. The air compressor you bought for $200 at Sears is not adequate unless you like working for 30 seconds and then waiting five minutes while the compressor refills. At the foundry our compressor had a two story tall air tank, and the compressor itself was a giant, electrically driven supercharger! And even that beast was running all day long, only shutting off when we went on break or to lunch.

If you can't use air, go with electric, and again, go big. If you were polishing a large item like a tank, I'd recommend an angle grinder with an adjustable speed control. For doing your wheels, you want some sort of electric die grinder like this. Electric Die Grinders | ToolBarn.com

A Dremel is not adequate. Well, it'll get the job done eventually, but it's going to take a really long time and about a hundred of those little wheels. And the polish won't be as good because with a small polishing wheel, you're working in small patches. That will show in your finished product.

Keep changing the angle you're working at. Coarse polish in one direction, and do your fine polishing at a 90 degree angle. This will help eliminate tool marks and make for a better looking result.

As far as working around the paint, I can't help you there. Everything we polished was bare metal. Finishes and patinas went on after we had finished our metalwork.

Hope this helps some.

Fred

I manage a door shop so I have access to a serious compressor and tank but i dont really wanna spend the money to buy a tool i can only use at work. we have an airtool, more like a drill, that accepts 3/8" bits. One of my guys has an electric angle grinder but Im with you, for that application a die grinder would be ideal. Im gonna look at this a little more closely, seeing as how both time and money take presidence here. Thank you very much for the info Fred. It looks like Ozfazer6 has polished some, as well. :rockon:

 

[OZXJR]

This is what I used on mine.
Just stripped the paint off and cleaned then polished with this..........fits on a normal drill

 

[bertmoog]

This is what I used on mine.
Just stripped the paint off and cleaned then polished with this..........fits on a normal drill

Oz,
do you remember where you got that package?

 

[OZXJR]

Oz,
do you remember where you got that package?

Ebay mate,I will check the manufacturers website as well and post it here.

BUFFING WHEELS POLISHING KIT FOR CARS BOATS TURBO - eBay Other Wheels, Tyres, Wheels, Tyres, Car Parts, Accessories, Cars, Bikes, Boats. (end time 02-Jul-08 21:38:28 AEST)
Dont know if these guys post overseas or not but there may be something similar on U.S ebay.