Advice please on metal polishing ....

[tricolore]

I want to turn the small exhaust shields from black to natural polished. I presume they are just sprayed rather than powder coated. I don't have a polisher, paste etc so what's the best way to take off the original paint and mirror polish. Nitromors ? wet n dry ? polish up with autosol ?

[rollo22]

Might be worth asking local engineering shop for a price.

[Mr Gremlin]

nitromores will. strip if it is painted, but doesnt touch most powdercoating. once stripped, use wet and dry and go through the grades 400, 800, 1000, 1500 & 2000 ensuring all of the scratches from the previous grade are gone before moving to the next grade. this is very tedious but also very important if you dont want a dull hazy finish. then after 2000 grit use a suitable polishing compound. TBH what it will cost you in materials to do , it would be cheaper to get a pro polisher to do it.

or check out BRIT CHOPPER forum and ask if someone on there can do it , probably cost you a beer... :)

[He11cat]

I've got to have that tank stripped of paint and laquer!

After you've polished the bits laquer them.
Gives them protection and nice finish.

I did not believe this but after seeing a bit laquered and a bit not ..
The laquering gives a nice finish and protects the metal and brings it up.
I did not believe it till I saw it myself.

[470four]

Modern paintstripper is useless, largely due to having the banned active ingrediant removed from it - Dichloromethane...

Thankfully you can still buy this on ebay -

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dichloromethane-99-5-Pure-1-Litre-1L-/140574270571?pt=UK_BOI_Medical_Lab_Equipment_Lab_S upplies_ET&hash=item20bae1246b

WEAR GLOVES & GLASSES! Its not pleasant stuff, but will strip most items Very Quickly... :mand:

[Mr Gremlin]

I've got to have that tank stripped of paint and laquer!

After you've polished the bits laquer them.
Gives them protection and nice finish.

I did not believe this but after seeing a bit laquered and a bit not ..
The laquering gives a nice finish and protects the metal and brings it up.
I did not believe it till I saw it myself.

thats because it wasnt polished properly LOL. when done well, it cant be bettered with a coat of lacquer, although the lacquer will protect it. if its good quality aluminium, a light anodise will be even more durable than paint.

[He11cat]

It protects it .
the difference on my ali Roadracing tank between laquered bit and unlaquered is quite a lot.
Same with belt covers if your outside or riding about alot it really protects it other wise its a pig to keep on top of.

If your garaged and bike gets minimal use then its fine.
But if a used bike leaving it bare polished metal youl be cursing quickly!!
The top coated bit on the tank looks better then the bit with none.
Honest !

[utopia]

There's probably something in both points of view here...
Corrosion will probably initiate from microscopic surface imperfections, so the better the initial polishing, the less need for protective laquer.
Also, while a coat of laquer will probably improve the shine of many polished items, I do think that the bare ally, if polished really well, has a deeper look to its shine and somehow looks more "real". It'll require regular care to maintain it though.

Anyway, what I really wanted to say is that a rotary scotchbrite disc is a handy tool for the initial clean-up as its fairly aggressive, but doesn't leave too many really deep grooves in the surface, so the subsequent wet 'n dry treatment isn't too labourious.
I've bought polishing stuff from "The Polishing Shop, Cannock" in the past. Their website may inspire a plan...?

[Mr Gremlin]

It protects it .
the difference on my ali Roadracing tank between laquered bit and unlaquered is quite a lot.
Same with belt covers if your outside or riding about alot it really protects it other wise its a pig to keep on top of.

If your garaged and bike gets minimal use then its fine.
But if a used bike leaving it bare polished metal youl be cursing quickly!!
The top coated bit on the tank looks better then the bit with none.
Honest !

thats because of alloy type, belt covers and engine cases generally have a high zinc or magnesium content which oxidizes far quicker with normal atmospheric exposure. your tank will be an alloy tending to be towards the purer aluminium so that it can be formed without splitting. pure alloys are too soft to polish to a true mirror shine by hand, and need electropolishing which will make them look like a real mirror, hence the need for laquer. harder alloys polish better manually, but when they get to be the strongest grades of engineering alloy, they corrode quicker too

[He11cat]

Thanking you ...
What he doesn't know is I'm coming round with an electric toothbrush and shiny paste .,
Only kidding :)
Got to get dent sorted first .
But at the mo on the back burner!