Polishing

[wwholden]

Ive been wanting to polish a few thing on my blaster: Throttle, Case Covers, etc. Ive never polished anything before. I tried searching the forum for a "polishing how to's" but couldn't find anything. What I did read was that some people use mothers aluminum polish and other use brown and white polishing compound. Whats the best?

Also I read that you have to keep re-polishing it to keep it shinny??? Does it not stay shinny after clear coating it?

 

[blasterdemon7]

Mothers works great on stuff that has been polished already. To get it polished, you use the brown first then the white. It takes a bit of work to get it to the mirror shine.

 

[Paulie B]

All you ever wanted to know here:

ATV Riders Forum - Polishing- on a wheel

 

[brandoz28]

most don't clear over the parts after you polish them. using the rouge usually gives you a better shine, mothers leaves a little residue on the part. the fastest way to do it is buffing wheels on a bench grinder (because most don't have a real polishing wheel)

 

[wwholden]

most don't clear over the parts after you polish them. using the rouge usually gives you a better shine, mothers leaves a little residue on the part. the fastest way to do it is buffing wheels on a bench grinder (because most don't have a real polishing wheel)

A real polishing wheel.... Whats this? I thought all wheel polishers were just bench grinders with buffing wheels on them?

And is there a reason why people dont clear the fished part? Seems like it would save you from having to remove the part and keep touching it up.

 

[Paulie B]

The clear actually kills the reflectiveness that you worked so hard to achieve.
A sealer like zoops is tops but pricey. Good old fashioned wax works pretty good too.

 

[brandoz28]

yes and no, most of your pro polishing motors are basically a bench grinder with a longer arm and no shield, so you can maneuver the part around it better. some also have variable speeds as well

 

[wwholden]

How often do you have to re-polish the part? Maybe its not a good idea since I do a lot of trail riding and will be getting it dirty a lot.

 

[brandoz28]

depends on how anal you are about it. I polish stuff on mine a couple times a year, usually before riding season, then whenever i feel like it along the way.

the bike doesn't always look perfect, but it's built to get dirty! and it's really not hard to bring the shine back after the initial polish. after that, it's pretty easy to bring the shine back.


just like polishing the aluminum wheels on a car/truck

 

[wwholden]

Can I use this same method to polish my bills exhaust?

 

[wwholden]

Bump. Is it safe to do this to the exhaust too?

 

[hudack]

yes it is i do all mine by hand with mothers takes forever not perfect but looks close enough

 

[wwholden]

Wow is that a before and after polishing the silencer? That really made a difference!

 

[hudack]

yes the before picture is after some sanding i was on like 600 grit in that picture i went up to about 1500 then put about a hour and a half of ploish time in on it

 

[89blaster89]

yes it is i do all mine by hand with mothers takes forever not perfect but looks close enough

not to be a grave digger but was the before pic of the pipe origanally polished then you sanded it down? the first pic looks like my silencer, how could i get my silencer to look like that after pic?

 

[blasterBruce]

you need to wet sand the aluminum with different grits , diff water for different grits ! , and also with the different grits you will need to change directions , then with the final sand with like 1500-2000 you want to use a circular motion with water , and then polish the crap with Quality brand !!

 

[89blaster89]

you need to wet sand the aluminum with different grits , diff water for different grits ! , and also with the different grits you will need to change directions , then with the final sand with like 1500-2000 you want to use a circular motion with water , and then polish the crap with Quality brand !!

ahh so like a can of mothers aluminum polish would work?

 

[blasterBruce]

Yeah that would work !

 

[89blaster89]

hmm i just dont see how just by polishing it makes it go from so dull to so shiny???

 

[blasterBruce]

the polish is what makes it shiny .