racerx43269
Registered
Aluminum polishing to chrome mirror like finish
Racerx43269
This job IS time consuming and will take you a while. Please don’t expect to complete this in 20 minutes... while you can see some results in 20 minutes, don’t expect huge leaps and bounds, plan on spending some time with this and working in this for a bit.. Beauty comes with lots of elbow grease.
Items required completing this task:
1-2 cans of easy off oven cleaner (depends on how much you are going to polish)
1-2 dust masks
1-2 pairs rubber dish washing gloves (they are cheap and work well)
SAND PAPER: wet/dry sand paper
Grit 300
Grit 400
Grit 600
Grit 800
Grit 1000
Grit 1500
Grit 2000
Brown Tripoli Buffing bar (a large one)
NEEDED /required, but if you’re super awesome you don’t need this:
Electric buffer HELPS, you can do it by hand... I prefer to have a buffing wheel... Saves A LOT of time…
BUT you CAN do it by hand.
************************************SAFETY ******************************************
Please use caution when doing the following tasks, safety first every single time.
PROPER VENTALATION is REQUIRED. This does not mean that having a door cracked is ventilation.. Have a fan on in the garage with the garage door WIDE OPEN, you need airflow, fumes and sanding particulates from aluminum can harm you in the long run OSHA SITE for aluminum dust and your lungs
NO loose clothing when using a high speed buffer, if your hot… get a fan...
Gloves (your using an oven cleaner with ACID in it… put some gloves on.
Wear a mask WHEN sanding… aluminum is bad for you to inhale. (See OSHA site above if you don’t believe me)
NO open flames, Yes this means NO smoking in the area… WHY might you ask... Because you are sanding aluminum with sand paper and using acid that could be considered flammable... why risk is?
Another reason... is because if you are smoking while working or in the general area.. This means you had to take your gloves off... and your fingers are now contaminated with aluminum and cleaners and well it is going to get in your mouth...
BE safe... Use common sense...
Ok… on to the fun stuff now that the important stuff has been mentioned.
*************************************************************************************
NOTE: Anodizing is the second hardest substance known to man. You can sand on it for hours and not make a dent in the actual protection. HOWEVER Anodizing is VERY vulnerable to acidic compounds and cleaners. And yet it can be easily removed, Easy off oven cleaner has a high enough acid content to remove anodizing.
PREPERATION:
Prep the area that you want to clean and polish.. Use painters tape or another form of MASKING tape, (color not important) tape off the areas you DON’T want covered in oven cleaner. This includes all your painted stuff... Move your brake lines away and zip tie them somewhere else... Cover them; you don’t want to risk getting them damaged in the process.
Easy off BBQ cleaner (the type I chose to get) works well, and fast, I took a plastic painters cup, and sprayed some inside there and brushed it on.. This allowed for a more controlled application, NO CHANCE of overspray onto the car, and/or bike paint or anything that you don’t want to get polished.
**************************************NOTE**************************************
Your frame will look VERY bad when the anodizing comes off, this is normal, don't freak out and think you ruined it. Once you start sanding it cleans up very fast and you will make progress
CLEANING:
Apply oven cleaner in heavy coats with brush. You will see the anodizing bubble up, then, just simply wash it off of the frame, this will save you days of sanding time.
SANDING:
Sanding is where your real work is done.
Start with 300 grit sand paper and go up and down get a good pattern going… after a bit of sanding and everything is sanded..Move on to the next grade of sand paper. Sand in the OPOSIT direction then previously sanded, (if you sanded up and down…. Now sand left and right) sand until you cannot see the scratch marks in the metal from your previous sanding. Do this throughout the grades of sand paper. By using wet dry sandpaper this allows you to be able to use soap and water, as a helper, keeping the sand paper from getting as gunked up... you can use a small sander at this point if you choose… but BE CAREFULL not to grind into the surface area that your covering. And also DON’T use water when using an electrical buffer/sander.
Don’t cheat on sanding… the smoother and deeper you sand the better the final appearance will be in the final outcome... Your base sanding is important... And being through and getting any pitting smoothed out as possible. You will start to see when you start polishing areas that may need to be touched up with some further sanding...
Polishing:
Start using the brown Tripoli, turn your buffer on apply the buffer to the Tripoli and start buffing WITH THE GRAIN of the aluminum buff to your heart’s content... You will start to see a gloss and shine...
NOTE: when buffing with an electric or air powered buffer, parts WILL get hot.. This is normal, use caution not to burn you. Also make sure your items are secured to something WELL. You don’t want your buffer to grab the part and launch it across the room or at someone or through a window... So use caution
FINISH:
AFTER polishing to a shine… apply some wax, give it a protective coating, unprotected aluminum will oxidize and corrode if not properly taken care of
Racerx43269
This job IS time consuming and will take you a while. Please don’t expect to complete this in 20 minutes... while you can see some results in 20 minutes, don’t expect huge leaps and bounds, plan on spending some time with this and working in this for a bit.. Beauty comes with lots of elbow grease.
Items required completing this task:
1-2 cans of easy off oven cleaner (depends on how much you are going to polish)
1-2 dust masks
1-2 pairs rubber dish washing gloves (they are cheap and work well)
SAND PAPER: wet/dry sand paper
Grit 300
Grit 400
Grit 600
Grit 800
Grit 1000
Grit 1500
Grit 2000
Brown Tripoli Buffing bar (a large one)
NEEDED /required, but if you’re super awesome you don’t need this:
Electric buffer HELPS, you can do it by hand... I prefer to have a buffing wheel... Saves A LOT of time…
BUT you CAN do it by hand.
************************************SAFETY ******************************************
Please use caution when doing the following tasks, safety first every single time.
PROPER VENTALATION is REQUIRED. This does not mean that having a door cracked is ventilation.. Have a fan on in the garage with the garage door WIDE OPEN, you need airflow, fumes and sanding particulates from aluminum can harm you in the long run OSHA SITE for aluminum dust and your lungs
NO loose clothing when using a high speed buffer, if your hot… get a fan...
Gloves (your using an oven cleaner with ACID in it… put some gloves on.
Wear a mask WHEN sanding… aluminum is bad for you to inhale. (See OSHA site above if you don’t believe me)
NO open flames, Yes this means NO smoking in the area… WHY might you ask... Because you are sanding aluminum with sand paper and using acid that could be considered flammable... why risk is?
Another reason... is because if you are smoking while working or in the general area.. This means you had to take your gloves off... and your fingers are now contaminated with aluminum and cleaners and well it is going to get in your mouth...
BE safe... Use common sense...
Ok… on to the fun stuff now that the important stuff has been mentioned.
*************************************************************************************
NOTE: Anodizing is the second hardest substance known to man. You can sand on it for hours and not make a dent in the actual protection. HOWEVER Anodizing is VERY vulnerable to acidic compounds and cleaners. And yet it can be easily removed, Easy off oven cleaner has a high enough acid content to remove anodizing.
PREPERATION:
Prep the area that you want to clean and polish.. Use painters tape or another form of MASKING tape, (color not important) tape off the areas you DON’T want covered in oven cleaner. This includes all your painted stuff... Move your brake lines away and zip tie them somewhere else... Cover them; you don’t want to risk getting them damaged in the process.
Easy off BBQ cleaner (the type I chose to get) works well, and fast, I took a plastic painters cup, and sprayed some inside there and brushed it on.. This allowed for a more controlled application, NO CHANCE of overspray onto the car, and/or bike paint or anything that you don’t want to get polished.
**************************************NOTE**************************************
Your frame will look VERY bad when the anodizing comes off, this is normal, don't freak out and think you ruined it. Once you start sanding it cleans up very fast and you will make progress
CLEANING:
Apply oven cleaner in heavy coats with brush. You will see the anodizing bubble up, then, just simply wash it off of the frame, this will save you days of sanding time.
SANDING:
Sanding is where your real work is done.
Start with 300 grit sand paper and go up and down get a good pattern going… after a bit of sanding and everything is sanded..Move on to the next grade of sand paper. Sand in the OPOSIT direction then previously sanded, (if you sanded up and down…. Now sand left and right) sand until you cannot see the scratch marks in the metal from your previous sanding. Do this throughout the grades of sand paper. By using wet dry sandpaper this allows you to be able to use soap and water, as a helper, keeping the sand paper from getting as gunked up... you can use a small sander at this point if you choose… but BE CAREFULL not to grind into the surface area that your covering. And also DON’T use water when using an electrical buffer/sander.
Don’t cheat on sanding… the smoother and deeper you sand the better the final appearance will be in the final outcome... Your base sanding is important... And being through and getting any pitting smoothed out as possible. You will start to see when you start polishing areas that may need to be touched up with some further sanding...
Polishing:
Start using the brown Tripoli, turn your buffer on apply the buffer to the Tripoli and start buffing WITH THE GRAIN of the aluminum buff to your heart’s content... You will start to see a gloss and shine...
NOTE: when buffing with an electric or air powered buffer, parts WILL get hot.. This is normal, use caution not to burn you. Also make sure your items are secured to something WELL. You don’t want your buffer to grab the part and launch it across the room or at someone or through a window... So use caution
FINISH:
AFTER polishing to a shine… apply some wax, give it a protective coating, unprotected aluminum will oxidize and corrode if not properly taken care of
!! 
told myself i wouldnt do it again after ther 1st bike and got suckered in, well theres no way I gonna do it again!! Oh no not this busa 
Needless to say I don't wanna touch polished aluminum for a long, long time... 
