polishing question
- Thread starter turbojonn
- Start date
I polished the frame of both my gsxr's and it was a bit time consuming and I decided to chrome the 3rd frame. I sanded the frame with 100 grit all the way to wetsand 1500. After that came the polishing compounds and then the buffing. If you keep on top of the polish job after you are finished, it will look really good but I would suggest chroming because all you have to do with the chrome is wash it down and use some windex.
<span style='color:blue'>Excellent question! I have been lurking on this site for about a week now. Main reason is because I am not a busa owner....YET! I will be deploying to the middle east in January, and plan to purchase a 2006 LE (white/silver) upon my return. I am very interested to know if I can polish parts (i.e. frame, swingarm, triple tee, etc) as opposed to paying to have them chromed.
P.S. pictures of current bikes will be posted as soon as my digital camera gets fixed. I have a '94 Katana 600, and a 100th anni HD V-Rod, which will be passed on to my wife when we get the busa.</span>
P.S. pictures of current bikes will be posted as soon as my digital camera gets fixed. I have a '94 Katana 600, and a 100th anni HD V-Rod, which will be passed on to my wife when we get the busa.</span>
I have done mine as well and it came out pretty good...
The hardest part of the polish job is to take the coating off of the frame... NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU SAND, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO TAKE THE COATING OFF COMPLETELY. THE ONLY GOOD WAY TO REMOVE THE COATING IS TO USE A STRIPPING AGENT. I USED GRILL/OVEN CLEANER TO TAKE OFF THE COATING. It wasn't easy still, but wet sanding plus using the agent, she will come off... It took me about a day to get the coating off and then another day to do sanding/polishing all the way up.
1. Remove Engine (If you aren't going to remove the engine, be careful because there is a lot of dust and residue that is produced while doing the polish job.
2. You can either polish the whole frame or ONLY polish what is visible. Since it was soooo much work, I was pleased to only have done the portion of the frame that is visible.
3. Be careful with the VIN sticker on the frame... If you take your time, you can polish around it without doing it damge. I used duct tape to put over the vin label to protect it during sanding / polishing...
4. I started with a 180 grit sand paper and worked my way up to 2000 grit... I recommend going all the way up to 2000... It will give you a nice mirror finish... You will need to take EXTRA care NOT to put deep grooves into the frame while sanding with lower grit... If you put grooves in it, you will NOT even notice them until you get to the polishing portion of the job... If you have too many scratches when trying to polish, you WILL HAVE TO GO BACK TO A LOW GRIT sand paper and do the process over again, so its important to MAKE SURE you do each portion of the sanding THOROUGHLY.
4. After you have sanded to 2000 grit, then start using the polish compounds...Start with black, then brown, then white diamond, then rouge...
(THE BIGGEST GOTCHA IN POLISHING IS TO NOT CONTAMINATE THE BUFFING WHEELS WITH THE DIFFERENT POLISHES. YOU MUST use different buffing wheels between polish versions and ALSO wash the old polish off. If you don't, you will end up with a cloudy finish...
A cordless drill with buffing wheel will not work to do the polish job because you will run out of battery real quick since you are constantly on the button... I switched to a corded drill and then ALSO used a grinder with buffing wheels... The grinder was key in the polishing process....
Cloud
<!--EDIT|Cloud9
Reason for Edit: None given...|1131655733 -->
The hardest part of the polish job is to take the coating off of the frame... NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU SAND, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO TAKE THE COATING OFF COMPLETELY. THE ONLY GOOD WAY TO REMOVE THE COATING IS TO USE A STRIPPING AGENT. I USED GRILL/OVEN CLEANER TO TAKE OFF THE COATING. It wasn't easy still, but wet sanding plus using the agent, she will come off... It took me about a day to get the coating off and then another day to do sanding/polishing all the way up.
1. Remove Engine (If you aren't going to remove the engine, be careful because there is a lot of dust and residue that is produced while doing the polish job.
2. You can either polish the whole frame or ONLY polish what is visible. Since it was soooo much work, I was pleased to only have done the portion of the frame that is visible.
3. Be careful with the VIN sticker on the frame... If you take your time, you can polish around it without doing it damge. I used duct tape to put over the vin label to protect it during sanding / polishing...
4. I started with a 180 grit sand paper and worked my way up to 2000 grit... I recommend going all the way up to 2000... It will give you a nice mirror finish... You will need to take EXTRA care NOT to put deep grooves into the frame while sanding with lower grit... If you put grooves in it, you will NOT even notice them until you get to the polishing portion of the job... If you have too many scratches when trying to polish, you WILL HAVE TO GO BACK TO A LOW GRIT sand paper and do the process over again, so its important to MAKE SURE you do each portion of the sanding THOROUGHLY.
4. After you have sanded to 2000 grit, then start using the polish compounds...Start with black, then brown, then white diamond, then rouge...
(THE BIGGEST GOTCHA IN POLISHING IS TO NOT CONTAMINATE THE BUFFING WHEELS WITH THE DIFFERENT POLISHES. YOU MUST use different buffing wheels between polish versions and ALSO wash the old polish off. If you don't, you will end up with a cloudy finish...
A cordless drill with buffing wheel will not work to do the polish job because you will run out of battery real quick since you are constantly on the button... I switched to a corded drill and then ALSO used a grinder with buffing wheels... The grinder was key in the polishing process....
Cloud
<!--EDIT|Cloud9
Reason for Edit: None given...|1131655733 -->
Cloud has it covered. If all is done right it will turn out like this.
The only chrome on the bike are the wheels, the rest is hand polished.
The only chrome on the bike are the wheels, the rest is hand polished.
Wow sounds like a lot of work
How much do you charge Cloud 9
I want the look, but really don't want to tackle such an endeavor, afraid i will screw it up.
nice job guys
It is definetly a lot of work and once you start, there is no turning back...Wow sounds like a lot of workHow much do you charge Cloud 9
I want the look, but really don't want to tackle such an endeavor, afraid i will screw it up.
When I first started, i started with smaller pieces and worked my way up... I did the passenger pegs first, then the rear sets, then frame, then alternator cover, folloed by the swingarm...
Start with inexpensive stuff and work your way up... You could also just trying polishing an aluminum piece that isn't part of your bike and practicing on it...
NCBusa2001
Registered
Good write up Cloud. Nice finish. I wish I had the patience to work on my frame. I would get started and I'm afraid it would take months to complete the process.
Chris
Chris
Anywhere from 40 to 100+ hours. You will also have to tend to it every few days. If you go through the trouble of engine removal just spend the extra $$ and get it chromed.
Once the frame is highly mirror polished you can't really get it wet and finger prints and smudges can be removed by using corn starch.
Once the frame is highly mirror polished you can't really get it wet and finger prints and smudges can be removed by using corn starch.
Forget about getting it wet. You will have to re-polish it everytime. If you are willing to disasemble it, go chrome. Remeber chrome is not fool proof either, after several years of regular use it may start to fail.
Will you be using this bike as you daily rider? If so just leave it the way it is.
Will you be using this bike as you daily rider? If so just leave it the way it is.
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