Cleaning and shining

[Jeffintampa]

Hi all,
I am in the process of cleaning up my bike some more and need to know what you all use to clean up the motor and rims etc. I have tried Mothers chrome and mag polish, Turtle waxs, Chrome polish, rub rub rubed. Just not what I am looking for. What do you all use?

[natemoen]

Hi all,
I am in the process of cleaning up my bike some more and need to know what you all use to clean up the motor and rims etc. I have tried Mothers chrome and mag polish, Turtle waxs, Chrome polish, rub rub rubed. Just not what I am looking for. What do you all use?

If I remember correct the mothers chrome and mag polish says not to use it on aluminum, find yourself an aluminum specific polish and go to town.

[petejw]

a buffer on a bench grinder/drill and suitable compound works best
to polish up the alloy, theres kits on ebay, mothers works ok
after the piece has been buffed previously.
heres some pics of mine







heres what i use

[Wildkat]

Good Heavens Pete!
Do something about that engine will ya? It looks like like ****!
show off


lol

I use micro mesh on my shiny bits to get past the worst stuff... as well as Gord's Aluminum polish.
Available online
I don't think they sell it in stores outside of Texas. It works WONDERS!

[petejw]

lol kat
unfortunately that engine spun a bearing and isnt
in the bike atm , its waiting on a full rebuild,
but dang it looked good when it was in it.

[TomRodgers]

and run those socks through the washing machine!!! LOL

[fredintoon]

Hi all,
I am in the process of cleaning up my bike some more and need to know what you all use to clean up the motor and rims etc. I have tried Mothers chrome and mag polish, Turtle waxs, Chrome polish, rub rub rubbed. Just not what I am looking for. What do you all use?

Hi Jeff,
the easiest thing to do when you can't raise a shine is to lower your standards.

[latexeses]

the easiest thing to do when you can't raise a shine is to lower your standards.

fredintoon,

+1

[cywelchjr]

Hi Jeff,
the easiest thing to do when you can't raise a shine is to lower your standards.

That's my method. The only way to go in my book. If it looks good enough going past at 60 MPH it's good enough for me.

[Shacknasty]

If yer tawkin' about the rough cast cases, I used carb cleaner and toothbrushes and brass wire brushes. Oh yeah, and two cases of elbow grease.

[g15usmc]

Oh yeah, and two cases of elbow grease.

OLD MAN!...Who says "Elbow Grease" any more? BTW I'm headed on on tuesday, but i want to get one more ride in on Monday, U wanna ride somewhere? Know anything cool going on?

[g15usmc]

On the polishing side...

Get yourself a tube of WENOL!...IT IS THE GREATEST!...Not only does it remove imperfections that you may have on your metal...discoloration, rust, the white crap u get on aluminum, green crap on copper...everything that could make your metal look like CRAP...but also Wenol polishes, and protects for the future...you can get it on amazon...it may seem expensive depending on where you get it from, but it is worth every penny...a dime size amount will polish over a square foot of surface area...use a toothbrush on little spots to brush away the impurity, and then use a flannel to polish it...I LOVE IT!...and as shack will tell you, I OBVIOUSLY DO NOT USE IT NEARLY ENOUGH ON MY BIKE...but i figure bikes were made to be ridden not be shown off...not to say you shouldn't show off your bike...because my beauty likes to get dressed up and go out to dance every now and then...but no matter what I THINK SHES BEAUTIFUL JUST THE WAY SHE IS!...:P

[Jeffintampa]

Thats what I am talking about wow

I have thought about taking parts off to buff them
very nice

a buffer on a bench grinder/drill and suitable compound works best
to polish up the alloy, theres kits on ebay, mothers works ok
after the piece has been buffed previously.
heres some pics of mine







heres what i use

[Diskman01]

I picked up a cheap polishing "kit" at Harbor Freight last spring. Came with 3 polishing pads, the bit for the drill and white and brown polishing compound sticks. Chucked it into my plug-in drill and went crazy on the covers.

Worked like a dream. Was using Mothers Mag polish (been using it for years on aluminum), but I think they changed the formula. It doesn't seem to shine like it used to.

The cheapo polishing set works great for me. Think it was under 10 bux.

I really need to sand off the clear coat thats remaining on my lower fork tubes. Then the bike will really shine.

[Tropic-al]

Jeff

I have thought about taking parts off to buff them
very nice

It is a lot easier if you can take the parts off to polish them. First you must take the clear factory coating off the part you are working on. Go to Advanced Auto parts and buy a spray can of Mar Hyde, Tal-Strip II. It is a paint stripper for aluminum. Coat the part heavily and let it sit till you see it bubble. Then clean with soap and water.
You might still have to sand before you polish, but you will notice the effort as the protective coating is not there. A bench buffing wheel is a great asset.
It takes a lot of elbow grease!
Good luck.