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I've got too much time on my hands.............but polishing is soooooo rewarding. It's nearly finished, now to fit it! That should be fun









F9

oooooo shiny <- shades to reduce dazzle

you lacquering it before you fit it?

Best way to keep your shiny swingarm shiny..

Kwackerz wrote:you lacquering it before you fit it?

Best way to keep your shiny swingarm shiny..

Nope, I never lacquer anything I polish. Of course it helps that I never (ever, ever) ride in the winter these days, so no salt problems. But the finish is so smooth it stays remarkably clean and is very easy to maintain

I use normal car polish when I clean the bike on all the polished bits as well as the paint and have no problems at all keeping the shine (AluBelgom as a last resort) everything else is too abrasive to use and will scratch (never ever use Solvol)

F9

What was that, you've spent 50% of your life riding motorcycles and the other 50% polishing swingarms !?!?
Looks good though Rich, certainly well worth the effort.

HowardQ wrote:What was that, you've spent 50% of your life riding motorcycles and the other 50% polishing swingarms !?!?
Looks good though Rich, certainly well worth the effort.

I must have been a jackdaw in another life. Just can't resist anything shiney!

F9

wow shiny to nice to fit to your bke, i thimk it would look nice on the coffee table

So, Rich, if any of the rest of us had aluminium things we wanted to make nice and shiny, how would we go about it?
I see there is much potential to mess things up, to add bumps and dips into flat surfaces and may other pitfalls.
An idiots guide would be really helpful (for this idiot, at least)

..... and yes, I do have something in mind to work on .....

D-Rider wrote:So, Rich, if any of the rest of us had aluminium things we wanted to make nice and shiny, how would we go about it?
I see there is much potential to mess things up, to add bumps and dips into flat surfaces and may other pitfalls.
An idiots guide would be really helpful (for this idiot, at least)

..... and yes, I do have something in mind to work on .....

To be honest Andy, its almost impossible to offer an idiots guide. The basics are very simple but the results are determined upon experience and effort.

Essentially you need a reasonably powerful elecric motor (A std grinding wheel set up is just not man enough) mounted on a table or workbench with a spigot attached to the drive shaft.

Then by using various mops and soap compounds you effectively remove metal from the item being polished. Gradually by using softer mops and finer soaps you achieve the mirror polished appreance.

I normally use 4-5 different mops along with 3 compounds of soap (Grey or Brown then Green and finally Blue) to initially "cut" the metal and then increase the level of polish step by step. Finally a "clean" polish with a super soft mop and a final clean with Vienna lime to remove any remaining polish

In between all that is maintaining the mops as they become clogged with metal & soap, being very very careful as to how you hold the item being polished, they often get ripped out of your hands by the mop (especially the softer mops) The polished item also gets very very hot as the polishing effect relies upon the soap being melted and this is achieved by applying pressure to the item being polished against the spinning mop.
Even when using welding gauntlets and latex inner gloves I have numerous burns on my fingers and palms as a result of the heat...........Also you will get dirty and I mean very very dirty. You will be absolutely covered in burnt soap & metal remains means and it takes about 2-3 showers just to get clean and even then I look like I have been down the pit with my eye liner look (nice......not!)

So in conclusion, unless you want to do a number of items it probably isn't worth the outlay for the equipment. 3 of us initially started with our little set up. If anyone wants any small(ish) items doing let me know, I can do them but I'd like to stress I'm not a business nor touting for work, so it'll be done on a weekend etc.. The swinging arm took 8hrs to get to this stage, smaller items can be done in just a few hours though

To be fair Andy, where you live in the Midlands its "metal bashing central" there are dozens and dozens of small engineering shops which will do alloy polishing for you. (you can also polish stainless stell as well using the same technique, and no rust of course.

Hope this helps (doubt it)

F9

Cheers Rich

..... based on your advice I've begun to assemble the equipment I need ...


.... a good selection of soaps ....



..... and a couple of mops ....





.... now that I'm equipped, how hard can it be ?


My top yoke should be gleaming in no time

Nice................

but you should really be using "Fairy" soap though (a lot kinder to your hands) The mops look fine though. I prefer a shorter handle, but it's down to personal choice

Don't forget to post a pic of the top yoke when its done

F9

I hope he doesn't get into a lather when he realises the effort required