Age has no bearing on a great idea. I'm 70, but if a 10 y/o kid has a great way of fixing my problem, I'd be stupid not to listen to him. WISH I WAS YOUR AGE AGAIN !! Great video.
I commend you for your efforts. Without offence I'd like to give you a little advice. I've been doing this for decades and my way is much less labour intensive. First remove all scratches and nicks with a scotchbrite (coarse) 3 inch pad on your angle grinder. This is a super quick and effective method. Then use a sisal polishing pad on your bench grinder with a polishing compound that comes in a bar called "Fast cut". Next use a loose leaf pad on the bench grinder with "Green rouge" polishing compound. Afterwards clean up leftover compound on the alloy with kerosene or paraffin and hose off with water. you can then give it a quick go over by hand with Autosol metal polish and I guarantee you will have a flawless mirror finish that will require very little maintenance. No hand sanding involved and much quicker for probably a better result. Cheers, Gert Roewer from Jindera Australia.
Orrrrrr........skip all that jazz and spray some carpet or fabric glue on the part and chuck a drag queen sized handful of glitter on it. Blow off the excess and boom, looks shiny, 1 minute worth of work
Gert Roewer I’m gonna have to try your method of removing the rouge. I just left a comment about using flower to remove it I’ve been doing this type of work for some time now myself. Flower helps at least I think it does less rubbing to get it off. Thanks I’ll gonna try your method.
what impressed me the most and the fact you are saving lives,is the mask,i knew a professional buffer,he was about 53 years old had copd and then it turned to lung cancer,wear your respirators and live,LIVE,no one is immune,buffing is dangerous business,now, the finish you attained is wonderful,there are clears now that will hold the coat for about 10 years then they yellow,good job,thanks for caring and showing the correct way to buff,the clears are polyurethane and contain isocyanates and they require a respirator to spray them also,,thank you
I was a jeweler for 25 years, good video and agree with most of your process. One word of caution: I would never put a cloth up to a spinning wheel. That cloth could catch in the wheel if you’re not as experienced as you are doing that. Since there may be some real beginners checking your videos, I think you might want to mention that as a safety tip. Also, if you’re going to use a buffing wheel and white rouge, you could ignore the Mothers and use a jeweler’s compound called Tripoli as the first course. Cheaper and available at any supply house/online. Nice work overall. Thanks for posting.
@@kirbylee57 all metal compositions are variable, so, can’t peg a yes here with certainty. If I could put a sandpaper value to Tripoli, I’d say a course 220. That should clear any fogging. There’s also a stainless steel compound that should fly through any aluminum. Use that one with caution. Good luck with your projects.
Just an observation but it seems like you buffed all the ages off the casing. The sharp edges are critical to making it look right once you're done. A few suggestions to further improve from the perspective of someone who polishes a lot of precious metal. Only use one wheel per compound mixing compounds will not give you the very best finish. Polish in different directions for each compound and mop combo. Clean between stages ideally Best to various grades of paper on the case in different directions to avoid drag marks and heavy directional graining. Don't use too much pressure with the case as it builds heat and renders the polish useless and takes the edges off too. Finally use a soft mop with fine compounds and course mops with cutting compound.
polished an alloy gixer frame 10 years ago, to protect the finish a mate told me to use MAAS metal polish protector, the guy was right, 10 years later it still only needs a wipe over to look like new, great stuff, really does stop the alloy furring up
I purchased this 2 months ago and have been putting it through some tests since then- I have a lot of polished parts on a few bikes. I have a polished gas cap on a Honda Cbr that no matter how mirror like I get it the finish always turns gray in a matter of a few weeks and been Repolishing this cap for 10 years. But this stuff really works great, the cap looks like I just polished it even after 2 months. Thanks for the tip mate! I have been putting this shit on everything lol!
@@EddieErion929 i recommend it to all my mates who polish alloy now, great stuff that really works, use it on my Fazer as i've polished a good few parts on it. Glad i could help mate, ride safe mate
You should use a rubbing block when sanding so that you rub away at the surface and it will be a flatter finish! You should also use heat resistant clear lacquer for metal, after you have polished the surface and that way things would remain nice and shiny.. simple!
Its ok to be young and know what you are doing. Young people don't seem to have an interest in motorcycles like they used to. Awesome video, I have been riding since 1975 when I was 10. Raced on a Spanish Bultaco Team. I learned something today, Thanks.
Good job man, yer age is not important. Yer passion/ interest in them old bikes really shows. Most of us started out the same way. I'm 55 and been riding since I was 14. In fact, I learned to ride on a 1977 GS750! Nobody knows it all, yer vids help me for sure and I've been fixing on them old bikes for a long time. Scott in Detroit
Your cleaning info is great. The step you missed prior to that, will save tons of time and give better results. Vintage aluminum on Japanese bikes is originally poorly polished and clear coated or painted silver. Whether it's fork legs or engine covers, I use paint stripper to remove the coating before doing anything. Once the old finish is removed and the surface is cleaned, you will often find aluminum that is ready to refinish on my buffing wheel unless it has road rash or other damage. Everyone has their own ideas about buffing, compounds and wheels so I won't go there, but keep in mind that anything abrasive used to clean the aluminum leaves damage/marks that you'll have to polish out later. Paint and varnish stripper from the local hardware store gives you bare aluminum without hard work or damage to the surface that has been covered for years with clearcoat.
@@youtube.youtube.01 I use automotive paint stripper. I would think that any paint remover should work fine. Once the clear coat has been removed, polishing the part is easy.
Hey Bud,you’re on your way. I started the same way ,then this is what I found to (wish I had pics)truly give a mirror sheen to my 1978 kenworth tractor fuel tanks and Alcoa wheels. I started at Blue Beacon truck wash for the well known acid/brightenerbath to clean all grime and crud off which turns aluminum white. Now it’s time to cut,you can start with black jewelers rouge for ruff and scratched up aluminum then red the white the blue rouge for the final luster. You can skip colors depending on the condition of your subject. I found that moving slowly back and forth in a straight line starting at the bottom and moving upwards to the top was best for my subjects. I could stand 5 ft away from my fuel tanks and count whiskers! The tightly sewn cutting wheels,safety glasses and resperator are all you need. Well a day off ,good tunes, a container of Blue Magic or Mother’s or a mag POLISH of your choice and a Girl friend/Wife/Ole Lady who isn’t afraid of sporting /helping with the project she will be modeling !!! Happy Polishing
Dude I’m an old guy and your vids are awesome. You are a very talented young man. If you can teach an older dude your doing good. Cb900c fixing to drill some jets.
Try Jewelers rouge on your buffing wheel. The aluminum will look like a mirror. It only works on surfaces that aren't deeply scratched. Deep scratches need to be lightly sanded or bead blasted, then polished.
Tried some of this on a 50 year old Norton and WOW. It brought the shine back to a show room glow on the engine side cover and other aluminum parts. Mom didn't pay me either.
Abrasive pads (Scotchbrite, and their ilk) come in abrasive/hardness grades differentiated by colour. The classic "greenie" pad is hard enough to scratch a haze into window glass, so maybe stick to the brown grade. That's the colour safely used for dinner plates and glassware, so you won't be hazing the finish on the aluminium you're trying to turn into a mirror. I was pleased to see you had come upon many the same truths as I've found, and for many the same reasons. You have a good, no-bullshit, always-learning head on your shoulders. We should be glad for a world of grown-ups as grown-up as you. Mind those safety tips from the various other commenters, and never stop learning. Good video. You're getting a subscription out of me, and I hardly every subscribe to anything. Cheers.
Honestly, it didn't take that long. The bench grinder with a buffing pad combined with the mother's polish (not my mom) polished the case in under 45 minutes. Give it a try sometime!
Very nicely done, really appreciate the way you presented the steps in a manner that is Lear and concise. Also thanks for presenting mistakes you made and what the solution was that you took.
When I was just a kid, I used to watch my dad polish Kirby vacuum cleaners with a bench grinder and compound. That black buffing pad brought back a lot of memories.
I polished metals for 40 years. When you go to the final high shine stage I would use a new wheel. Take a sharpe blade and cut threw about 2 or 3 rows of the stitching on the wheel, pull off the thread. Then take something like a stiff putty knife and with the wheel spinning rub it firmly against the wheel in a back and forth motion to fluff it. Wear a mask because it will produce a lot of wheel dust. When I got ready to polish I would use a slower speed if possilbe. I would do the final high shine with either tripoli (good) or rouge (best). Or tripoli first then rouge. Refluff your wheel occasionally and especially between application of the different polishing compounds.
Clear coating a surface entails a lot of work. This is why most people prefer polishing./ once buffed and polish I have found ProtectaClear adheres to metals and has a tough clear finish! Great video and Bikes/
4 года назад
Try starting off with a nice cleanse,the. Wet sand 1200-1500 then I do a rough hand polish with an almost rubbery sponge before hitting the polish wheel followed by another hand polish
I humbly suggest A $17 Horrible Freight Gravity Feed Blaster Gun with 20 oz. Hopper. It works well on aluminum hubs and heads where its hard to reach with a wire brush or scotch pad. Use plain ol Arm and Hammer washing soda. 1 Lb box is 57 cents. Good thing about soda is it dissolves with water leaves no grit in bearings. Then after blasting spray on some Aluma Bright to brighten the aluminum and rinse off with water. Then use a spray can of Ever Bright or Hi Temp clear coat to seal it. It wont look shiny mirror polished but looks almost factory casted new. Use a respirator and use a fan to blow dust away to the side while blasting so you don't breathe it accidentally. Blasting saves a lot of time.
I would recommend you (1) wash the part and rise with very hot water,(2)blow dry with hair drier allow the moisture to evaporate (3) spray with High Temp Clear Engine Paint in a dust free area. This looks really good on bead blasted parts very well such as old aluminum intake manifolds.
Covers are pretty easy, getting into cases themselves is a trick. I polished the cases of my 74 Harley Ironhead Sportster along with the outer covers. A Rotozip with polishing mandrels works great using Mothers or Wenol compound. Finish it up with red rouge and clean using WD40 and then wash with soap and water making sure to dry completely. Never dull or Mothers will keep it looking great. Also a great way to make those fork lowers look MUCH better.
Thanks alot, you saved me alot of time ! Just bought a 550 and it's in bad shape. I'm glad you found an easy way to make it look new again! Keep it up, love your vids!
Ive found that using some scotchbrite after cleaning to remove the oxidation gives a good starting point for the polish. There are some rust protection oil i use on my polished cases and they have Held up for about a year now. Like once a month i get a cloth and spray som rust protection oil in it then i wipe it down and leave it for about 24 hours to dry.
When your sanding, use oil or lard, for lube, one direction your sanding, the opposite direction, your polishing. You also need a softer finishing wheel
Keep the shine for longer, on my Classic Bikes alloy components I wipe them over frequently with Kerosene ,Alloy loves it, like a Sun Screen Barrier for Alloy. 🇳🇿😎👍
I agree mothers is the best. I have used dozens of other polish compounds, and mothers is the best by far, but it is the last step after the white rouge, because it is finer grit that the white rouge. If done proper "ocd style", you will end up with a black chrome look with mothers.
After polishing the aluminum, wax it with NuFinish car Wax. It has polymers to helpseal the aluminum, and make it NOT oxidize so quickly. I polished all the aliminum engine parts on my H-D Super glide
Look up "Master Formula" brand metal polish and sealer. The Polish takes a fraction of time to bring to mirror-like shine. Then the sealer makes it last a lot longer than polishing alone. Also, when using sandpaper by hand on flat surfaces, wrap the paper around a soft pad, folded up cardboard if nothing else, or a small piece of wood. You can also go to Autozone, NAPA, O'Reilly's etc... and get an autobody tool kit with nice sand blocks. Using your fingers alone, not realizing it, but you can rub finger sized grooves in your surface. The blocks are focused on to highest points of contact, leveling down to base surface. But seriously, look up Master Formula. Once you try it, you'll throw Mother's and Meguiars garbage out the window.
White Diamond Polish will take oxidation out by hand. Mothers does make the best and their sealant is A+++ Definitely give White Diamond a try though 🤘🏻🤘🏻
Have you ever tried autosol metal polish with abit of kerosene on a rag before does amazing job on oxidized aluminium wheels then finish it of with mothers metal polish youll be very amazed how it looks.....
I'm with you man... I've been using autosol now for 40 odd years. I've tried a lot of others... Keep coming back to autosol... They are the original metal polish...
try corn flour and water buff first when finish by hand polish but go in one direction only ,corn flour will not turn black like mothers and leave the haze . its cheaper and the end resole will look like chrome - thats how the experts do it
i believe you have to seal the Al. and copper if you dont want it to oxidize again. even if you lleave it a bit dull and a fine roughness for the clear the clear will cover it and add a bir more shine.
@@consubandon A smart feller I know told me to use a good old Pink Pearl eraser as a sanding block for smaller curved surfaces as it conforms nicely but still keeps a plane. Works a treat.
Bling Master Aluminator is the best metal polish on he planet. Nothing is better, faster or lasts as long. Watch the BlingMaster videos and you will be amazed.
Nice video. After reading most posts I cannot believe no one pointed out that your grinder/buffer is way to fast and can burn aluminium. 1000-17500 rpm is cool. No more.
Just thought i'd throw my input in here. The engine case looks great, I think you could take it 1 step further. You should try some buffing compound (buffing stick) as they call it, I apply that to the wheel on my bench grinder and go to town. I can literally compare it to chrome. I also use mag and aluminum polish to clean up the job, I apply by hand though!
I'm not a fan of a sped up video. I feel that yes, buffing on a wheel can be superior to hand polishing on the bike, but way back when, I used a product called *Goddard's Glow* every week on my 1959 Triumph Bonneville's alloy. After six months, those alloy covers were hard to pick from chrome plating. I was pleased to see you had the forethought to point out eye and breathing protection, but using a buffing wheel pad is not something everyone is fully conversant with. For those using one for the first time, I feel sure that they'd like to see how it's done. Don't speed up this process. I realise it can be time consuming, so just break it up into segments as another way to kill the time. As you're instructing the whole operation, you will further impress, as to providing the best technique to holding the piece to be polished. Point out also how much one should be aware that the wheel does not grab the job and flick it, if the wheel contacts the edge of the cover, if buffing around the narrow surfaces that mates to the bike. Aside from that, and from whatever tips others can give, go for it...
*whistle* purdy! Great tip about the steel wool man! I truly would not have thought anything about that. Steel wool is great for smoothing in between coats of spray paint, but I'll never use it on bare aluminium again.
I use it on bare aluminum all the time and don't have the problems he mentioned, but it is not a final step, must be polished afterwards to go from smooth to shiny, and yet it makes the surface too smooth for good paint adhesion if you were planning on painting as he ultimately decided was the better route for longevity which I agree with.
Great videos, I mention "water spots"on my aluminum Royal Enfield cases & the parts guys hand me WINDEX ...Every Time, but Mothers is my 'go to' polish. Gonna try some 'White Diamonds' after the next polish, it's "supposed" to seal & protect the aluminum shine...we'll see.
Suchergebnisse Ergebnis zur Übersetzung Deutsch Englisch Aussprache lernen the boy knows what he is doing. One who has a true idea. Thank you for the work of making the video ... Greetings from Germany Karlsruhe
This is true, but one thing the scotch bright doesn't do is get sand particles embedded in the aluminum which creates micro-pitting that requires more surface removal in total to achieve a uniform surface. You use finer and finer sandpaper and the smaller sand particles make shallower pits, but you're still working your way down to infinitely small grit polish. Plus, "scotch brite" is not just one product, they make several different abrasive levels, some of which even scratch glass.
nice to know I can easily fix my engine cover on my yamaha vstar 250. just one question, after polishing should a spray be applied to protect the aluminum or is just fine as is? thanks.
You can spray on a high heat clear coat for some extra protection but it probably won't stay on a polished surface for too long. It's probably best to just repolish as needed.
Thanks for sharing. I wish to pass on a few tips. 1- wear a respirator..the fibers and abrasives flying off the buffing wheel will lodge in your lungs and stay there. 2 - dress your wheel when it gets plugged up ... rakes for this purpose are available...reason for this is to keep wheel fibers fluffed up...fluffy wheels polish better. 3- use a different buffing wheel each polish and/or rouge bars....reason...you don't want to contaminate a finer polish / rouge bar with a coarser polish /rouge bar. 4 -invest in a variable speed polisher or buy a reostat switch for your grinder... reason...slower speed keeps polish on the wheel longer and reduces heat buildup. 4- use 3M pads for sanding...they come in several grits....reason...eliminates contamination of metal being polished. 5- use less pressure against the wheel...let the polish do the work. Personally, I use only rouge bars for machine polishing...start coarse and work down to fine. Switching wheels and grits as I progress. Cream polish...Mothers..AutoSol...etc. are good to maintain a shine. Well, I hope this helps... no criticism.. just sharing this. Nice bike..you should be proud. Best to you and yours.
Ray Walz couldn’t agree more. One big difference is that variable speed motor because too fast and it’ll actually hear/melt and cause aluminum to puddle so ya proposers is very important. I think it’s in around 2800-3100 rpm
Use a nylon fibre wheel to remove scratches followed by fast cut Black compound on a sewn sisal mop, then use White or brown compound on on a sewn cloth wheel, then a loose cloth wheel with green compound. This is the only way to obtain a mirror polish without stains or scratches. The nylon fibre wheels are available on ebay in different grades. Be careful with the nylon fibre wheels as they will remove material quite quickly. If the base material is heavily stained from oxidisation polishing without a nylon fibre wheel will leave the stains behind.
Age has no bearing on a great idea. I'm 70, but if a 10 y/o kid has a great way of fixing my problem, I'd be stupid not to listen to him. WISH I WAS YOUR AGE AGAIN !! Great video.
Lol Not that far behind ya Nickel...totally agree with ya.
I commend you for your efforts. Without offence I'd like to give you a little advice. I've been doing this for decades and my way is much less labour intensive. First remove all scratches and nicks with a scotchbrite (coarse) 3 inch pad on your angle grinder. This is a super quick and effective method. Then use a sisal polishing pad on your bench grinder with a polishing compound that comes in a bar called "Fast cut". Next use a loose leaf pad on the bench grinder with "Green rouge" polishing compound. Afterwards clean up leftover compound on the alloy with kerosene or paraffin and hose off with water. you can then give it a quick go over by hand with Autosol metal polish and I guarantee you will have a flawless mirror finish that will require very little maintenance. No hand sanding involved and much quicker for probably a better result. Cheers, Gert Roewer from Jindera Australia.
Orrrrrr........skip all that jazz and spray some carpet or fabric glue on the part and chuck a drag queen sized handful of glitter on it. Blow off the excess and boom, looks shiny, 1 minute worth of work
How to prevent aluminum Oxidation on engine? WD-40? Marvel Mystery?
Gert Roewer I’m gonna have to try your method of removing the rouge. I just left a comment about using flower to remove it I’ve been doing this type of work for some time now myself. Flower helps at least I think it does less rubbing to get it off. Thanks I’ll gonna try your method.
@@jesseward2552 Flour? Like what the old lady bakes with? Ok then.
SoulDaddy33
Yes that flower I’ve found that it works pretty good. Some guy told me about it I tried it and it does.
what impressed me the most and the fact you are saving lives,is the mask,i knew a professional buffer,he was about 53 years old had copd and then it turned to lung cancer,wear your respirators and live,LIVE,no one is immune,buffing is dangerous business,now, the finish you attained is wonderful,there are clears now that will hold the coat for about 10 years then they yellow,good job,thanks for caring and showing the correct way to buff,the clears are polyurethane and contain isocyanates and they require a respirator to spray them also,,thank you
Yes! Awesome comment
Thank you young man. So many of us are just to lazy to share what they have learned in life with others, I commend you.
Thumbs up for the honesty and the truth of polished engine covers. Now I know that I'll paint mine for practical reasons.
I was a jeweler for 25 years, good video and agree with most of your process. One word of caution: I would never put a cloth up to a spinning wheel. That cloth could catch in the wheel if you’re not as experienced as you are doing that. Since there may be some real beginners checking your videos, I think you might want to mention that as a safety tip. Also, if you’re going to use a buffing wheel and white rouge, you could ignore the Mothers and use a jeweler’s compound called Tripoli as the first course. Cheaper and available at any supply house/online. Nice work overall. Thanks for posting.
Hey Mick, what would take that cloudy mess off? I'm not familiar with white rouge. Dose Tripoli not leave that cloudy, unfinished look?
Agree, I use a hack saw blade to clean a buffing wheel.
@@kirbylee57 all metal compositions are variable, so, can’t peg a yes here with certainty. If I could put a sandpaper value to Tripoli, I’d say a course 220. That should clear any fogging. There’s also a stainless steel compound that should fly through any aluminum. Use that one with caution. Good luck with your projects.
Kid knows his stuff. I like his attitude, his humility, and results. I’m an old road dog, factory trained tech.
Just an observation but it seems like you buffed all the ages off the casing. The sharp edges are critical to making it look right once you're done.
A few suggestions to further improve from the perspective of someone who polishes a lot of precious metal.
Only use one wheel per compound mixing compounds will not give you the very best finish.
Polish in different directions for each compound and mop combo.
Clean between stages ideally
Best to various grades of paper on the case in different directions to avoid drag marks and heavy directional graining.
Don't use too much pressure with the case as it builds heat and renders the polish useless and takes the edges off too.
Finally use a soft mop with fine compounds and course mops with cutting compound.
polished an alloy gixer frame 10 years ago, to protect the finish a mate told me to use MAAS metal polish protector, the guy was right, 10 years later it still only needs a wipe over to look like new, great stuff, really does stop the alloy furring up
I purchased this 2 months ago and have been putting it through some tests since then- I have a lot of polished parts on a few bikes. I have a polished gas cap on a Honda Cbr that no matter how mirror like I get it the finish always turns gray in a matter of a few weeks and been Repolishing this cap for 10 years. But this stuff really works great, the cap looks like I just polished it even after 2 months. Thanks for the tip mate! I have been putting this shit on everything lol!
@@EddieErion929 i recommend it to all my mates who polish alloy now, great stuff that really works, use it on my Fazer as i've polished a good few parts on it. Glad i could help mate, ride safe mate
You should use a rubbing block when sanding so that you rub away at the surface and it will be a flatter finish! You should also use heat resistant clear lacquer for metal, after you have polished the surface and that way things would remain nice and shiny.. simple!
Its ok to be young and know what you are doing. Young people don't seem to have an interest in motorcycles like they used to. Awesome video, I have been riding since 1975 when I was 10. Raced on a Spanish Bultaco Team. I learned something today, Thanks.
I'm proud of you! I don't like negative feedback either. Had alot of it in my 55 years of life. Watching during 2020 pandemic from Vermont.
Good job man, yer age is not important. Yer passion/ interest in them old bikes really shows. Most of us started out the same way. I'm 55 and been riding since I was 14. In fact, I learned to ride on a 1977 GS750! Nobody knows it all, yer vids help me for sure and I've been fixing on them old bikes for a long time. Scott in Detroit
Your cleaning info is great. The step you missed prior to that, will save tons of time and give better results. Vintage aluminum on Japanese bikes is originally poorly polished and clear coated or painted silver. Whether it's fork legs or engine covers, I use paint stripper to remove the coating before doing anything. Once the old finish is removed and the surface is cleaned, you will often find aluminum that is ready to refinish on my buffing wheel unless it has road rash or other damage. Everyone has their own ideas about buffing, compounds and wheels so I won't go there, but keep in mind that anything abrasive used to clean the aluminum leaves damage/marks that you'll have to polish out later. Paint and varnish stripper from the local hardware store gives you bare aluminum without hard work or damage to the surface that has been covered for years with clearcoat.
Does naval jelly work for this step?
@@youtube.youtube.01 I use automotive paint stripper. I would think that any paint remover should work fine. Once the clear coat has been removed, polishing the part is easy.
Hey Bud,you’re on your way. I started the same way ,then this is what I found to (wish I had pics)truly give a mirror sheen to my 1978 kenworth tractor fuel tanks and Alcoa wheels. I started at Blue Beacon truck wash for the well known acid/brightenerbath to clean all grime and crud off which turns aluminum white. Now it’s time to cut,you can start with black jewelers rouge for ruff and scratched up aluminum then red the white the blue rouge for the final luster. You can skip colors depending on the condition of your subject. I found that moving slowly back and forth in a straight line starting at the bottom and moving upwards to the top was best for my subjects. I could stand 5 ft away from my fuel tanks and count whiskers! The tightly sewn cutting wheels,safety glasses and resperator are all you need. Well a day off ,good tunes, a container of Blue Magic or Mother’s or a mag POLISH of your choice and a Girl friend/Wife/Ole Lady who isn’t afraid of sporting /helping with the project she will be modeling !!! Happy Polishing
I forgot a hand held high speed grinder and the Bikini for her. My girl didn’t want to help til I mentioned the modeling part.
Dude I’m an old guy and your vids are awesome. You are a very talented young man. If you can teach an older dude your doing good. Cb900c fixing to drill some jets.
You saved me so much time man! I was getting ready to decide what grit papers to use when I found your video. My bike looks a lot better too 😊
Try Jewelers rouge on your buffing wheel. The aluminum will look like a mirror. It only works on surfaces that aren't deeply scratched. Deep scratches need to be lightly sanded or bead blasted, then polished.
Nice bikes bud love them old 70's,80's Hondas, Suzuki, Yamaha, Kawasaki... Love your post thanks...
Good, short,to the point video. Nice CB750....
"You can go as far as your OCD goes."
Nice one
Tx! Mothers alum mag polish also restores fuzzy, hazy headlight covers in about 5 min with adrill and buffing wheel! Excellent.
Tried some of this on a 50 year old Norton and WOW. It brought the shine back to a show room glow on the engine side cover and other aluminum parts. Mom didn't pay me either.
Abrasive pads (Scotchbrite, and their ilk) come in abrasive/hardness grades differentiated by colour. The classic "greenie" pad is hard enough to scratch a haze into window glass, so maybe stick to the brown grade. That's the colour safely used for dinner plates and glassware, so you won't be hazing the finish on the aluminium you're trying to turn into a mirror.
I was pleased to see you had come upon many the same truths as I've found, and for many the same reasons. You have a good, no-bullshit, always-learning head on your shoulders. We should be glad for a world of grown-ups as grown-up as you. Mind those safety tips from the various other commenters, and never stop learning. Good video. You're getting a subscription out of me, and I hardly every subscribe to anything. Cheers.
I’m willing to be bet this was a long video to make. Polishing aluminum can be super tedious but it’s super rewarding. Good work man
Honestly, it didn't take that long. The bench grinder with a buffing pad combined with the mother's polish (not my mom) polished the case in under 45 minutes. Give it a try sometime!
Oh absolutely
awesome job, nice to see a young dude actually try to do something productive, great work
Very nicely done, really appreciate the way you presented the steps in a manner that is Lear and concise. Also thanks for presenting mistakes you made and what the solution was that you took.
Give Wenol metal polish a shot. Best I've found.
When I was just a kid, I used to watch my dad polish Kirby vacuum cleaners with a bench grinder and compound. That black buffing pad brought back a lot of memories.
I found using Nevr-Dull wadding polish before Mother’s works really well for crusty engines!
I polished metals for 40 years. When you go to the final high shine stage I would use a new wheel. Take a sharpe blade and cut threw about 2 or 3 rows of the stitching on the wheel, pull off the thread. Then take something like a stiff putty knife and with the wheel spinning rub it firmly against the wheel in a back and forth motion to fluff it. Wear a mask because it will produce a lot of wheel dust. When I got ready to polish I would use a slower speed if possilbe. I would do the final high shine with either tripoli (good) or rouge (best). Or tripoli first then rouge. Refluff your wheel occasionally and especially between application of the different polishing compounds.
Thanks! great video! what if you want to polish aluminium but first have to remove paint? how would you remove the paint without having to sand it?
Simply use a chemical paint stripper first. Thanks for watching!
I find solvol autosol with news paper works just fine and it’s a great way to upkeep the casings
Clear coating a surface entails a lot of work. This is why most people prefer polishing./ once buffed and polish I have found ProtectaClear adheres to metals and has a tough clear finish! Great video and Bikes/
Try starting off with a nice cleanse,the. Wet sand 1200-1500 then I do a rough hand polish with an almost rubbery sponge before hitting the polish wheel followed by another hand polish
I humbly suggest A $17 Horrible Freight Gravity Feed Blaster Gun with 20 oz. Hopper. It works well on aluminum hubs and heads where its hard to reach with a wire brush or scotch pad. Use plain ol Arm and Hammer washing soda. 1 Lb box is 57 cents. Good thing about soda is it dissolves with water leaves no grit in bearings. Then after blasting spray on some Aluma Bright to brighten the aluminum and rinse off with water. Then use a spray can of Ever Bright or Hi Temp clear coat to seal it. It wont look shiny mirror polished but looks almost factory casted new. Use a respirator and use a fan to blow dust away to the side while blasting so you don't breathe it accidentally. Blasting saves a lot of time.
We used to use solvo AUTOSOL years ago, regular use, worked for us, black and gold tube, spot on, not cheep but the best.
Amen to that!!! Just bought another tube last week for doing my goldwing 1100 restore
I would recommend you (1) wash the part and rise with very hot water,(2)blow dry with hair drier allow the moisture to evaporate (3) spray with High Temp Clear Engine Paint in a dust free area. This looks really good on bead blasted parts very well such as old aluminum intake manifolds.
Autosol... Great metal polish... Been using it for 40 years now... Tried a lot of others. And still keep coming back to autosol
Covers are pretty easy, getting into cases themselves is a trick. I polished the cases of my 74 Harley Ironhead Sportster along with the outer covers. A Rotozip with polishing mandrels works great using Mothers or Wenol compound. Finish it up with red rouge and clean using WD40 and then wash with soap and water making sure to dry completely. Never dull or Mothers will keep it looking great. Also a great way to make those fork lowers look MUCH better.
I like the way you get right to the point and explains really well Nice video thanks
Excellent. This kids got the mind of an old timer .keep it up
Thanks alot, you saved me alot of time ! Just bought a 550 and it's in bad shape. I'm glad you found an easy way to make it look new again! Keep it up, love your vids!
Red Rouge, all purpose blue then mothers. Then you have a mirror finish on your aluminum.
Ive found that using some scotchbrite after cleaning to remove the oxidation gives a good starting point for the polish. There are some rust protection oil i use on my polished cases and they have Held up for about a year now. Like once a month i get a cloth and spray som rust protection oil in it then i wipe it down and leave it for about 24 hours to dry.
Mother's Mag & Aluminum polish also clears up the foggy old yellowing head light covers for about 6 months...with very little effort.
I love mothers for buffing, but try using a Never Dull pad with Mothers mag and aluminum that works great.
When your sanding, use oil or lard, for lube, one direction your sanding, the opposite direction, your polishing.
You also need a softer finishing wheel
Great vid, but love you comments and sense of humor 🤘
Keep the shine for longer, on my Classic Bikes alloy components I wipe them over frequently with Kerosene ,Alloy loves it, like a Sun Screen Barrier for Alloy. 🇳🇿😎👍
Never heard this before, gonna have to try it...👍
was surprised to see how good you got that piece with the deep scratches... Nice job.. Good video!
I really like your method I kinda figured something like this. You have given me a lot of ideas and I thank you. I am a subscriber.
I agree mothers is the best. I have used dozens of other polish compounds, and mothers is the best by far, but it is the last step after the white rouge, because it is finer grit that the white rouge. If done proper "ocd style", you will end up with a black chrome look with mothers.
After polishing the aluminum, wax it with NuFinish car Wax. It has polymers to helpseal the aluminum, and make it NOT oxidize so quickly. I polished all the aliminum engine parts on my H-D Super glide
Look up "Master Formula" brand metal polish and sealer.
The Polish takes a fraction of time to bring to mirror-like shine. Then the sealer makes it last a lot longer than polishing alone.
Also, when using sandpaper by hand on flat surfaces, wrap the paper around a soft pad, folded up cardboard if nothing else, or a small piece of wood. You can also go to Autozone, NAPA, O'Reilly's etc... and get an autobody tool kit with nice sand blocks.
Using your fingers alone, not realizing it, but you can rub finger sized grooves in your surface. The blocks are focused on to highest points of contact, leveling down to base surface.
But seriously, look up Master Formula. Once you try it, you'll throw Mother's and Meguiars garbage out the window.
GoldGuy Use a sanding block or wrap your sandpaper around a piece of board to keep consistent pressure.
Watched your original video a few days ago, glad I came across this follow up too :)
Very educational I was definitely doing it the wrong way now I know a better way.
White Diamond Polish will take oxidation out by hand. Mothers does make the best and their sealant is A+++ Definitely give White Diamond a try though 🤘🏻🤘🏻
Have you ever tried autosol metal polish with abit of kerosene on a rag before does amazing job on oxidized aluminium wheels then finish it of with mothers metal polish youll be very amazed how it looks.....
I'm with you man... I've been using autosol now for 40 odd years. I've tried a lot of others... Keep coming back to autosol... They are the original metal polish...
Good advice GoldGuy and good job!
Thanks Don!
All well and good if there is no pitting but if you want a perfect mirror finish you have to sand it 🤷♂️
There is a great way to seal up your polished Aluminum. Its called zoop seal. It works very well. No repolish 5 times a year
Zoop Seal is no longer but now Shine Seal is out to improve and replace it.
You can use corn starch in between using the mother’s wheel polish.
try corn flour and water buff first when finish by hand polish but go in one direction only ,corn flour will not turn black like mothers and leave the haze . its cheaper and the end resole will look like chrome - thats how the experts do it
keep doing what you're doing young fella
i believe you have to seal the Al. and copper if you dont want it to oxidize again.
even if you lleave it a bit dull and a fine roughness for the clear the clear will cover it and add a bir more shine.
I would suggest using a sanding block (hard rubber) with the sandpaper to get "flatter surfaces and more consistency, but great video!
Palm sander. Especially for a wide-open part like that stator cover.
@@consubandon A smart feller I know told me to use a good old Pink Pearl eraser as a sanding block for smaller curved surfaces as it conforms nicely but still keeps a plane. Works a treat.
@@SoulDaddy33 Smart, indeed! And as it happens I was a trained draughtsman in the era before CAD, soooooo... BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD! ;^)
yeah, while you're there you might wanna give that sink a bit of a wipe over
Think I'll stick to my brushed aluminium chassis! Haven't got time for the maintenance but great video mate
Bling Master Aluminator is the best metal polish on he planet. Nothing is better, faster or lasts as long. Watch the BlingMaster videos and you will be amazed.
You will look back at this video in a decade and realize you were doing things the hard way.
Nice video. After reading most posts I cannot believe no one pointed out that your grinder/buffer is way to fast and can burn aluminium. 1000-17500 rpm is cool. No more.
Just thought i'd throw my input in here. The engine case looks great, I think you could take it 1 step further. You should try some buffing compound (buffing stick) as they call it, I apply that to the wheel on my bench grinder and go to town. I can literally compare it to chrome. I also use mag and aluminum polish to clean up the job, I apply by hand though!
Nice job. Thanks for sharing.
I'm not a fan of a sped up video. I feel that yes, buffing on a wheel can be superior to hand polishing on the bike, but way back when, I used a product called *Goddard's Glow* every week on my 1959 Triumph Bonneville's alloy. After six months, those alloy covers were hard to pick from chrome plating. I was pleased to see you had the forethought to point out eye and breathing protection, but using a buffing wheel pad is not something everyone is fully conversant with. For those using one for the first time, I feel sure that they'd like to see how it's done. Don't speed up this process. I realise it can be time consuming, so just break it up into segments as another way to kill the time. As you're instructing the whole operation, you will further impress, as to providing the best technique to holding the piece to be polished. Point out also how much one should be aware that the wheel does not grab the job and flick it, if the wheel contacts the edge of the cover, if buffing around the narrow surfaces that mates to the bike. Aside from that, and from whatever tips others can give, go for it...
Type in mirror finish casing Royal Enfield interceptor if you want to see what it’s really suppose to look like when your done
*whistle* purdy! Great tip about the steel wool man! I truly would not have thought anything about that. Steel wool is great for smoothing in between coats of spray paint, but I'll never use it on bare aluminium again.
I use it on bare aluminum all the time and don't have the problems he mentioned, but it is not a final step, must be polished afterwards to go from smooth to shiny, and yet it makes the surface too smooth for good paint adhesion if you were planning on painting as he ultimately decided was the better route for longevity which I agree with.
Dude, you're the next Koenigsegg.
Young and an absolute brilliant
That is so nice of you man, it's good to know that people have faith in me. I hope I can continue to impress, thanks for the nice comment.
Take the time to use a small block and sand out the road rash and nicks, I use 220grit open aluminum oxide paper, then buff.
Great videos, I mention "water spots"on my aluminum Royal Enfield cases & the parts guys hand me WINDEX ...Every Time, but Mothers is my 'go to' polish. Gonna try some 'White Diamonds' after the next polish, it's "supposed" to seal & protect the aluminum shine...we'll see.
Nice. No need to oil or grease or something like that when you're completely done?
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the boy knows what he is doing. One who has a true idea. Thank you for the work of making the video ... Greetings from Germany Karlsruhe
White Diamond for aluminum. Makes mothers look like childs play.
You should do a video on how to make sure your bike is ready to ride. Like “unwinterizing your bike”
Those look awesome, nice work
Great video. I love how you don't use a electric sander like most people who do these videos. Good job man!
Red polish block is ever finer and will bring it to a brighter shine (red used for soft metals gold silver)
The one you sanded looks better than the one you didn't. I think sanding first then polishing has better results
Thanks really helped got to do my crankcase soon
Polishing aluminum is a pain in the ass. Good video.
Luv your sink.....will it ever shine again........?
You are sanding both of those engiene cases!! Scotch brigte Sands it!!
This is true, but one thing the scotch bright doesn't do is get sand particles embedded in the aluminum which creates micro-pitting that requires more surface removal in total to achieve a uniform surface. You use finer and finer sandpaper and the smaller sand particles make shallower pits, but you're still working your way down to infinitely small grit polish. Plus, "scotch brite" is not just one product, they make several different abrasive levels, some of which even scratch glass.
thx for heads up on steel wool im still.. watching ur vid have u tried vinegar?
If you want to keep the polished look longer you will have to clear coat,same as the manufacturer's finish! Greetings from Tampa Florida 😎
nice to know I can easily fix my engine cover on my yamaha vstar 250. just one question, after polishing should a spray be applied to protect the aluminum or is just fine as is? thanks.
You can spray on a high heat clear coat for some extra protection but it probably won't stay on a polished surface for too long. It's probably best to just repolish as needed.
Thanks for sharing. I wish to pass on a few tips. 1- wear a respirator..the fibers and abrasives flying off the buffing wheel will lodge in your lungs and stay there. 2 - dress your wheel when it gets plugged up ... rakes for this purpose are available...reason for this is to keep wheel fibers fluffed up...fluffy wheels polish better. 3- use a different buffing wheel each polish and/or rouge bars....reason...you don't want to contaminate a finer polish / rouge bar with a coarser polish /rouge bar. 4 -invest in a variable speed polisher or buy a reostat switch for your grinder... reason...slower speed keeps polish on the wheel longer and reduces heat buildup. 4- use 3M pads for sanding...they come in several grits....reason...eliminates contamination of metal being polished. 5- use less pressure against the wheel...let the polish do the work. Personally, I use only rouge bars for machine polishing...start coarse and work down to fine. Switching wheels and grits as I progress. Cream polish...Mothers..AutoSol...etc. are good to maintain a shine. Well, I hope this helps... no criticism.. just sharing this. Nice bike..you should be proud. Best to you and yours.
Ray Walz couldn’t agree more. One big difference is that variable speed motor because too fast and it’ll actually hear/melt and cause aluminum to puddle so ya proposers is very important. I think it’s in around 2800-3100 rpm
Well, you're on the right path. Miles o' smiles to ya.
Knowledge is power! Well done Man
Use a nylon fibre wheel to remove scratches followed by fast cut Black compound on a sewn sisal mop, then use White or brown compound on on a sewn cloth wheel, then a loose cloth wheel with green compound. This is the only way to obtain a mirror polish without stains or scratches. The nylon fibre wheels are available on ebay in different grades. Be careful with the nylon fibre wheels as they will remove material quite quickly. If the base material is heavily stained from oxidisation polishing without a nylon fibre wheel will leave the stains behind.
Good video bro. Your A smart kid. Thanks for the lesson. Mitch