anyone polished there frame and swingarm yet. how did it turn out got any pics etc

 

well i started polishing anyway. just thought id post a pic for everyone to see:

 

I wonder how much of the frame can be polished without really having to do some major parts removal. What are you using to polish it?

 

wet and dry:
120
240
400
800
1500
autosol

probably gonna get myself some polishing mops aswell as they are meant to be really good for getting that fully mirror polished finished. only gonna do the top half of the frame for now. but may consider other parts sometime in the future

 

How bout painting the frame black? I think that'd look awesome.

 

lol, too late now. the amount of effort ive put into getting that bit like it is was unbelieavble, theres no way im painting over it.
would look nice in a sort of gunmetal grey though

 

I know what you mean xxx I did the lips on my rims and it took about 6 or 7 hours a piece!! The worst part I replaced the wheels for 6 spoke so I'm not even using them, my hand still hurts from all that sanding.

 

Mine came pre-polished with an average job. The PO didn't remove the airbox or the front coil which both had numerous sanding marks on them. WORD. Remove and/or protect (tape off) as much as you can if want it to look halfway professional.

I will have to give it much more attention sometime this winter. I have also found some reasonably cheap polish/sealant for it that works!

 

theres no real need to strip the bike atall, the only part that sometimes gets in the way is the airbox but i dont particuraly want to remove that as theres loads of little bits of metal flying about and i dont fancy them working their way into the carbs.

 

True that about protecting from metal bits..

Are you planning on polishing all the way through the swingarm as well? If you're polishing the frame to 1600+ grit, the swingarm is gonna look like the dull piece! But just think how strong you'll be, wax on wax off right? 8)

 

it will all be done in time. but for now just the upper part of the frame. will probably take a few months for my fingers to recover anyhows. another update:

 

Do you still have those rims I'd like to buy em if you're interested in selling.

 

I only have the rear one left, I sold the front to slowhawk. If you're interested in the rear let me know.

 

I can't send PMs so I guess I just have to ask here what you want for them. My Email is LFTopletz@terracon.com if you can send a pic that would be sweet.

thanks

 

Email sent Loco.

 

Great.

I was very impressed with the difference in clarity you get from polishing the frame... not to mention if you didn't like it anymore, I'm sure it would sell for $3000 or so on Ebay (exaggerated, but ya get my point). I dropped $25 on the full range of sandpaper, couldn't find the Autosol, but that's a name brand that's probably easier to get on Ebay anyway.

Would Mother Aluminum Polish work? It worked really well on my TBR Aluminum Cans.

I think I'm going to try polishing up the most visible parts of the frame first, I just hope that I know when to stop!! I'm positive that once one gets going on a project like this, everything will look like it needs polishing, so good luck to you xxxrated and keep the pics coming!

 

I hope you guys know what you're getting into. Once you've started, there's no going back.

Aluminum does "rust" or more correctly oxides. It forms aluminum oxide which is the dullness you'll soon notice in your polish job. This is actually good as this surface oxidation is very tough and haults further oxidation of the metal. So, Al doesn't rust through like other metals such as steel but it will need constant care if you want it to shine.

That's why I was rather surprised no one asked when I mentioned a cheap sealant earlier in this thread. I'll get the name of it later tonight.

 

The sealant seems to last about 6 months per application by my limited use and the polish works as well as anything I've tried. Both are very easy to apply and buff:

http://www.metalgloss.com/

I don't THINK they absolutely have to be used together but that's the only way I've used them.

 

I posihed my frame with the help of pnuematic tools with 3M surface prep discs the brown ones then i went to 1000 grit then mothers mag and aluminum polish best stuff you can use. will post pics as soon as i figure out how can someone help me with this?

 

XXX, I started polishing the frame last week. It is unbelievable how ugly the frame looks from factory. I got an electric sander that is worth buying in my opinion. Your fingers will start bleeding without one. The bike is looking awesome. I finished one side and I still have to do the other. I don't rally care about the extra maintenance to keep it up. I do spend an hour a week to clean it as it is and I do go over the frame anyways. I recommend it, the bike looks a lot better and it is gonna match my rims and my swingarm. I started with 200, 320, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1500 AND 2000. It will look like a mirror at the end.

 

ye i ended up using an electric sander in the end i had blisters on every finger, it gives a better finish aswell imo. as for upkeep i just polish it once a week with autosol id hardly call that hard work. i havent really got any tidy pics to show off my frame as the weather is never nice enough to shot it off and all the pics are off my phone. you can see it on these pics but it was a bit dirty but you get the jist:

 

last 1

 

Ok thanx. I am gonna take my sweet time on this project. I heard that's the key for a good finish.

 

ye time is what it needs, god knows how long it took me to do mine but it felt like forever. only other tips i can think of is anything above 240 grade wet and dry always use it wet and wipe the frame down reguraly

 

I have done extensive polishing on my VTR, almost everything. As the finish will oxidise very quickly, and will stain when it gets wet, I have powder coated everything in clear after polishing. My bike is fully stripped in order to be able to do this of course. Oil seals and bearings removed from every part, the whole lot.

The downside to this is it gives the ally a slight creamy look to it, not quite as bright as the uncoated ally. The upside is you will never need to polish it again. It is pretty cheap too. I basically powder coated every ally part on the bike for about $200 AUD.

Sorry, no pics.

 

$200 its around that just for the part of the frame that i have done over here, thats why i done it myself. as for the frame oxidising i havent had any trouble with it really. a weekly clean seems to bring it up to like new every time. over time though i suppose there is a chance it will degrade

 

The $200 AUD I refer to is the cost of the powder coating, not the polishing.

And in my case a weekly polish is not an option, due to the number of polished items, and how hard some of them are to get to.

 

ahh right that makes a bit more sense. thats why i dont want to go overboard with the polishing, i think i may do the swingarm when i get my new tyres on and leave it at that

 

Polishing once a week is low maintainence?

Try some sealant, you can knock that down (real polishing) to a couple of times a year!