engine casing..polish

Okay i know its been asked many times but i cant find my exact answer in previous posts...so im currently trying to polish my enging case..ive spent hoours rubbing it down and now ive come to polishing using autosol but even tho it comes up 10 times better than before theres still like a grain affect to the case..if u know what i mean...does this mean i should get sanding for many more hours???? Any help would be great...i know i could get it polished at places but i want the " pride factor" by doing it myself...thanks

 

Heres some info I put up ages ago


IF you start off from a cast surface, you'll need a stitched cloth mop (4" is best for a small machine or drill attachment). With that you get a paste that contains a grit. If the cast isn't too deep, you'll get away with med or fine grit. Apply it to a slow moving mop (fair bit of pressure slows the mop down nicely). Allow it to harden for 10 mins. Then work over the surface of the cast alu making sure you go accross any scratches coz if you go in the same direction.... it'll make the scratches deeper.
If you've started with the med grit, select a fresh mop and then apply the fine grit...again allow to set and then work accross any scratches left by the previous grade of grit. The secret is to remove ALL traces of the previous grade of grit.

Once you've got to an even surface, select a new mop...this time its s sisal mop (looks and feels like rope and is hard stitched so it'll take some pressure). This time you need some grey/black compound/wax (whatever you wish to call it). The grey has a high grease content that helps it to cut. Again, go accross the previous grit marks until completely removed.

Next layer/mop is a stitched cloth mop with either brown or white compound that don't contain grease.
As before, work accross the previous layers. By this point you should have a dull sheen effect with no imperfections. IF there are marks, go back a stage or 2 and retry...repeating the process


....still with me??????????

finally, you'll need a soft unstitched mop with white or light blue compound (whites more common...and don't be tempted to buy the cheap shite off ebay, its crap and turns to dust as soon as you apply it...speaking through experience here)
This is where you'll achieve the blueish chrome shine that you're after. This fianl stage doesn't remove any marks at all....it just polishes off the cloth marks from the previous mop and gives a high lustre to the finished piece

Few rules

....don't use the same mops on different metals coz the compound holds minute fragments that its removed during polishing. If the previous item was stainless steel, it'll scratch the hell outta alu
Don't use different compounds on the same mop....no mixing!
Don't have to apply too much pressure to remove the scratches from the previous layer, it'll overheat the work.
If you leave black snot on the work, don't worry, you can remove it with the mop or rub it off with lime powder afterwards.
Clean the mops regularly with a wire bruch
Make sure you wear a dust mask and eye protection. If you don't you'll look like you're wearing eye liner for a week and will be spitting black snot forever

If you need materials/help and advice, have a word with these folk. Top people they are. Eunice will talk you to death on the phone and you could have done the job by the time you've placed an order

http://www.perfectpolishingkits.co.uk/

Hope this helps

BTW, heres a few bits I did over time. I'm just an amateur who enjoys making things shiny in my spare time

stainless steel dogbones


Exup front wheel rim


EXUP rear end


swingarm


RG125F top yolk


Also did this variator cover but here in the pic, it was covered in oil so don't look too shiney

 

Thanks mate...u have gave me a good set of instructions to follow..i take it a high shine/nice finish cannot be achieved with just some wet and dry and a tube of autosol.lol..ill have to borrow my mates kit...how long dies it usually take then?? And thankyou fir having the time to post such a long reply. Been a great help..oh and a lovely job u done there mate..thabks again

 

time depends on part to be polished, its condition and how intricate it is...

I spent many hours on the swing arm but only a couple on the top yolk. Dog bones take be about hour and half for the pair,,,got a set to do tomorrow in fact

Oh, BTW, make sure you've got goggles and a face mask or you'll look like you're wearing eye liner or been down the mine for a week...and you'll be coughing black snot for a couple of days which aint much fun or any good for your lungs

 

good job you done on that lot...i used to polish for a living at a shop that did custom chroming and used a big old 3 phase floor standing machine.polishing is an art...if anyone want to do it then ide suggest that they practice on some bits of old stuff first..alloys can be a bit softer from different parts of the bike so watch the pressure thats put on some parts.try not to rush the job ..getting it done fast isnt the aim,doing it right is.keep the parts moving and if you do use a floor standing machine of any type make sure you you have good foot protection and gloves.i like your description of the order of things..dont think any one could go far wrong following them instructions.i used vasaline round my eyes before i did any polishing,being a big old ape that i was and looking like a girl on a night out got me alot of ribbing.its bloody painful trying to wash that stuff from round your eyes..

 

so the only question Stig is what do you charge to polish stuff

i have a trany case that is 90% done i just did 800g rubdown and it's full of lines so i think i need to go back to 400.... paying ppl is much easyer

 

it is easier to pay people but its sooo much better when you can say "I DID THAT" if you got lines on it,try cutting at 30 degree angles across them but dont expect instant results...stuff i did had to be done so NO scratches or wheel marks were left...chroming a piece after polishing does not make a bad job look better..stick with it...one day someone will come to you and you can make money too...its a good living cos its an art and art costs.using a diy bench grinder style machine is ok to learn on or if you got little marks etc but think about a good high HP motor and arbour/shaft and pully drive it and you will get better results..good luck...you can do it...stick with it..

 

thanks for the advice am planing on putting some hr's in tomorrow so i will see how it go's.

on a side note
i would love to see a polishing step by step on some parts, ppl do them but dont photo every thing including the bad thing that wot ppl need to see so they know how to fix it

 

next time i'm polishing then i'll take photos of each step to help you out

 

Just read up and on this but i have a question about the paste you used on the cotton stitched mop, could i use something like coase valve lapping paste or do i need something different ? i have polished a few things and i have a nice set up for polishing, but i am sick of sanding cast alu just to get the pits out, so is the method with the paste a good way to skip 150grit to 240grit sanding ? (dont mind the 400grit-1200 wet sanding part)

 

i would have thought if you use course grade lapping paste you wold have ended up wearing most of it , better of buying a grade of soap what is more abrasive i think black is the most abrahsive i use

 

lapping paste is not the stuff to use for polishing...if you want to get out casting marks and deep rust pitting and such like,you could use a clay glue and iron filling coating and bake it on in layers then use that...or a good drum sander but thats for prep..not polishing.use the proper stuff.ive polished h.d,jap,british cases along with copper brass and stainless...ive never had it once mentioned to use lapping paste..

 

lapping paste is a different name for polishing compound the difference is, polishing compound is sold in large amount's and low price for body work, lapping paste is sold me small amount's and charged at a large price to PC morons.

i have lapped 4 cpu's and water blocks with low cost G10 paste and had no problem.

but then again for removing marks you need CUTTING compound OR its also called soap.

 

cant really disagree with that but lapping a cpu and polishing with a 3300 rpm mop is a little different...ide use lapping paste over polishing soap for that any...done a few valve lap jobs too..cuts nicer than soap...well thats it from me and now...over to anyone that want to argue that were both wrong

 

Maybe my wording was a lil wrong, but i didnt mean using paste for the polsihing. I was asking about what the stig said, for using paste on the 4inch cotton mops for prep work on removing casting marks. i have a da sander with discs from 60grit up to 800 grit for prep work but i find i cant get the sander into all areas, where as i could get a 4 inch mop. What paste was he mentioning when he said to use 'med or fine grit paste' ? I agree with both of you about the use of soaps and the fine paste polishing stuff they sell in little tubes to polish little detailed things. i have some 4inch mops for a drill and 6inch/8inch mops for my polishing motor set up with all the bars of soap for the actual polishing btw. Also got some polish i rub on by hand for the final finish because it leaves a potective wax coating that last a few weeks. BASICALLY I HATE THE FIRST HOURS OF PREP WORK removing crappy casting marks and pits . The tip about paste sounds good just need to know what paste to get and where from PLEASE .

 

Grit paste is a mixture of glue and various grades of grit to be used BEFORE you start to actually polish. Its used to remove things such as casting marks or heavy imperfections...it'll cut faster than any of the grease polishes (such as grey compound)

Perfect polishing supply the one that I use but the images and descriptions on their site arent too clear

heres a better example. The grit is applied to the wheel and left to set ideally over night
http://www.thepolishingshop.co.uk/acatalog/Abrasive_Compound_.html

Some suppliers provide the glue and grit seperately, coat the wheel and then dip it in the required grit and leave to set

I've not forgotten about the step by step pictures but been pre-occupied with other projects for the last few months and not done any polishing

 

either sand the casting marks out or use a mop with the grit paste as my post above. Once you have an even surface you can then start with the stitched sisal mop and grey/black grease compound to start the polishing process