3 motorcycles in progress! NEED HELP

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OllieJay

New member
Hey guys I got a job doing 3 beautiful motorcycles, you can see the sneak preview photos of what I have to work with below. I've ran into a minor problem doing some of the polished pieces on two of the bikes; see photos and info below:



On this piece the customer was wanting get rid of the haze, some scratches and swirls. I first started with what I thought would be the least aggressive method - By hand I used a white 4" polishing pad with M105. Results: a lot of the hazing was eliminated but as far as getting rid of the scratches and swirls the results were pathetic and not worth posting a photo.







The next method was the Makita 9227c (speed: 1000rpm - 1500rpm max), 4" orange cutting pad accompanied with some Flitz. The results were also pathetic, all it did was get rid of the haze and still I was still left with the fine scratches/swirls and some minor holograms due to the rotary.











The last plan of attack before I went to you guys for help for this piece: Makita 9227c (speed: 1000rpm max), 4" orange cutting pad accompanied with Mother's Mag and Aluminum polish. This time I went over the piece with a faster arm speed to minimize the possibility of any holograms. Results: It was better! The piece seemed to polish out a bit better, the scratches didn't seem so rough but I was still left with finer scratches/swirls.















Now with all that said, my question to you guys: Is there a method for me to use to get this piece to a "mirror" finish with out these fine scratches/swirls? If so, fill me in!



Thanks in advance your help and input is always appreciated!



*Sneak peak is below*, I'll add my before & after photo's along with a write up once I'm done detailing these machines!



This is the brand new bike with the stubborn polished piece I'm working on.









 
That's polished metal my friend... it will always look like that :). Not really a whole lot you can do with it except for make it shiny... Unless of course you'd like to spend eternity polishing it! You should actually be happy with the results you got, it looks tons better!
 
Apollo_Auto said:
That's polished metal my friend...you'd like to spend eternity polishing it!
Click to expand...
+1



i think u mess it up with the rotary.

that rotary looks too aggressive for what u have there , plus all the parts have curbs and are small , use a 3in griots with some polish pads and u may get better results.



on chrome parts i use claybar and optiseal and it does great , sometimes light hand polish with flitz or nxt metal paste works great , i also keep some 0000steel wool close. i never did motorcycles for show , is just my way to go on metal
 
My thought is you're not using products or techniques approriate to the job. Yeah, in many case auto detailing compounds and polishes work well for polishing metal. If you want a show quality finish you're going to have to go to the right kind of buffs, polishes and rouges to unlock the potential.



Metal Buffing - Buffing



TL
 
I was polishing an aluminum radiator just yesterday it was pretty hammered so I acutally started with the orange pad a mothers alum polish. and got similar results. then I finished up with my pc with a soft bonnet over one of my foam pads and nxt all metal polish it wasnt perfect put all the marring was corrected. keep your pads and bonnets clean the more oxidation the rougher the finish. I have never read this particular method being used but i have wasted hours trying to figure metal out. hope it helps
 
I would say you are using the wrong pads, etc. The rotary isnt the problem , except for getting a super fine finish I use my DA polisher. I knew the M105 wasnt going to do anything. Have to think of aluminum as you think of paint. Have to start with a more aggressive polish to get out the deeper scratches, then work to finer polish.



I have used the orange pad for doing some polishing before and it does a good job ( I was using a full on medium to full cut aluminum polish), but does leave a haze and some scratches due to the orange pad. Those scratches dont look too bad from the pic, but since alot of those scratches look like they are still there from the owner, not your rotary, looks like you need to go more aggressive. No offense to any company here that makes aluminum polish, but I always use a company that aluminum finishing is what they do.



if you have a truck stop near you, the best bang for the buck stuff is Busch Products Super Shine aluminum Polish. The stuff has excellent cut but finishes awesome. if you can find it, I would orange pad with rotary, then finish with a black or softer foam on a DA polisher with same polish. On both...apply by hand, start off slow to keep from slinging polish, then speed it up. When you finish with DA...if using 4" pads ...I would say be on atleast speed 5. Work it until its almost gone, but not gumming up. Let dry the buff off. Aluminum is unforgiving...you coould have polished to a scratch free mirror like shine...then wipe off the residue and put some of those marks right back into it.



Then never use those pads for anything else...EVER!! As you buff...you are removing aluminum oxide and it is almost on the same scale of hardness with a diamond.
 
I would say taking that piece off and using a buffing wheel would be the best bet. Different buff wheels along with rouges would get that to a mirror finish.
 
Follow TL's advise. If you want it perfect, it will need to come off and be buffed with the proper wheels and rouges. Like a deep scratch in paint, sanding either with paper or various greaseless compounds and bringing the polish back is the only thing that will work. Polishing metal is as much art as science and it is time consuming, filthy work. Putting a show quality polish job on a bike that is ridden is an exercise in futility. If that is truly what they want, remove the bits and pieces and send them to a metal polisher. Be aware that many of the bits and pieces are most likely anodized and that is another ball of wax. In order to polish, the anodizing needs to be removed. This is all expensive. Try hitting it with some wax.
 
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