| Author | Message | ||
     Mikeyp |
I just got my XB rockers, and i hate the finish on them. I was wondering how much is involved in polishing them? Should i go out and buy a buffing wheel? Sears has one for $100. Or, is it cheaper, easier, to have a professional polish them for me? Let me know your thoughts.. | ||
| 1313 |
On the XB rocker box tops I put on my S2, the front was a die cast piece and polished up rather nicely with some time with a buffing wheel and a little elbow grease, however the rear was a sand cast piece and looks pretty damn rough even polished up. Since my main concern is not bling, my idea of polished may not be exactly the same as yours. It will definitely take some 'automated method' to get the rear one polished up nice. The pics ain't the greatest, but I hope they help some. Here's the front:  And the rear:  1313 | ||
| Seth |
Yeah... I'm lazy so instead of polishing them I powdercoated instead. My goal is to make the whole bike wash proof  | ||
| Mikeyp |
Thanks for the pics 1313, they help out alot. So from what your telling me, the rear one will not ever get any better than what you have in the pics, regardless if i polished them, or had them done by a pro. Seth, you have any pics of your rocker box? | ||
| Tripp |
here's some pics of a powder coat job, and mine i did in semi-gloss cheap engine paint, i don't like to wash my bike either, hehe. http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/3842/174377.html?1120500593 | ||
| Whodom |
I've done a good bit of stainless steel polishing; aluminum polishing is pretty similar. I got the stuff from Eastwood Automotive; they also make aluminum polishing kits: http://www.eastwoodco.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=15352&itemType= PRODUCT&iMainCat=433&iSubCat=436&iProductID=15352 I used an electric motor temporarily removed from an old Sears table saw with a buffing wheel adapter I bought from Eastwood: http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?itemID=437&itemType=CATEGORY&iMainCat=433&iSu bCat=437&page=6 The stainless buffing kit included 3 different buffing wheels and 3 grades of compound (one for each wheel). If you've got a suitable motor lying around (grinder, old washer motor, etc.) you can get the stuff you need for well under $100. Basically you have to sand things smooth starting with whatever coarseness is necessary and work up to at least 400 grit paper. For a part like a sand casting, you'll have to file off the roughest spots and then probably start sanding with 60 grit paper. You CAN get it polished, you just have to get it smooth up to 400 grit before you start polishing. You can't skip grades of paper or the sanding marks will reappear during buffing. You alternate sanding direction by 90 degrees every time you change grit. You can also buy special flexible sanding wheels that make the job easier if you have a lot of sanding to do. After sanding you buff the part completely with the coarsest wheel and compound and then wipe the part thoroughly to remove all traces of that compound. Change to next wheel and compound and repeat. With stainless, when you get finished the part looks like chrome. Eastwood explains the buffing process in detail here: http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?itemID=1445&itemType=CATEGORY&iMainCat=688&iS ubCat=1445 Polishing is not particularly difficult, it just takes a lot of time and attention. | ||
| Chevysolid |
Friend sprayed them (stock ones) with the harley engine paint... the textured stuff... looks tuff.. He also did the clutch cover... looks good... and doesn't smudge like the chrome  | ||
| Henrik |
Mikey - no matter what you decide, you should definitely go to Sears and buy tools. Always a good idea Henrik | ||
| Mikeyp |
Ya know, time is money, and my time is kinda scarce these days. I might just have someone do it for me. If i buy a bench buffer, along with all the crap needed to do the polishing, i'm in it for $200, not counting lost time. But, yeah Henrik, there is no substitute for tools...  Now if i can find a good polisher here in NJ, i'd be golden. | ||
| Deltacruiser |
Another option would be to sell the covers you bought. Somebody on here would buy them for sure. Then buy the ones that are already polished from Al at American Sportbike. I think they are like just over $200 or so for the whole kit. | ||
| Mikeyp |
Thanks Delta, for totally effing up my mind with this...you suck! I should have checked American Sport Bike first, but i'm a dummy... | ||
| Deltacruiser |
Mikey, Glad to share the wealth. I'm a dummy too and did the same thing. Now that I have the dull covers on my bike, I'm too lazy to take them back off to polish or powdercoat them!  | ||
| Bluzm2 |
Mikey, I had the same problem (times two). I wound up using sanding rolls to get rid of the sand cast look then polished them. Took way too much time. I got my supplies from this guy http://www.bright-works.com/ Might be better off finding a local polishing house. I don't think it could be that expensive to have it done.. Brad | ||
| Bake |
When I restored my 30 yr old Laverda I started snding with coarse wet/dry paper (400/600) and progressed to the finest available (1000/1200). After that comes the polishing with a wheel and compounds or pastes depending if you had room for a wheel or are hand polishing. It's filthy dirty work that looks so good when you are done, but must be buffed atleast once a year! I love the looks of a polished Buell frame and swingarm but the antique gives me more than enough polishing than I want to do in a year!!! |
