Metal polishing step by step...

[fstbusa]

well yeah it would be pretty ambitious to do the frame but have at it if you think you can do it. You'll need something far bigger than a dremel if you're planning on polishing in the last few steps. Granted a dremel could do it, it just would take like 10 yrs to finish.

 

[BulletTrain]

damn, BT! Nice job there. You wouldn't happen to be accepting work orders, would you? I'm kidding. On the real side, however, would you say that it's a bit too ambitious to do the frame? Or would it not be possible? Normally, I'm not  "shiny metal" kinda guy, but after seeing the finished product, I'm starting to change my mind. What say you?

Thanks PB.

I don't know that I'd say it's TOO ambitious to do the frame but I would say that it is VERY ambitious. Polishing the frame is entirely possible but like fstbusa said above you'd most definitely want more than a dremel to do the compound and finishing stages. At the very least you'd want an electric drill with proper polishing wheels. Ideally you'd want a real buffer motor and a flexible buffing head attachment.

I keep toying with the prospect of polishing my busa's frame but just can't bring myself to start it. Two things keep me from it so far. First, I know that the way my schedule works most of the time I'd end up pretty close to the ten year mark that fstbusa quoted above. I couldn't stand it being "in progress" that long! To me, that'd be like driving a new Ferrari around with primer spots.

The second snag for me is maintainance. Polished aluminum requires fairly frequent polishing (usually by hand with products like Wenol) to maintain that mirror shine. It's not like chrome in that you can just clean it with Windex and make it look good as new. I'm just not sure I want to commit to that kind of maintainance on the frame. Even though I enjoy detailing, hand polishing a whole frame every month or so just doesn't sound very exciting to me. Also, I don't ride enough now. Having to keep the frame top notch would cut into my already limited riding time even more. Can't have that. I'm working on increasing my riding time for next year, not reducing it.

Before you decide to tackle the frame, polish something smaller. After that you'll know what you're up against. Just to give you a clue as to the time involved, I spent the best part of two hours on the little piece above. This included picture taking though. I'd say it was still close to a solid 1.5 hour deal, taking my time and making sure each step (up until the compounding stages) was done right. Mind you, this was only a 3/4 inch long piece of aluminum. Imagine the time involved in doing a whole frame sanding by hand and making sure it is done to perfection!

 

[PACIFICBUSA]

Hrmm...I guess it would be very tedious to be continuously polishing the frame. It sounded like a great idea to me, though. I do hafta agree w/you, BT: minimal detailing with maximum riding. In the first two weeks I got my baby, I put on a little under 600 miles. Now that may not be much compared to mainland US standards, but considering my island is only 33 miles long, I think I may have rode a little much. Oh well. I'll follow you on this one, BT: more ride time is a must!!!

 

[fstbusa]

33 mi long??? how wide???

you just make laps around the island?? whats your current record time

 

[BulletTrain]

for the ones that might have missed it.

 

[rustman]

Well guys, I tackled the frame job in two days, however, I quit far sooner than I should have. The finish is shiny, but far from mirror quality. I plan to go back at it when I'm feeling patient again. I did come up with a decent idea to get the course sand-casted parts ready for the finer grits: I used an orbital sander with the velcro-on pads. It made quick work of getting the sand texture down to something workable. Be careful with this step, as you can take off too much and make the surface uneven. I then went on to 400 grit wet sanding, then 400, and on and on. I finished up with a drill using buffing wheels. I used buffing compound and polishing compound, finally moving through the "Mothers" line of products. Had I spent more of my limited free time on each step, I wouldn't be going back to do it right, once again. I can be done by a first-timer like me, but like bullettrain said.."take your time on each stage".:blush:

 

[PACIFICBUSA]

fstbusa, the island is about 33mi long by about 20-odd miles at its widest point. It seems to be the perfect place for the 600 - 750 CC bikes; the turns here are fast and tight. The Busa is definielty not at home here, but there are some nice sweeping turns that you can take at about 80mph to 110mph, if you're brave enough. Maybe I should take some pics of my beautiful island and share it with you guys. I'll put it in a new thread so I don't do any post-wrecking or stealing. latas.

 

[Rich]

nice instructions, I am doing my frame right now, I started out with 100 and i just finished up with 240 and going from there. I have already polished my airshifter/bracket, teather kill switch, looks like a mirrior. I will post pics of the frame when I am done.