Should I go ahead and polish it?

[Dustyns314]

Hello Everyone,

I have went through several searches and found post's on the issue of polishing your frame.

My questions is could it be done in a weeks time and also is it unbelievably overbearing as others have stated in previous posts. I have no issue with a little muscle and have some time off of work to actually accomplish it, but after reading some of the posts I was a little concerned.

Some state it can be completed in 8 hours and was a breeze while others say 2 months and it was more horrible than childbirth on a woman.

Just looking for feedback from anyone *experienced* that has polished their frame and swingarm or done others. If it is super difficult I have looked into the covers but believe the polishing would look better with upkeep. Also I want to ask this question as silly as it may sound, I want to make sure that polishing your frame doesnt take away from the integrity of the aluminum (not looking to take alot off of the welds).

Thanks in advance for any feedback

 

[VIPER]

First yes polishing is a mother and a half. I have done 7 or 8 bikes over the years. It is a pain in the but and if you have never done it you will not accomplish this in 8 hours no way. do you have any power tools to get this done with....you will need high speed buffer, you will need sand paper rouge couple different polishes air craft stripper...the list goes on. You dont have to take from the wields at all. most dont.

 

[spencersr]

Just get the Chrome covers my bike is polished and is a bih to maintain I'm thinkin of getting them myself
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[VIPER]

ya forgot to mention...polished is a pain in the arse to maintain and who ever said it wasnt is smoking crack. if you ride at all and it aint a garage trophy you will grow to hate the polished look.

 

[RMS2005]

I polished the last bike I had (zx11) and its not that it was anything really hard its just really time consuming and you can not cut any corners at all, im thinking more like 15-20 hours do get it lookin good, would I do it again, prolly not. I wanted the frame chrome and the chrome guy was backed up for a long time and my motor was at the shop being built is the only reason I done it that way.

 

[HOOKDADDY]

im polishing mine its gone on 2 weeks due 2 injurys and i ran out of sandpaper i used a 9v black&decker drill and sand paper from 60 to 400 grit and mother polish

 

[lankeeyankee]

For polished aluminum!! I learned this years ago when I was young with a GSXR frame. What a B-I-T-C-H to say the least! ONce your done the work isnt. Go ahead and stock up on Semichrome polish and buy another 300 bucks worth of terry clothes and ben gay to rub on your shoulder once your polishing to get a half ass shine. When chrome pulls up beside you and hurts your feelings you will go home and polish more getting your fingers covered on black aluminiun oxidation searing it shines like chrome,... Good luck buff your lil azz off and dont ever stop.

 

[Roaring Toyz]

A great polish job looks incredible but it is a ton of work and it REALLY needs to be done right. Plus even after a good poilish job the upkeep can be tiring. We sell a set of chrome plated frame covers that bolts on in minutes and is a great solution. We sell a lot of these to people who already have polished frames that are tired of the upkeep. The covers we sell are injection molded plastic then real triple chrome plated. Not to be confused with the fake chrome vacum formed covers out on the market. Here is a link to our covers Real Chrome Plated Hayabusa Frame Covers 1999-2011

 

[MO-BUSA]

^^^^now those look nice, the polishing is a pita, had polished aluminum wheels on my truck, just keeping those looking nice was a chore.

 

[GNBRETT]

ya forgot to mention...polished is a pain in the arse to maintain and who ever said it wasnt is smoking crack. if you ride at all and it aint a garage trophy you will grow to hate the polished look.

got that right. unless ur planning on keeping it in ur garage and never riding it ull wish u chromed it or powdercoated it black. or like posted the frame covers will accomplish just about the same look without the drama and continued touch-ups. fukn pain in the ass is what it is. never again!

 

[Ludicrous Speed]

I will say that polishing my swingarm was a PITA, but the polished frame was not that much work to keep up. Yes, if you get caught in the rain, you are going to have to polish it again, but if not, once every now and then and a coat of wax kept mine looking great for years.

It cannot compare to chrome, and never will, no matter how good it is. But I have been told that Chrome frames are not the way to go for some reason. Covers would be easiest

 

[moloko]

do yourself a favor... don't do it! Get covers if you must have shiny.

 

[Tufbusa]

Thread: Should I go ahead and polish it?

I thought you were paraphrasing an old girlfriend?

 

[MO-BUSA]

Thread: Should I go ahead and polish it?

I thought you were paraphrasing an old girlfriend?

 

[Freechance]

I never polished the frame but i have other parts i polished and they wasnt very big parts..and it sucks..i cant imagine polishing a frame..save your self the headache and buy frame covers..plus if u get tired of them u can take them off..

 

[vailes3705]

I made the mistake of polishing the frame and swingarm on my old zx12 I used to have . Not only was it a pain to polish in the first place (took more that 8 hours) but since I acutally ride alot, I pretty much had to re-polish it once or twice a month with Mothers Aluminum polish just to keep the shine up After about a year I took the bike back apart and had everything powdercoated black. I vote NNOOO!!!! Don't polish it!!!

 

[red1100cc]

my mom said if i polish it too much i will go blind.

 

[Freechance]

my mom said if i polish it too much i will go blind.

Thats only if u get polish in the eye..lol