Member Contributer vanion2 Posted June 8, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted June 8, 2009 Well, I asked for some help in restoring the Aluminum in this thread and got some good advice (as usual). After doing some extensive research I decided I was going to try 2 different approaches. 1. Wheel buffing with various compounds 2. Sanding and then wheel buffing Why 2 different approaches? Because I am an engineer and I just have to know which works best by doing it myself. So this is what i was looking at on a beautiful Sunday morning :fing02: Dirty Rear right.JPG The first thing to do was wash the wheels with fine steel wool to get them as clean as possible wool and wash.JPG For the spoke side of the rear wheel I decided to try the buffing wheel only method. Here are the tools I used: drill and kit.JPG Note: the drill should have a minimum of 2500 rpm capability or you are going to spend a really really really long time trying to polish (mine does and I still spent a long time polishing). If you do the research from the link Seb gave me you will note that I technically should have been using an 8" wheel set to get the ideal speeds but I was experimenting and decided to start on the cheap side as mine where at most 4". Also, removing the wheels from the bike will significantly improve ease of this project but again I was doing it the hard way first. You learn more from your mistakes then anything else. :cool: I will keep this part simple. You start with the black compound with the hardest wheel, then go to the brown with the next softest, and finish with the white with the polishing wheel. You spin up the wheel and add only a little compound at a time and then repeat often. Too much compound will leave a heavy smear on the wheel and increases your chances of "burning" the compound. When you start applying it you will notice a slight discoloration of the aluminum. This is what you want. You will also need to apply quite a bit of pressure on the wheel. Enough to cause the end to flatten as it hits the rim but not so much as to stop the drill (for you ham fisted types). Then begins the long slow process of applying and polishing, applying and polishing and on and on until you have a nice even sheen over the entire rim. And that is just for the black. Now you have to wash as much of the compound off the rim as possible. Otherwise when you will just be grinding with the heavier "grit" compound and a finer "grit" and just wasting your time. You will also use a new wheel as well. Then rinse and repeat as described above. If you want more details then use the link above and go to the site Seb has posted there. It has a good tutorial on what you will need and how to do it. And if you do it right you should see something like this: Rear right post polish (2).JPG It's not perfect by any means but this was my first attempt. When I get more time and a little more money I am going to buy the 8" wheel kit from the site I mentioned above and go over it again. Higher rpm's should yield better results. For the other side of the wheel I hand sanded the rim first with 500 and then 1000 grit and then finished up with the buffing process I described above. I will be honest, the only benefit to hand sanding is if you have some deeper scratches you need to work out. Otherwise the results were so identical that I would just go with the buffing process and save myself the time in the future. Both sides where finished off with a nice coat of Mother's Polish and all I can say is it's a lot of work but the results are worth it. :biggrin: Rear right post polish.JPG Final Notes: 1. If you can do this without the tire or wheel weights on the rim this is the perfect time to polish up the rim. Next time I am due for a tire change I will be doing this. 2. The front wheel has to be removed from the bike and the rotors removed from the wheel else you are going to just end up wasting a lot of time. Thus the reason I only did the rear tire for the time being. You can do it the hard way I guess but don't complain to me if you do. Some mistakes are not worth making to begin with. 3. Do not EVER use a dremel on aluminum. It spins so fast that even a light touch with grind away the aluminum making for some very nice hand sanding practice for you. Yes, I learned this the hard way while trying to remove the old wheel weight stickers. Get some Goo Gone or similar product and do it the right way. :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmythecop Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 That looks the business. Cool. and :biggrin: on the steel wool. It is an old bike reseller's best friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Which compound did you use(color)? What brand is the compound? Looks like you could have brought out more of a luster/shine with another pass. Use more compound (apply often), and if you see the wheel start to get "chunky", you should use a metal point(old drill bit in a vise works ok) to get the excess/dry compound off the buff. I've had good results using 3500 rpm(no matter the tool). I vary the pressure applied based on the power of the motor I'm using, it will take a bit longer with a smaller motor obviously. Once you find the balance between build up of heat in the part/speed of motor/speed of part or motor movement/application of compound, you're golden. It does take some practice though, and you're off to a great start! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer vanion2 Posted June 8, 2009 Author Member Contributer Share Posted June 8, 2009 I used the black, brown and then white from the Harbor Freight polishing kit. The brand is Chicago Electric. I didn't expect great results as this is the first time I have ever polished anything but I do plan on getting the 8" wheel kit from the site you sent Seb. The bigger wheel will give the edge a higher rpm. At least it looks a lot better than it did. :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Did you use a different wheel for each compound? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer vanion2 Posted June 8, 2009 Author Member Contributer Share Posted June 8, 2009 Yes. The kit comes with 3 wheels and from what I read in the tutorial on the site I knew pretty much to use the "harder" wheel for the black, the medium wheel for the brown and the soft wheel for the white. It's a cheap kit for sure but it was worth it for the experiment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Ryanme17 Posted June 8, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted June 8, 2009 The bigger wheel will give the edge a higher rpm. At least it looks a lot better than it did. :cool: Technically the edge speed is faster and the RPM's are the same. :laugh: And does your dremel not have any adjustable speed? I've been able to polish with a dremel before, the problem is that it's such a high-speed low-torque motor if you push hard at all in the early stages it'll just slow it down. It's possible, but a dedicated buffing/sanding wheel is best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer vanion2 Posted June 8, 2009 Author Member Contributer Share Posted June 8, 2009 The bigger wheel will give the edge a higher rpm. At least it looks a lot better than it did. :laugh: Technically the edge speed is faster and the RPM's are the same. :ph34r: And does your dremel not have any adjustable speed? I've been able to polish with a dremel before, the problem is that it's such a high-speed low-torque motor if you push hard at all in the early stages it'll just slow it down. It's possible, but a dedicated buffing/sanding wheel is best. *Doh!* I of course knew that from all those damned physics classes. :cool: The Dremel a Christmas present from way back when so it is on/off. I don't use it enough to justify buying a new one and like you said, it just doesn't have the torque for this type of polishing. That's why I bought the adjustable speed electric drill. A dedicated buffing/sanding wheel would be really difficult to used on a rim. Having to muscle a rim around to get the wheel into the tighter places would require an interesting table setup and involve quite a work out I think. The drill kits that are available make this much less of a chore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 How many gallon of elbow grease did you use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer vanion2 Posted June 8, 2009 Author Member Contributer Share Posted June 8, 2009 About 6 hours worth :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Ryanme17 Posted June 8, 2009 Member Contributer Share Posted June 8, 2009 The bigger wheel will give the edge a higher rpm. At least it looks a lot better than it did. :laugh: *Doh!* I of course knew that from all those damned physics classes. :cool: The Dremel a Christmas present from way back when so it is on/off. I don't use it enough to justify buying a new one and like you said, it just doesn't have the torque for this type of polishing. That's why I bought the adjustable speed electric drill. A dedicated buffing/sanding wheel would be really difficult to used on a rim. Having to muscle a rim around to get the wheel into the tighter places would require an interesting table setup and involve quite a work out I think. The drill kits that are available make this much less of a chore. We all knew what you meant about the speed, I just have to give everyone a hard time on here. And I see your point about the dremel and buffing tool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enzed_viffer Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Can you use one of them thar pneumatic drill thingies? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Sure you can, but the electric drill is more consistent. Also, this isn't a quick thing, so your compressor would be running quite a bit - even if you have a big one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLO97VFR Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 My bench grinder works best for polishing but its hard to hold onto after awhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 well i tried the compound technique, and as a newbie it can get frustrating cause sometimes there is a film left with some compounds. what worked magic with ME... after sanding the part from 80-320 grit, i switched to 00 steel wool, than 000 steel wool and then 0000 steel wool. after that i applied a thin layer of mothers aluminum polish(white). let it sit for about 15 minutes and then took it off with an electric orbital buffer with a terry cloth thingy. the trick with that is to move it really slow. about 1/8 of an inch at a time. just let it sit there, and make sure all the polish is off. than repeat that step about 4-5 times...the more you do it the more it will shine. than after that i applied meguires aluminum polish (reddish) 5 times...than Meguires Caruba Wax (yellow)to protect it. Between each "compound" i washed the terry clothy thingy so remove and residue... its takes a little less muscle to get the same mirror shine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 Looks good! I'll have to check it out in person on Saturday! Action Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 well i tried the compound technique, and as a newbie it can get frustrating cause sometimes there is a film left with some compounds. what worked magic with ME... after sanding the part from 80-320 grit, i switched to 00 steel wool, than 000 steel wool and then 0000 steel wool. after that i applied a thin layer of mothers aluminum polish(white). let it sit for about 15 minutes and then took it off with an electric orbital buffer with a terry cloth thingy. the trick with that is to move it really slow. about 1/8 of an inch at a time. just let it sit there, and make sure all the polish is off. than repeat that step about 4-5 times...the more you do it the more it will shine. than after that i applied meguires aluminum polish (reddish) 5 times...than Meguires Caruba Wax (yellow)to protect it. Between each "compound" i washed the terry clothy thingy so remove and residue... its takes a little less muscle to get the same mirror shine. Ouch! Next time start w/ 600 grit wet, then up to 1000 wet. After that, it's pretty shiny by itself! :biggrin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer vanion2 Posted June 9, 2009 Author Member Contributer Share Posted June 9, 2009 Looks good! I'll have to check it out in person on Saturday!Action :biggrin: I think the compound setup is the way to go now that I have a "base" polish going on for me. I re-read the tutorial at the site and realized some of the things I could do to improve the process (IE when you get to the white compound you use very light pressure and apply it more often, "cutting" is done against the rotation of the wheel, "polish" is done with the rotation, etc). Again, this was my first attempt and it's definitely a learning process. I am also going to order some of their 8" wheels to get a higher speed on the outer diameter which will also improve the process further. I still need to do the front wheel so this will give me a chance to compare the two results. In the end you quickly realize there is no "one way" to do this. What ever works to get the shine you want works. It's just a matter of how much time you are willing to put into it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 In the end you quickly realize there is no "one way" to do this. What ever works to get the shine you want works. It's just a matter of how much time you are willing to put into it. By jove, I think he's got it! :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 well i tried the compound technique, and as a newbie it can get frustrating cause sometimes there is a film left with some compounds. what worked magic with ME... after sanding the part from 80-320 grit, i switched to 00 steel wool, than 000 steel wool and then 0000 steel wool. after that i applied a thin layer of mothers aluminum polish(white). let it sit for about 15 minutes and then took it off with an electric orbital buffer with a terry cloth thingy. the trick with that is to move it really slow. about 1/8 of an inch at a time. just let it sit there, and make sure all the polish is off. than repeat that step about 4-5 times...the more you do it the more it will shine. than after that i applied meguires aluminum polish (reddish) 5 times...than Meguires Caruba Wax (yellow)to protect it. Between each "compound" i washed the terry clothy thingy so remove and residue... its takes a little less muscle to get the same mirror shine. Ouch! Next time start w/ 600 grit wet, then up to 1000 wet. After that, it's pretty shiny by itself! :cool: yeah i went all the way down to 80 to help clean up the anodizing off the frame. i stopped at 320 paper cause the sisal wheel is about 400 grit, but instead i used the steel wool. does leave a little more scratches but with each level they come off...by 0000 which is about the same is 800 wet its nice and smooth....but like it was said, there is no 1 right way to do it. whatever works for you. but the meguire canuba wax is good for protecting the fresh polish...and i would suggest against clear coating it....just way to much hassle and takes away from some of the shine. but if you do clear coat it...make sure to do the proper prep work. Cause i tried glisten PC and i wasnt really happy with it. to much prep with AP120 crap. and shine lost a litttle shine when it was put on polished frame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 I was in Ace Hardware the other day and they had 1500 grit wet or dry sandpaper. That could be a big help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer vanion2 Posted June 9, 2009 Author Member Contributer Share Posted June 9, 2009 yeah i went all the way down to 80 to help clean up the anodizing off the frame. i stopped at 320 paper cause the sisal wheel is about 400 grit, but instead i used the steel wool. does leave a little more scratches but with each level they come off...by 0000 which is about the same is 800 wet its nice and smooth....but like it was said, there is no 1 right way to do it. whatever works for you. but the meguire canuba wax is good for protecting the fresh polish...and i would suggest against clear coating it....just way to much hassle and takes away from some of the shine. but if you do clear coat it...make sure to do the proper prep work. Cause i tried glisten PC and i wasnt really happy with it. to much prep with AP120 crap. and shine lost a litttle shine when it was put on polished frame. No...I don't plan on clear coating it. I plan on leaving it like it is. Now that it has shined up a bit it looks great the way it is. I definitely plan on wax coating it to protect the aluminum but I will do it after I go back and sand out some of the scratches that are still in it sometime next week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 I was in Ace Hardware the other day and they had 1500 grit wet or dry sandpaper. That could be a big help. i think select walmarts and autozones might go up to 2500 grit...but after 1000 grit wet, its really a waste of energy...just go ahead and polish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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