polishing the frame

[Guest Hyofighter]

as the title suggests , im thinking of polishing the smooth part of the frame but im not sure on how this will look , has anyone got a pic of theres if they have done it

[Veefer800Canuck]

Quick gOOgle search revealed the following:

[Guest Hyofighter]

thats it the frame on its own picture is exactly what im gonna do , cheers

[Guest vfr207]

I'm interested in doing the same for my 5th gen. What type of business would I search for to find someone to polish my frame?

Thanks,

Noob-207

[gll429]

DO IT YOUR SELF!!!!

but a buffer/ grinder and few buffing wheels.

you can wet sand the frame with only taking off the boday and seat and tank. and then use white buffing compound sticks.. and polish the sucker. why pay some guy a weeks pay for what you can do in a day? and have the tools to do other things too?

[Guest vfr207]

DO IT YOUR SELF!!!!

but a buffer/ grinder and few buffing wheels.

you can wet sand the frame with only taking off the boday and seat and tank. and then use white buffing compound sticks.. and polish the sucker. why pay some guy a weeks pay for what you can do in a day? and have the tools to do other things too?

That's just it, I don't know anything about buffing, or grinding. Just like I don't know who to take it to, I don't know what kind of buffer, or grinder I would need. I don't know anything about buffing wheels, wet sanding, or buffing compound sticks.

Thanks for the tip though, maybe I'll poke around youtube & find a how-to video.

[alwaysaware]

If your curious about how easy or difficult it will be, try it with a Dremell Tool on a small area first. If your convinced afterwards, go all out.

[CandyRedRC46]

If your curious about how easy or difficult it will be, try it with a Dremell Tool on a small area first. If your convinced afterwards, go all out.

heres mine:

[CandyRedRC46]

trust me dont even bother if you think your just gonna play with a dremel for the afternoon and get decent results.

if all your going for is the shiny bare/brushed aluminum look, just sand off the powder coat, but if youre going for a mirror finish youre in for a rude awakening.

it is truly a labor intensive bitch. your talking about a few weekends with a few hours a day. staring with 80 grit to get the paint off,

then 120 grit, 200, 300, 400, 600, 800,

then wet sanding with 1000, 1200, 1500, and 2000 grit,

then rubbing compound

then polishing compound

and if your smart getting it clear coated.

or you will be like me and having to for ever keep up with it.

[Guest Westn]

6th Gen looks awesome mate

I can imagine the work involved.............

[The Phantom]

trust me dont even bother if you think your just gonna play with a dremel for the afternoon and get decent results.

if all your going for is the shiny bare/brushed aluminum look, just sand off the powder coat, but if youre going for a mirror finish youre in for a rude awakening.

it is truly a labor intensive bitch. your talking about a few weekends with a few hours a day. staring with 80 grit to get the paint off,

then 120 grit, 200, 300, 400, 600, 800,

then wet sanding with 1000, 1200, 1500, and 2000 grit,

then rubbing compound

then polishing compound

and if your smart getting it clear coated.

or you will be like me and having to for ever keep up with it.

Beautiful beautiful bike... well worth the effort, I think.

I know clear-coating it for you is a bit of work - strip it right down again etc. - but Nyalic aka Everbrite is the stuff you want. It is absolutely the best clearcoat around.

[Guest vfr207]

trust me dont even bother if you think your just gonna play with a dremel for the afternoon and get decent results.

if all your going for is the shiny bare/brushed aluminum look, just sand off the powder coat, but if youre going for a mirror finish youre in for a rude awakening.

it is truly a labor intensive bitch. your talking about a few weekends with a few hours a day. staring with 80 grit to get the paint off,

then 120 grit, 200, 300, 400, 600, 800,

then wet sanding with 1000, 1200, 1500, and 2000 grit,

then rubbing compound

then polishing compound

and if your smart getting it clear coated.

or you will be like me and having to for ever keep up with it.

Now THAT is the kind of "How-to" I was looking for. Thanks for the advice Candy. Sounds like a winter job, to go along with a fresh coat of paint.

(Sorry for the thread-jack, Hyo!)

VFR207

[Beck]

The reason I think many have a hard time polishing things like VFR frame spars is that they most likely have clear anodizing on them. Anodizing is very very resistant to abrasives and polishing compounds. You really need to strip the anodizing off the aluminum with a lye based compound like oven cleaner. Once the anodizing is stripped off, the work to polish up the aluminum will be cut down to at least half the work. The oven cleaner stripping trick has been used by classic bicycle collectors that like to polish up old anodized aluminum components to a mirror finish.

Beck

95 VFR

[mcrwt644]

It was a pain, and not worth it imo. I did it on my 99 f4, it took forever, and required constant attention. No, it wasn't cleared, I did it with sandpaper etc. I'll never do it again.

[PatTheDream]

Quick gOOgle search revealed the following:

I want to do this to my 5th gen, how do u polish the hard part near the pegs?

[Guest JeffLaurence]

Saw a story once, with pics, of a guy who removed all the tar and polished the WHOLE underside of his Honda NSX sports car-- frame, suspension, everything. Clearly alot of spare time!!

[Beck]

Best way to go is with a bench mounted buffing wheel and polishing compound. You can also just clamp your variable speed drill to a bench and buy polishing bonnets meant for drill chucks.......But as I noted, try to get any anodizing and/or finish off the aluminum part before starting the polishing process, Otherwise it will take a very long time and lots of effort to polish the parts.

Also, if you ride in the wet or park your bike outdoors a lot, it will be good to protect the polished surface to keep it from oxidizing really quick and dulling up.

There are companies out there that sell a clear resin based coating that is meant to protect polished aluminum.

Check this one out:

http://www.everbritecoatings.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=6

Goldwing riders supposedly used this on their polished aluminum wheels with good results. Good thing about it is the coating is supposedd to be easy to restore/rejuvenate if needed and is self leveling.

[Rice]

It was a pain, and not worth it imo. I did it on my 99 f4, it took forever, and required constant attention. No, it wasn't cleared, I did it with sandpaper etc. I'll never do it again.

AMEN to that!

I polished the rear wheel of my VFR... Once...

Will never do it again - Complete waste of time that just keeps on 'wastin. IMHO.

[spud786]

You guys have too much time on your hands, I bought the vfr so I didnt have to wash it. >G

Since aluminum frames came out, there have been people who do polish them, The anodised coating seems there for a reason, not to corrode. Maybe an issue and maybe not down the road longer term.

[donnykaboom]

as the title suggests , im thinking of polishing the smooth part of the frame but im not sure on how this will look , has anyone got a pic of theres if they have done it

your time would be better spent upgrading the bike or spending some time in a safety course. time and effort to polish the frame, not worth the effort IMHO

[Dutchy]

as the title suggests , im thinking of polishing the smooth part of the frame but im not sure on how this will look , has anyone got a pic of theres if they have done it

your time would be better spent upgrading the bike or spending some time in a safety course. time and effort to polish the frame, not worth the effort IMHO

Instead of judging, maybe find out what Hyofighter is working on.......

[The Phantom]

Yep, I think you should do some upgrades to your bike Scotty