How To. Alloy Polishing Guide

[1 FAT PUG 39]

i did all this last night but then when i had finished it and went to submit thread the forum had gone down for maintanance soooo, here we go again

 

i had an idea of doing something to help the forum out and asked cybernck if it was ok to polish a rocker cover and then donate it and all proceeds go towards helping the forum with hosting etc...... so we found a rocker cover that pug_ham had spare which was sent to me and was asked if i could do a little how to guide on polishing alloy......... so here goes ( my 1st how to guide aswell )

 

 

 

 

 

upon opening the parcel i was greeted by this nice little 8v rocker cover, looking a little sorry for itself

 

 

so the work started, first thing was to strip all the dirt and top corrosion off to see what the condition of the alloy was in under all of it, out come the little scotchbrite mop, i know its a little battered, new ones should be here today

 

 

a fiew runs over it to bring it all up and this is how it looks

 

 

some pretty bad pitting and a fiew deep gauges, also the date stamp that would be better if removed...... so, out comes the sander, starting off with some 180 grit to take out most the marks and then 240 and onto some 320, i dont really go much finer as the machine does most the work, but if your polishing something using a drill then its best to try get it as smooth as you can, will also save you some time...

 

 

so all sanded up and ready to hit the polisher,

1st mop is a hard sisal and the choice of soap is the grey, the grey has a good cut with little shine factor

 

 

the aim with this mop is to remove all the pitting and scratches out, use the soap little and often, too much soap is a waste and clogs your mops up and too little and you wont be cutting into the alloy, apply a good bit if pressure against the mop and polish in a fiew different directions to avoid making ripples in the alloy

 

 

once you are happy with the result and have removed all the imperfections in the alloy its time to move onto the next mop, clean all the old soap off as to not contaminate the next mop. different mops, different soaps

 

so up next is the white stitch mop and green soap, the mop is a softer material but still firm ( i sometimes use a colour stitch mop if theres a fiew light scratches left in the alloy ) the green soap is a slightly finer cut and also has a higher shine factor to it than the grey

 

 

remember, little and often and keep it moving in different directions, put a little pressure on the wheel, not as much as the hard sisal tho and you should start noticing a little bit of a shine coming up

 

 

clean the old soap off, and then we go onto the next mop, sooo... for this stage i use a calico loose fold mop and a blue soap, the mops a lot softer and the soap is a lower cutting and a higher shine to the green.

 

 

with this mop before i apply the soap i hold a wire brush against it for a fiew seconds to remove any old soap that has been left on it and to fluff the wheel up a little, ( you can also do this to the white stitch mop ) little and often again, and keep it moving in different directions, little pressure really is needed for this mop as all your doing is taking out the very fine scratches from the previous mop and bringing the shine up

 

 

and the finished result.........not bad ..............but whilst looking for a new supplier i found out there was a different soap that was available and none of the polishing shops i have ordered from have stocked, one that had a lower cut and a higher shine factor to it but then upon ordering it i noticed that they had just brought out another soap, with a cut factor of 1 and a shine factor of 10 soooo thought i best have a bar of that just to give that extra bit of sparkle

 

for the ultimate shine i used a g quality loose fold mop, simular to the calico but a little softer material along with the supershine soap. and the end result

 

 

 

and then cleaned off with a nice soft duster, and then apply a nice coating of wax...... i use poorboys products as there easy to use. go on nice and come off with little effort, the nattys wax smells of bubblegum aswell for wheels i use the wheel sealant, if you keep them well coated with wax/sealant then the polished product will stay like this for years, i also tell people not to laquer things once they have been polished as there alot easier to maintain and then you wont have the pain of having to strip all the laquer off if water gets under it and it starts to corrode.

 

 

i hope that this has been useful and if theres anything you would like to know just get in touch and i would be happy to help

 

thanks.

Bim . ( 1 FAT PUG )

Edited August 16, 2013 by 1 FAT PUG

[DanteICE 72]

I have an erection

 

Get this thread on the guides section!!!

[calvinhorse 870]

Bloody Hell! That's beautiful mate!

[Simes 248 2 Cars]

Excellent guide, now in the articles section.

 

Thanks.

[Tesstuff 222]

Nice work Bimster

[tartanbloke 35 1 Cars]

I think I would rather pay you to do it properly than make a bit of a hash job of it myself. Out of interest how much would you charge for doing this?

[omega 82]

what do you use to power the mops?

is it a modified grinding wheel machine?

[1 FAT PUG 39]

what do you use to power the mops?

is it a modified grinding wheel machine?

 

 

its a 3hp motor, then i had the shaft lathed down into the "pigtale" and i have a trip box thing incase i get caught up. the motors done a good job, i have had it a good fiew years now and given it a fair bit of abuse, i bought a proper machine for when i do wheels tho now, it just saves me having to hold them upto the mops, thats basicaly a tyre machine with an arm on it with the motor and mop.... only small pic on there website ....

[M@tt 77]

f***ing Good Effort Bim!!!!

[Wes 86 1 Cars]

What's the best way to keep polished parts looking good? I've got a polished gti6 manifold which is starting to fade, I just use a bit of autosol now and then by hand as its hard to get any tools on it due to the shape. I tried a polishing mop on a battery drill but its very hard to not catch it and scratch it.

[1 FAT PUG 39]

What's the best way to keep polished parts looking good? I've got a polished gti6 manifold which is starting to fade, I just use a bit of autosol now and then by hand as its hard to get any tools on it due to the shape. I tried a polishing mop on a battery drill but its very hard to not catch it and scratch it.

could use a flexi shaft, will give you a little more room or these mops are pretty good http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-tapered-polishing-mop-buffing-wheel-3-x-dome-mops-/330583205022?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts&hash=item4cf84b649e, use with the blue soap

[pug_ham 240 3 Cars]

Nice work Bim, considering the state it was in when I sent it to you that is an amazing difference.

 

Good work.

 

g

[Josh_Quant 27]

Great work and great guide

[nveeate 78]

Congratulations - great effort!

[Willem_Jacobs 6 1 Cars]

Think this can be done to a S16 valve cover??

[1 FAT PUG 39]

Think this can be done to a S16 valve cover??

 

 

there same as gti6 ones arnt they.? yea you can do them, have got a set in the shed that i have to do 1 day and about 6 8v inlets and about 5 or so sets of 106 gti/vts cam covers

[Juttie205 123 2 Cars]

When I get to that point in my dimma restoration I will need my wheels, rocker cover, inlet manifold header tank and strut brace so will keep you busy

[Tom Fenton 1,524]

there same as gti6 ones arnt they.?

S16 can cover is more like the Mi16 one, in fact it may even be the same as an Mi one.

[petert 549]

S16 (XU10J4) is aluminium, where as XU9J4 is magnesium. Great guide by the way. I've always wondered how the pros do aluminium so well.

Edited August 25, 2013 by petert

[Daviewonder 533 3 Cars]

How long did this it take to do?

[1 FAT PUG 39]

took about an hour and half :-)