Metal polish

[Jersey James]

Greetings: Just curious now the "Mother's Billet Metal Polish" is pretty much impossible to purchase. What brand of polish are most members switching too??? I purchased a bottle (liquid) of "White Diamond" metal polish, I find it that leaves a superior shine, just have to be careful not to knock the bottle over, or re~cap it after each using.

 

[woodbutcher]

something i have used in the past and still have as a backup is a cream in a tube named "Flitz". not the cheapest but it doesn't break the bank either. check at West Marine or something of that nature.

 

[PROFLYER]

Lots of threads on this. Not sure why the billet has been discontinued, someone may know. What I think matters really is how you apply anything. Best we've all found is to use a nitrile glove and rub it on, then use a soft cotton cloth to remove it. Microfiber towels seem to leave scratches for some reason. I got a pack of yellow flannel cotton towels on amazon years ago for cheap. Otherwise...elbow grease! The black diamond works well, but billet prep is important too. If you have deep scratches or marring, you want to polish it with some 0000 steel wool and some WD40 or similar to make the surface really smooth. Then follow up with some 3000 grit and finally the polish. Sort of like paint--until the surface is scratch free, it's hard to polish.

 

[Jersey James]

Thank you Woodbutcher & PROFLYER. Back in the early 70s, I worked as a metal polisher, for a chrome shop. So I do understand about the proper surface prep. Without removing any bullet parts from the bike, I have sanded away many surface scratches. Sometimes starting with 600 or 800 grit paper, and usually finishing off with wet 2500. After that, I use a course polish such as Mother's Mag & Aluminum Polish ( the cheaper stuff) then finish off now with White Diamond. Works for me. I was just curious what products other forum members were using now that the Mother's Billet is no longer available. JJ

 

[Mikeinjersey]

I use White Diamond, apply with the nitrile glove until nice and black. Then I buff it off with a wheel on a drill and finish off with old T-shirts. I may try the billet prep idea's they sound great!

 

[PROFLYER]

Thank you Woodbutcher & PROFLYER. Back in the early 70s, I worked as a metal polisher, for a chrome shop. So I do understand about the proper surface prep. Without removing any bullet parts from the bike, I have sanded away many surface scratches. Sometimes starting with 600 or 800 grit paper, and usually finishing off with wet 2500. After that, I use a course polish such as Mother's Mag & Aluminum Polish ( the cheaper stuff) then finish off now with White Diamond. Works for me. I was just curious what products other forum members were using now that the Mother's Billet is no longer available. JJ

You know what you're doing then. I have repaired some bad scratches using that method too. Start with 600, then 0000, then 2500/3000 then polish. As you know, you're basically just making smaller scratches. I think the white diamond leaves a decent seal coating too, I've noticed water beads up on it well which helps keep stuff looking good for longer. If you want a chrome looking bike, you gotta put the work in. Mine doesn't look that killer, but I typically just polish it for an hour here and there in the winter.

 

[HMAN]

Seeking advice on cleaning and polishing

Hey Doug.... Do you know the difference between the "Butter Wet Wax Warm & Deep Carnauba Shine" and the "Cherry Wet Wax"? I can find the "Butter" at my local Auto Zone stores, but not the "Cherry". Thanks.... Amazon has the cherry wet wax...i think its like 24 bucks if i remember...

www.bigdogbiker.com

 

[Gordo]

I'd like to offer my experience in polishing the aluminum parts on the 'Dog... I've nearly completed my re-build (started in October '19) and what I did on all of my aluminum stuff was set up a bucket of water, purchased wet sanding paper from 320 grit all the way up to 2500, and purchased some yellow buffing wheels from Northern tool, grey & green rouge, and then started lubricating everything with my elbows. The thing to realize is aluminum (Aluminium for our UK brothers & sisters!) forms a layer of aluminum oxide which is harder than diamond, and more insidiously, forms nearly immediately after being polished off; it's this layer that dulls the shine on aluminum.

When wet sanding, keep dipping your paper & part in water as you go, use back-fourth, side-to-side, and circular motion to prevent forming a "grain" in the surface, and proceed one grit at a time, spending at least several minutes before rinsing and increasing your grit #. It's long, it's tedious, and yes, it'll wear yo' ass-out, but the results are nothing short of spectacular. Where tough to get in with the wet sandpaper and fingers, I used a dremel with sanding & buffing drums. Once the desired surface finish obtained by wet sanding, the next, and penultimate steps are using the buffing wheels with grey rouge, then re-dressing the wheel and applying green (super-bright finish) rouge.

The very last step is to apply Turtle Wax to seal the newly mirror-finished aluminum, and I recommend three applications so that there is a layer of wax finish which will seal out moisture/humidity and preserve the shine. THIS WILL RIVAL CHROME, and the only thing to do from this point is to wipe it regularly with soft cloth to restore the luster. There is no product available anywhere that you can squeeze out of a tube which will even come close to this method, Jersey James & Proflyer would probably agree with me on this. I will be posting pix of my resurrected '03 'Dog soon, and if anyone is interested, I would be willing to post a pic-by-pic illustration of my method.

 

[mjsk9]

I'd like to offer my experience in polishing the aluminum parts on the 'Dog... I've nearly completed my re-build (started in October '19) and what I did on all of my aluminum stuff was set up a bucket of water, purchased wet sanding paper from 320 grit all the way up to 2500, and purchased some yellow buffing wheels from Northern tool, grey & green rouge, and then started lubricating everything with my elbows. The thing to realize is aluminum (Aluminium for our UK brothers & sisters!) forms a layer of aluminum oxide which is harder than diamond, and more insidiously, forms nearly immediately after being polished off; it's this layer that dulls the shine on aluminum.

When wet sanding, keep dipping your paper & part in water as you go, use back-fourth, side-to-side, and circular motion to prevent forming a "grain" in the surface, and proceed one grit at a time, spending at least several minutes before rinsing and increasing your grit #. It's long, it's tedious, and yes, it'll wear yo' ass-out, but the results are nothing short of spectacular. Where tough to get in with the wet sandpaper and fingers, I used a dremel with sanding & buffing drums. Once the desired surface finish obtained by wet sanding, the next, and penultimate steps are using the buffing wheels with grey rouge, then re-dressing the wheel and applying green (super-bright finish) rouge.

The very last step is to apply Turtle Wax to seal the newly mirror-finished aluminum, and I recommend three applications so that there is a layer of wax finish which will seal out moisture/humidity and preserve the shine. THIS WILL RIVAL CHROME, and the only thing to do from this point is to wipe it regularly with soft cloth to restore the luster. There is no product available anywhere that you can squeeze out of a tube which will even come close to this method, Jersey James & Proflyer would probably agree with me on this. I will be posting pix of my resurrected '03 'Dog soon, and if anyone is interested, I would be willing to post a pic-by-pic illustration of my method.

Yea, please post the pics! Thanks!

 

[Th3InfamousI]

I'd like to offer my experience in polishing the aluminum parts on the 'Dog... I've nearly completed my re-build (started in October '19) and what I did on all of my aluminum stuff was set up a bucket of water, purchased wet sanding paper from 320 grit all the way up to 2500, and purchased some yellow buffing wheels from Northern tool, grey & green rouge, and then started lubricating everything with my elbows. The thing to realize is aluminum (Aluminium for our UK brothers & sisters!) forms a layer of aluminum oxide which is harder than diamond, and more insidiously, forms nearly immediately after being polished off; it's this layer that dulls the shine on aluminum.

When wet sanding, keep dipping your paper & part in water as you go, use back-fourth, side-to-side, and circular motion to prevent forming a "grain" in the surface, and proceed one grit at a time, spending at least several minutes before rinsing and increasing your grit #. It's long, it's tedious, and yes, it'll wear yo' ass-out, but the results are nothing short of spectacular. Where tough to get in with the wet sandpaper and fingers, I used a dremel with sanding & buffing drums. Once the desired surface finish obtained by wet sanding, the next, and penultimate steps are using the buffing wheels with grey rouge, then re-dressing the wheel and applying green (super-bright finish) rouge.

The very last step is to apply Turtle Wax to seal the newly mirror-finished aluminum, and I recommend three applications so that there is a layer of wax finish which will seal out moisture/humidity and preserve the shine. THIS WILL RIVAL CHROME, and the only thing to do from this point is to wipe it regularly with soft cloth to restore the luster. There is no product available anywhere that you can squeeze out of a tube which will even come close to this method, Jersey James & Proflyer would probably agree with me on this. I will be posting pix of my resurrected '03 'Dog soon, and if anyone is interested, I would be willing to post a pic-by-pic illustration of my method.

Yep you aint kidding, I've done the same thing. When I rebuilt the 06 k9 a few winters ago I spent 8 hours wetsanding and polishing just the rear wheel. I wasn't even completely happy with the end result there was still some imperfections but at that point I spent enough time and figured next tire change I can hit it again.

Only thing that might make it a bit easier is I actually did a quick wipe with 3000 grit then 5000 to make the buffing a little quicker. 3M makes a really durable Trizact is the label on it and its a thick foam for the 3000/5000 and it will absorb water a little better and it will last a very long time. It's about $8 on amazon for one piece but you don't need to fold this and it will last many times over. This came from advise from Doug up in Americas hat..lol

3000 Grit

Amazon.com

5000 Grit

Amazon.com

 

[Gordo]

I think I've used that Trizact before, it's been a few years, but it DOES the job, just make sure the reservoirs in your elbows are topped off!! I thought about tackling the wheels and realized I was going to run into the same thing as you described. The only way to get the polished results like we want on these is with an industrial sized buffing wheel, 2-HP motor, 18-in. in diameter, and horizontally mounted, but unfortunately, these don't readily exist, as they are purpose-built specifically for the type of polishing we want. On the rims, I opted instead to have them chrome plated; the cost was slightly less than what building a polishing setup would have run me!!!

MJSK9; I've got my old rear fender support struts which I retired and replaced with beefier sissy support struts for the '03 Chopper. I'll do a demo on the polishing method and I'll put together some photos and post in the next day or two.