polishing aluminium

[rich.]

a mate wants to polish all the ali parts of his motorbike, do you have any tips?? at the moment its all painted from the factory.. any advice will be apreciated

[Ian]

After a thorough de-grease, I'd start with nothing less then 800-1200 wet and dry paper and work my way down to 3000 once everything is a relatively shiny bare aluminium casting, polish using a bench polisher and again work down the grades of cutting compound, you may need to use a dremel with a polishing attachment for the fiddly areas. Finish with a really good coat or two of polish and sealant.
Alternatively send the parts away to be professionally polished. Your hands WILL hurt like %&^) doing it yourself

Lots more advice and tutorials on youtube etc.......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBAPWj3TYQo

[rich.]

cheers!

[jimmyybob]

First get the paint off, then personaly i would get it glass bead blasted with a very fine bead(AC grade or finer) that will give you a big head start in deep cleaning the nooks and crannies.
Then follow what Ian said.

[Wicksy]

CAUTIONARY NOTE ON BEAD BLASTING - I have personal experience of bead blasting causing engine bearing failure due to contamination of the internal surfaces by bead residue. It's a no no for most reputable engine shops for this reason and the fact that components will need ultrasonic cleaning to totally remove fine particles|