Motorcycle steel rim sanding and polishing

[marcus9x9]

Hi,

This is a classic motorcycle rim made of chromed steel.

I want to sand and buff it to a smooth finish before sending it for rechroming.

I need to sand/buff ALONG the rim, then sand/buff ACROSS it to remove the marks created from the previous sanding/buffing.

I have this list of tools to my disposal.
Electric drill, sand paper with rubber pads, flap wheel, sanding drum, catridge roll and buffing wheels and compounds (emery, tripoli, white & blue rouge).

What should I use to sand/buff along the rim?
What should I use to sand/buff across the rim?

What tools to use first, then second then third?
What tool size to use?
What grit size to start and end with?

When to start using the compound, what compound to start and end with?

I am sure there is more than one way to do this. Some tips would be great, or I am bound to take 5 times as longer to get the job done.

Thank you
Marcus

[baz]

you are waisting your time . if you want to rechrome the old plating has to be removed

[marcus9x9]

Yes I was going to remove them. Just need to know what tools to use to remove the nickel along the lips and holes until bare metal is seen and what tools to use to polish those places to a mirror finish.

[woodjames]

Keep in mind it's going to get a little difficult at the point where you are sanding the bare metal, with a little of the plating left, as the two metals are different in hardness, and may result in a wavy surface. I don't think it's too important in this case to remove all of the sanding marks, as they'll blend in as long as they run parrallel to the outer surface of the rim. It's going to take a while not matter how you do it, be prepared to put some time in. I'd sand the rim starting with 80-120 grit until you are through the nickel, then sand up to 400-600 grit, running parrallel to the rim surface. As long as it is blocked, and you sand well, the small lines left from the 600 grit will blend well when you start polishing. As far as sanding inside the rim, sand across it, and buff perpendicular to it. It's going to be very hard to keep the detail there. You can plate over nickel, but not chrome. Plating nickel over nickel is very difficult, you may want to see if that plater near you can strip it for you, that may be the best option.
The rim will be very easy to do, but the center of it would probably even be better suited to see if you can find one aftermarket. It'd be too easy to destroy the detail with any tools trying to go through the nickel plate down to the base metal.

Originally Posted by marcus9x9

Hi,

This is a classic motorcycle rim made of chromed steel.

I want to sand and buff it to a smooth finish before sending it for rechroming.

I need to sand/buff ALONG the rim, then sand/buff ACROSS it to remove the marks created from the previous sanding/buffing.

I have this list of tools to my disposal.
Electric drill, sand paper with rubber pads, flap wheel, sanding drum, catridge roll and buffing wheels and compounds (emery, tripoli, white & blue rouge).

What should I use to sand/buff along the rim?
What should I use to sand/buff across the rim?

What tools to use first, then second then third?
What tool size to use?
What grit size to start and end with?

When to start using the compound, what compound to start and end with?

I am sure there is more than one way to do this. Some tips would be great, or I am bound to take 5 times as longer to get the job done.

Thank you
Marcus

[marcus9x9]

I have so much to do rebuilding the motorcycle that I have forgotten your reply I read before.

Quoted:

I don't think it's too important in this case to remove all of the sanding marks, as they'll blend in as long as they run parrallel to the outer surface of the rim.

Looking at your quote above, I don't quite understand why you stated it.
Wouldn't sanding marks show up in the chrome plating unless they are sanded off in the layers underneath?

Anyway, I started sanding the rim two days ago using 60 grit, 2" dia x 1" flap wheels. All of the nickel was sanded off and I am GUESSING about (0.5-1.0) mm into the bare metal was sanded off too. Sanding off 1mm into the bare metal helped remove many pits, tiny holes and rust marks. There were some holes that were larger than tiny. They are now much smaller and I will likely weld and sand them off if doing that is the best. There were some slightly out of round curves and gouges at the edges. Sanding off 1mm into the bare metal smoothen them too.

The middle section of the rim is where the spoke holes are located. All areas were sanded except for the center section. We will name them the side areas for the purpose of discussion. It took me about 7 hours to sand them down. There were about 4-6 full tablespoon of metal dust from the sanding alone.

I plan is to use 240 grit flap wheel next to smoothen out the side areas, and then sand them with a 1/4 sheet palm sander with 120, 240, 400, 600 grit sandpaper. Buffing with compound comes next. I was quite impressed with how fast and effective the palm sander was on the turn signal bracket. Do you see a better method to do this?

I am not quite sure how to sand the middle section. If it is not for the round bulging spoke holes, it would be a breeze. I know I can't use a 60 grit flap wheel on the holes as that will cut too much and alter the round bulge shape. Maybe 240 grit flap wheel will do. Maybe 240 grit palm sander is safer. Maybe I should start with 400 grit palm sander, remove all scratches from the bulge, smoothen it and not sand it down to bare metal.

Thank you

Marcus

[marcus9x9]

I have so much to do rebuilding the motorcycle that I have forgotten your reply I read before.

Quoted:

I don't think it's too important in this case to remove all of the sanding marks, as they'll blend in as long as they run parrallel to the outer surface of the rim.

Looking at your quote above, I don't quite understand why you stated it.
Wouldn't sanding marks show up in the chrome plating unless they are sanded off in the layers underneath?

Anyway, I started sanding the rim two days ago using 60 grit, 2" dia x 1" flap wheels. All of the nickel was sanded off and I am GUESSING about (0.5-1.0) mm into the bare metal was sanded off too. Sanding off 1mm into the bare metal helped remove many pits, tiny holes and rust marks. There were some holes that were larger than tiny. They are now much smaller and I will likely weld and sand them off if doing that is the best. There were some slightly out of round curves and gouges at the edges. Sanding off 1mm into the bare metal smoothen them too.

The middle section of the rim is where the spoke holes are located. All areas were sanded except for the center section. We will name them the side areas for the purpose of discussion. It took me about 7 hours to sand them down. There were about 4-6 full tablespoon of metal dust from the sanding alone.

I plan is to use 240 grit flap wheel next to smoothen out the side areas, and then sand them with a 1/4 sheet palm sander with 120, 240, 400, 600 grit sandpaper. Buffing with compound comes next. I was quite impressed with how fast and effective the palm sander was on the turn signal bracket. Do you see a better method to do this?

I am not quite sure how to sand the middle section. If it is not for the round bulging spoke holes, it would be a breeze. I know I can't use a 60 grit flap wheel on the holes as that will cut too much and alter the round bulge shape. Maybe 240 grit flap wheel will do. Maybe 240 grit palm sander is safer. Maybe I should start with 400 grit palm sander, remove all scratches from the bulge, smoothen it and not sand it down to bare metal.

Thank you

Marcus

[marcus9x9]

I have so much to do rebuilding the motorcycle that I have forgotten your reply I read before.

Quoted:

I don't think it's too important in this case to remove all of the sanding marks, as they'll blend in as long as they run parrallel to the outer surface of the rim.

Looking at your quote above, I don't quite understand why you stated it.
Wouldn't sanding marks show up in the chrome plating unless they are sanded off in the layers underneath?

Anyway, I started sanding the rim two days ago using 60 grit, 2" dia x 1" flap wheels. All of the nickel was sanded off and I am GUESSING about (0.5-1.0) mm into the bare metal was sanded off too. Sanding off 1mm into the bare metal helped remove many pits, tiny holes and rust marks. There were some holes that were larger than tiny. They are now much smaller and I will likely weld and sand them off if doing that is the best. There were some slightly out of round curves and gouges at the edges. Sanding off 1mm into the bare metal smoothen them too.

The middle section of the rim is where the spoke holes are located. All areas except for the middle section were sanded down. I will call these areas that were sanded down as side areas. It took me about 7 hours to sand down the side areas. There were about 4-6 full tablespoon of metal dust from the sanding.

I plan is to use 240 grit flap wheel next to smoothen out the side areas, and then sand them with a 1/4 sheet palm sander using 240, 400, 600 and maybe 800 and 1000 grit sandpaper if the work is fast enough. Buffing with compound comes next. I was quite impressed with how fast and effective the palm sander was on the turn signal bracket. Do you see a better method to do this?

I am not quite sure how to sand the middle section. If it is not for the round bulging spoke holes, it would be a breeze. I know I can't use a 60 grit flap wheel on the holes as that will cut too much and alter the round bulge shape. Maybe 240 grit flap wheel will do. Maybe 240 grit palm sander is safer. Maybe 400 grit palm sander, maybe 120 or 240 grit catridge roll.

No idea yet.

Thank you

Marcus

[woodjames]

It's because bright plating baths have leveling properties, which will actually improve the appearance of the substrate - in this case steel. Basically it will even out hills and valleys. It's not a fix-all, but 800 and above scratches will be eliminated.

-Jimmy.

Originally Posted by marcus9x9

I have so much to do rebuilding the motorcycle that I have forgotten your reply I read before.

Quoted:


Looking at your quote above, I don't quite understand why you stated it.
Wouldn't sanding marks show up in the chrome plating unless they are sanded off in the layers underneath?

Anyway, I started sanding the rim two days ago using 60 grit, 2" dia x 1" flap wheels. All of the nickel was sanded off and I am GUESSING about (0.5-1.0) mm into the bare metal was sanded off too. Sanding off 1mm into the bare metal helped remove many pits, tiny holes and rust marks. There were some holes that were larger than tiny. They are now much smaller and I will likely weld and sand them off if doing that is the best. There were some slightly out of round curves and gouges at the edges. Sanding off 1mm into the bare metal smoothen them too.

The middle section of the rim is where the spoke holes are located. All areas except for the middle section were sanded down. I will call these areas that were sanded down as side areas. It took me about 7 hours to sand down the side areas. There were about 4-6 full tablespoon of metal dust from the sanding.

I plan is to use 240 grit flap wheel next to smoothen out the side areas, and then sand them with a 1/4 sheet palm sander using 240, 400, 600 and maybe 800 and 1000 grit sandpaper if the work is fast enough. Buffing with compound comes next. I was quite impressed with how fast and effective the palm sander was on the turn signal bracket. Do you see a better method to do this?

I am not quite sure how to sand the middle section. If it is not for the round bulging spoke holes, it would be a breeze. I know I can't use a 60 grit flap wheel on the holes as that will cut too much and alter the round bulge shape. Maybe 240 grit flap wheel will do. Maybe 240 grit palm sander is safer. Maybe 400 grit palm sander, maybe 120 or 240 grit catridge roll.

No idea yet.

Thank you

Marcus

[marcus9x9]

Is the bath you are referring to a nickel bath?