Finishing question on frame....

[bairdmotorcycles]

OK, I finally got both sections of the frame (cast area and rolled section as well) to a mirrored finish which absolutely looks great but I still see what I would call trace lines. What I mean, is at certain angles I can see where the buffing wheel makes it's passes on the surface (as if it leaves burns or hazes the surface) of the polished piece and it doesnt come out with mother's polish or anything of the sort. Now, its not terrible but you can see them more in the direct sunlight or at ONLY certain angles. At first I was using a 7in air sander with 4500rpm and a 8 in wheel at first which created a surface speed of around 9,000 and the traces were pretty bad. I then moved to a 4in wheel and the traces were minimized using the same process. I have the shine I want but still have the hazing aspects in certain areas. So my question is...am I doing something wrong or is this to be expected? Am I "burning" it or possibly using the wrong process etc? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks!!

[Trixxr]

I'm new at this too but, did you try this already ?
Eliminating 'Swirl' Marks
Swirl marks caused by buffing in the final stages can easily be removed by wetting the part with a damp cloth, then dusting with a powder such as:- Whiting, Talcum Powder or Corn Starch, then buff on your wheel again until the swirls disappear.

[bairdmotorcycles]

No I havent. I was not sure if what I was calling traces were the "swirls" that they talked about. It makes perfect sense though. I will try it this weekend and see if that does in deed work. Have you tried it before? Anyone else have any information? Any powder found to be better than the alternatives? Thanks

[mpierich]

Originally Posted by bairdmotorcycles

No I havent. I was not sure if what I was calling traces were the "swirls" that they talked about. It makes perfect sense though. I will try it this weekend and see if that does in deed work. Have you tried it before? Anyone else have any information? Any powder found to be better than the alternatives? Thanks

Tried it a few times, didn't do diddly. No suggestions either, but my customers haven't had any complaints yet about it. I've concluded that "perfection" is not totally attainable, and it seems NASA agrees with me (there's a recent thread on that). Of course if you are seeing haze, that's another matter and means you need to go back a step or two.

[Trixxr]

Originally Posted by bairdmotorcycles

No I havent. I was not sure if what I was calling traces were the "swirls" that they talked about. It makes perfect sense though. I will try it this weekend and see if that does in deed work. Have you tried it before? Anyone else have any information? Any powder found to be better than the alternatives? Thanks

Any luck ? Just curious how your project was going....

[bairdmotorcycles]

Havent had a chance to get back to it quite yet. The customer NEEDED IT SO BAD!!! But yet it has been sitting here in my shop's showroom for about 2 weeks now. Go figure huh! Anyways, I may hit it early next week and get back to you. I also have another one of my own frame's to do here shortly too if they take it before I get to it. Talk soon

[rides20]

If you look in the "album" at the R1 photos, you can't tell, but there are in fact swirls...I see them, but generally customers don't see it as a "defect". On my website, I have a photo of myself and the owner of that bike, and he is so happy with it that he can't stop talking about it long enough to smile for the camera!...As polishers, we all want our products to be flawless and as good as can be, but in reality polishing is more of an art than a science and hand done things are unique! My experience this far has been that we see every little defect in every part we do, but the customer sees the part for what it is as a WHOLE...a nice "new" shiny part that once didn'nt look that way! If you take a step back and try and see the finished piece as a whole...it makes the whole process more enjoyable! Keep cool, and keep polishing!

[mpierich]

Originally Posted by rides20

My experience this far has been that we see every little defect in every part we do, but the customer sees the part for what it is as a WHOLE...a nice "new" shiny part that once didn'nt look that way! If you take a step back and try and see the finished piece as a whole...it makes the whole process more enjoyable! Keep cool, and keep polishing!

Hear hear! Very refreshing. I stress out every time I send out work, and every time, the customer is amazed with the work I did. It's just like that corner in the living room where you missed a square inch of painting...it looks terrible to you, but nobody else will ever notice.

I quickly learned to stop pointing out what I see as defects - sorta counterproductive, LOL. I do, however, guarantee my work...if you can prove that another guy can get it done better, you get your money back. If this ever happens, then I'll try and find out how he does it, so it's a win-win.

Strive for perfection, but don't lose any sleep over it.

[LilJoe]

Hi guy's,
I'm new here and so far have learned alot . For me polishing has been a trial and error proccess . I'm just now getting the hang of it.
Thank you rides20 for putting things into proper perspective . I recently polished out the fuel tanks on the Freightliner I drive . They look really nice and the owner of the truck raves about how good they look . But I keep focusing on the blemishes . It really does make a difference when look at the overall part as a whole .
Thanks again for all input
Joe

[rides20]

...thought that would help!...I'm always flipping out when I come close to a deadline, (I was bleeding the brakes at 4am the day I had to deliver the R1!!) and really get nervous when I deliver the piece. But when all is said and done...take a step back and take a good hard look at what your own 2 hands did. I'm glad that was received well.