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Hi,
This is my first post, so let me introduce myself. I'm Blake from Georgia. I've been lurking, reading, and experimenting for a little while now. Thanks to all you guys who have been so generous with your experiences and opinions, and to Caswell for hosting the forum.
I've had some success with basic aluminum polishing, so now I want to get down to business. I'm restoring a 1969 Honda CB750 and I want to get the aluminum engine covers as close to factory spec as possible. At that time Honda was producing more bikes in a month than most manufactures were producing in a year. So a very basic satin / brushed finished was used. The finishers didn't even knock off all the casting marks or bother to get in the crevices or bolt recesses. They just hit the visible areas with some type of abrasive tool and then clear coated the piece. But they were working with a freshly cast part, so the finish was nice none the less. Below is a picture of a perfect example of a CB750 rear wheel. You can see the brushed finish marks running in different directions on different areas and the "bumpy" rough cast areas as well. Even though it was a quick process, the piece came out nice and bright. Fast forward to today, I want to achieve the same finish, but I now have to deal with 40 years of oxidation and corrosion in every nook and cranny. I know it can be done because I’ve seen other very nicely restored bikes. The key is to not “over restore”. My main goals are to do it right and to do it myself. If any of you pros out there would share how you would approach this project if it were brought to your shop, I would greatly appreciate it.
Tools that I have readily available are:
1 hp, 1800 rpm buffer w/pedestal
Expander wheel with 3M Trizact belts of various grits
Sisal, Spiral Sewn, and Loose buffs, 10" & 12"
Emory, Tripoli, and White compounds
Large ultrasonic cleaner w/ Bransonic buffing compound removal solution
?” die grinder
I’m open to buying new tools or supplies to do the job right, so let the suggestions fly.
This is my first post, so let me introduce myself. I'm Blake from Georgia. I've been lurking, reading, and experimenting for a little while now. Thanks to all you guys who have been so generous with your experiences and opinions, and to Caswell for hosting the forum.
I've had some success with basic aluminum polishing, so now I want to get down to business. I'm restoring a 1969 Honda CB750 and I want to get the aluminum engine covers as close to factory spec as possible. At that time Honda was producing more bikes in a month than most manufactures were producing in a year. So a very basic satin / brushed finished was used. The finishers didn't even knock off all the casting marks or bother to get in the crevices or bolt recesses. They just hit the visible areas with some type of abrasive tool and then clear coated the piece. But they were working with a freshly cast part, so the finish was nice none the less. Below is a picture of a perfect example of a CB750 rear wheel. You can see the brushed finish marks running in different directions on different areas and the "bumpy" rough cast areas as well. Even though it was a quick process, the piece came out nice and bright. Fast forward to today, I want to achieve the same finish, but I now have to deal with 40 years of oxidation and corrosion in every nook and cranny. I know it can be done because I’ve seen other very nicely restored bikes. The key is to not “over restore”. My main goals are to do it right and to do it myself. If any of you pros out there would share how you would approach this project if it were brought to your shop, I would greatly appreciate it.
Tools that I have readily available are:
1 hp, 1800 rpm buffer w/pedestal
Expander wheel with 3M Trizact belts of various grits
Sisal, Spiral Sewn, and Loose buffs, 10" & 12"
Emory, Tripoli, and White compounds
Large ultrasonic cleaner w/ Bransonic buffing compound removal solution
?” die grinder
I’m open to buying new tools or supplies to do the job right, so let the suggestions fly.
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