600 grit swirlmarks

[cantex]

i am also trying my hand at polishing up some 18 yr old motorcycle wheels.
they were well pitted and oxidized, so i started with a 120 grit sandpaper, and went to 200, 400 wet and 600 wet.

my question:
is there a recommended sandpaper everyone uses. i was using 3m (i think) but it seems to be leaving a lot of grit on the wheel, and i have to clean it every pass.
after the 600 wet, i have a lot of swirl marks, not deep, just swirl marks?
i did all the sanding my hand.

will the buffing with black get those swirl marks out out? is it normal?
was i sanding too hard?

i dont want to do more work than neccessary.

[mpierich]

Re: 600 grit swirlmarks

...i dont want to do more work than neccessary.

That's why you try whatever you want to do next on a small area first. I often take one small area thru the whole process to see what works best.

Are you sure it's the 600 you're seeing? Changing directions with each grit can help tell.

To sort of answer your question - try the black compound and see what it does! BTW, a number of us have started skipping the tripoli altogether and just doing the black and then white to color it up. Your mileage may vary.

[pickleboy]

Re: 600 grit swirlmarks

will the buffing with black get those swirl marks out out? is it normal?
was i sanding too hard?

i dont want to do more work than neccessary.

its the same for all of us, not wanting to work harder but work smarter. as for the buffing with black, it should take the marks out. as mike said though try a small area first. for the most part i never sand above 600 on aluminum. the black bar starts its cut at approx. 600 grit so it should do fine. if not then sand to 800. also when wetsanding on aluminum i add a small amount of dish soap to help "lube" the part. the other option is to wet sand with wd-40 or something like it. best of luck bro.

[cantex]

Re: 600 grit swirlmarks

you know, after sanding with 600, it just didnt seem right, so last night i bought a different brand sandpaper, and it worked like i thought it should, removed most of the swirls, or at least reduced the severity of them. I'll hit it again this weekend with the sandpaper, then start with the black. i was using the liquid soap with water.

[rides20]

Re: 600 grit swirlmarks

Be careful with 3m paper. they have the standard and the "Imperial" brand paper....Imperial uses the "p" grading system which is actually coarser than standard paper of the same grit! For example 600 P paper is actually 360 grit in standard paper!....Check out this link!

https://www.homesteadfinishing.com/pdf/grits.pdf

it isnt bad to use the P grit stuff....but be careful switching back and forth...those numbers get confusing after a day of polishing!! I hope this helps! Feel free to email any time and I'll give you a call!...Dave