Sanding/Polishing, materials/tools advice

[SirFallalot]

Hey fellows,

I'm taking apart my CB400 to clean & fully service, in the mean time I want to polish most corroded aluminium bits including the engine. I'm not gonna ask HOW, there's tons of guides, I'm gonna ask for recommendations on the TOOLS for the job.

Firstly, sandpaper, B&Q has 240 to 600, but isn't enough( the parts look much cleaner, but still have the "scratch" marks and don't have dat reflection ), so will need to get to 1000 or more depending on the part I suppose.

Now I've used sandpaper before, it doesn't last forever, but i was doing the handlebar mounts/clamps, quite small, and the abrasive comes off the paper in no time! Did I soak it too much? Is it bad quality or is it normal??

Next question, I need to buy more sandpaper and of higher grits, anyone has any links they can recommend? I know there's a lot ton, and cheap, on ebay/amazon, but reviews always say "Oh it's great" and "Shittiest thing I've bought", so not very helpful in the end!



Next up, some things like the engine I want to polish up so I can see my pretty face. Came across this site, https://www.metalpolishingsupplies.co.uk/for-use-on-drills/ , different prices and sizes but the image is the same for everything! And there's also the ebay equivalents . This good?


And as for the compound, in a lot of guides I saw to use 2-3 soap bars of different polish in stages, others suggested single application of autosol. Which is the best? And are the soap bars all the same?

I just want things shiny!

Apologies for the long read, I appreciate any adivce!

[Riejufixing]

[Sister Sledge]

Yeah sandpaper will scratch but it's not the same stuff.
With sanding and polishing you're in for a long journey. There's no easy way but machinery can help you on your way.

Remember before you start that using paint stripper will remove varnish and paints and make the job easier at the start.

Something you need to consider is those foam blocks with 4 sides covered in wet and dry. There's a cheap and a quick way:
They cost a fortune each but you can buy '2nds' where the quality wasn't quite right at manufacture. I've used them before (still have some left) and they were good for squashing into crevices. You can cut strips off too and fit those through smaller bits.

There's a thousand ways to do things though and others will come along with ideas.
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CCM 404 DS

[Grubscrew]

Save yourself a lot of rubbing, get an electric polishing wheel with a sponge head, and use T cut with water in a spray bottle to keep the bit you are working on fluid.
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FJR1300/CBR1000F

[stinkwheel]

Polishing alloy is a never ending task. Utterly thankless, largely pointless because it'll just keep needing doing and probably isn't doing your bike any good either.

You're better off riding it rather than polishing it. They weren't shiny when new and they are getting a very long way from new by now.

Use a green scotchbright pad to take the worst of the furry bits off. Wash it, dry it, wipe down with a cloth soaked in ACF50. Get riding.

Most people would use a polishing compound/paste/block and a cloth/mop rather than abrasive paper.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Hong Kong Phooey]

[Robby]

If you just want the alloy to look non-shit, consider getting it vapour blasted back to bare alloy and then giving it an occasional rub with ACF50. If it does corrode, you can give it a quick sand with emery paper and then reapply ACF50.

Factory alloy end up looking shit because it corrodes under the lacquer. This means that you can't just sand off the soft fluffy corrosion, you have to sand through the hard lacquer to get to it.

You can also rub whatever oil you want onto bare alloy. Slightly oily bare alloy looks good. Corroded alloy looks shit. Polished alloy will also corrode and look shit, unless you really know what you're doing and manage to seal the surface really well.

[Pete.]

[vitus detritus]

I admire your dedication - because that's what this job requires. I once had a pair of Aprillia wheels which I stripped and polished. They looked like they'd been dipped in chrome. Took me 2 weeks.

Here's how it goes:
You need every grade of paper from 250 to 2000. You sand away until you get uniform 'scratches' on the surface - and then you move onto the next grade.

So I started with 250 (because the 'orange peel' finish of the wheels demanded it) and went to 300 and something, then 4hundred and something etc etc. Then when I got to 1000 I went to 2000 and finished off with a cotton wheel and some Belgom.

If you just want it looking decent, I'd give it a rub with 400 is emery paper (to get the corrosion off) then hit it with a cotton wheel with 'red' type alu polish compound, then hit it with the 'blue' type. That should look pretty good. Clean between different grades of paper/polish with white spirit.

Polishing ally separates the men from the boys. It's a test of character.
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if it ain't broke, don't fix it

[Hawkeye1250FA]

Won't repeat the above advice as it's all good 👍.

I use autosol for polishing, get an old pair of jeans and cut into strips, then use those strips with autosol compound to wrap around the bit you are doing, a few back and forth motions and voila.

Took me about 2 hours to do all 4 downpipes to a mirror shine, and they were properly horrible before hand.
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1993 RF400R - 2002 Bandit 1200 - 2012 1250 FA