Unless you are going to do a ton of polishing get a buffer from Harbor
Freight:
http://www.harborfreight.com/
Then get some buffing wheels, at least 4 of them, stack two per
side:
http://www.harborfreight.com/
Then look for compound at your local store, or get it at McMaster
Carr:
Search for Buffing Bars:
http://www.mcmaster.com/
Start with Tripoli, White and Red rouge for aluminum. Start with something like a stem to see how the cut and color compounds respond. Wear safety glasses and gloves, if you're not careful the buffer can throw a part across the room in a blink of an eye.
Steve DeOreo North Canton, Ohio, USA
>
Kurt makes a good point in this post from a couple of weeks ago, and I've
> decided I really should get a buffing wheel, but never having
owned one
> before, I'm not sure what to buy. I saw one at Sears
over Thanksgiving
> for about $100, which seems cheap, so I
wonder if it is any good. What do
> others use? I'm also not
familiar with the various wheels and buffing
> compounds used.
Can someone fill me in and perhaps provide links to
> online
stores that sell these supplies? I have a few projects involving
> some crankarms that need to be cleaned up and polished, and I'd
like to do
> it an easier way.
>
> Regards,
>
> Jerry Moos
> Big Spring, Texas, USA
>
>
>
> --- On Fri, 11/13/09, Kurt Sperry
<haxixe@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>
From: Kurt
Sperry <haxixe@gmail.com>
>> Subject: Re: [CR]
Restoration: Alloy parts. Question?
>> To: "Norm and Val
Lafleur" <nvlafleur@verizon.net>
>> Cc:
"classicrendezvous" <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
>> Date: Friday, November 13, 2009, 10:34 AM
>>
Polishing unanodized aluminum to a
>> mirror finish doesn't
require a lot
>> of sanding steps. You can quickly sand
out any
>> pitting or scratches
>> with 220 grit
dry then go straight to the buffing
>> wheel. Start with
>> bobbing compound on a cotton wheel and follow that with
>> Fabuluster.
>> Use two different wheels, the
polishing compounds are
>> available
>> through
any large jewelry supply house. You can get a less
>> bright
but
>> shinier than satin finish by stopping after the bobbing
>> step. I
>> always cringe when I read
people describing how they went
>> through
>>
multiple hand sanding steps over hours to get what is
>>
probably not as
>> good a polish as I can get in a few
minutes. Careful
>> with the buffing
>>
wheel though, it's dangerous.
>>
>> Kurt Sperry
>> Bellingham, Washington
>> USA
>>
>> 2009/11/13 Norm and Val Lafleur
<nvlafleur@verizon.net>:
>> > The
current thread on restoration got me thinking
>> about
restoration of alloy parts. I enjoy salvaging
>> scratched up
seat posts, oxidized brake calipers, stems ,
>> hubs etc. For
the most part I leave anodized parts alone.
>> For non
anodized parts I wet sand with grits up to 2500 and
>> buff
with Tripoli compound and white rouge. What I'm
>> wondering
is there any equivalency scale to correlate the
>> various
abrasive media. Is Tripoli finer than 2500 grit
>> paper,
where do the steel wool grades "0", "00" etc fit in.
>> >
>> > It would be helpful to know
the equivalency in order
>> to know when to stop the tedious
sanding and move on to the
>> easier to apply buffing
compounds. Does such a correlation
>> scale exist? For those
of you who also polish parts what
>> have you learned? What do
you use for a mirror finish? For a
>> satin finish? Opinions
welcome.
>> >
>> >
>> >
Norm Lafleur
>> > Ashfield, Massachusetts
>> > USA
>> >
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