3 Hours of Work, Polish Compound and a ton of elbow grease =

loudandproud

Member
Jul 29, 2006
314
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Before the Polish:



After the polish:



Close up:



I was sick of how my clutch cover was all worn so i went at it.

I polished the Kick starter, brake, and clutch cover. It looks great, very mirror like. I might try to get it alittle better monday in school buy using the polisher in metal shop. ;)

So what do you all think, i think it make the motor look much newer. :nod:
 

loudandproud

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Jul 29, 2006
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HajiWasAPunk said:
I think you should ride more and clean less!

Looks good though. :cool:

haha, same here. I wish i could more in, i ride maybe 2 times a week if im lucky. Usually only once a week though.
 

Moose

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Sep 16, 2006
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Looks good. I'd hate to ride that thing, after it was that nice looking. Your bike is spoiled, my bike just gets some water thrown at it a bit, if I'm feeling generous I might put it on high pressure and spray it underneath. The only time i really cleaned my bike this year was at the end of the season.

Once again though, looks awesome. :cool:
 

Moparman1539

Member
Sep 9, 2006
804
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what did you use? i have to say Mothers is the best (you'll get the most shine) then you need a aluminum polishing wax.. and you need to put some of that on so all you need to so is wipe it on and bam.. back to what it looked like before you rode and dirtied it..

i have a lot of experience.. i've been polishing semi trucks since i was little (6 - 24.5" rims, and 2 - 5' / 1.5' tanks a truck..) takes me two days to do.. about 12hours of work.. very tiring.. but i get payed $60.00 a truck =D.. $5.00 a wheel.. $15.00 a tanks and i think its worth it..

BUT! good job.. and ANYTHING that is aluminum is able to be polished.. (i guess you already knew that but isn't the rear swingarm aluminum? don't yell at me please.. i didn't know)
 

SPAWN

Member
Nov 19, 2006
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My old school gsxr1100 are also polished and it is a lot of work. I think a dirt bike is much worse to keep clean. Good job though.

best of luck keeping it that way
now go and get it dirty!
 

Chili

Lifetime Sponsor - Photog Moderator
Apr 9, 2002
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Holy moly, you cleaned that thing so well your camera was actually able to focus in the second picture :laugh:
 

ellandoh

dismount art student
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Mi. Trail Riders
Aug 29, 2004
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if youre going to keep polishing aluminum, i suggest you look up aluminum exposure on WEBMD youll be surprised at what you find, i know a guy who found out the hard way
 

Treejumper

2 wheeled idiot
Damn Yankees
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Sep 9, 2000
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Polished kick starter = slippery when boot is muddy or wet = whacked leg = ouch
 

loudandproud

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Jul 29, 2006
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Treejumper said:
Polished kick starter = slippery when boot is muddy or wet = whacked leg = ouch

i though of that and didnt polish the inner side or the part where your foot rests.
 

loudandproud

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Jul 29, 2006
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ellandoh said:
if youre going to keep polishing aluminum, i suggest you look up aluminum exposure on WEBMD youll be surprised at what you find, i know a guy who found out the hard way

couldnt find anything... maybe you would like to explain?
 

Zenith

Member
Jan 11, 2001
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I'd guess he's referring to something like this -

 

ellandoh

dismount art student
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Aug 29, 2004
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yup^^^

bottom line, if youre going to do alot of aluminum polishing with a wheel do not breathe the particles in the air.
 

knowiam

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Oct 17, 2006
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Aluminum-Webmd

ellandoh said:
if youre going to keep polishing aluminum, i suggest you look up aluminum exposure on WEBMD youll be surprised at what you find, i know a guy who found out the hard way

Is that in regards to Altzeimers (sp)?

Just curious as I was polishing aluminum this weekend too. :yikes:

Ken

Edit: Whoops...did'nt realize that'd been answered on the page #2. AS usual, I'm sharp as a marble this morning!
 

rohleder149

Member
Oct 11, 2006
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the polished pieces look good.....you'd be suprised as to how much better it would look with a little frame paint though.....definitely detracts from how good those pieces look. get some aluminum frame guards, then you can polish the heck out of them too
 

loudandproud

Member
Jul 29, 2006
314
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i will have to do that and get some aframe paint
 

trial_07

Play with gravity
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Apr 26, 2004
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A part of my frame, the kick starter, the swingarm, and the silencer have been polished. It looks great! Nice job Loudandproud :cool:
 

loudandproud

Member
Jul 29, 2006
314
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I just touched up the frame up a bit. The paint isnt a 100% but i just wanted to see how it looked. I think ill do a real paint job later this winter rather that just this touchup.

But i think this stuff should beef up the resale a little bit if the people looking at it like it. Plus it didnt cost me anything but alittle bit of my time.
 

trial_07

Play with gravity
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Apr 26, 2004
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So what are you planning to get?
 

loudandproud

Member
Jul 29, 2006
314
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2005-07 CR450F or a YZ450F

i cant say that i really "need" it. But hell, at our level, who ever needs something that badass.
 

Solid State

Member
Mar 9, 2001
492
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Be very careful with imparting a lot of heat or grinding/polishing on that magnesium clutch cover. The autoignition temperature of Magnesium is 883 degrees F and once ignited burns at approx. 4000 degrees F. Normal methods will not extinguish the material (as I found out in chemistry class long ago - don't ask). A Wikipedia search also gave the next two tidbits:

-The extremely high temperature at which magnesium burns makes it a handy tool for starting emergency fires during outdoor recreation.

-Other uses include flashlight photography, flares, pyrotechnics, sparklers, and incendiary bombs.

Good luck.
 
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