polishing fork legs

[prcucuma]

Hi there!

How do you polish small scratches out of fork legs? I was told to use first 600, then 800 and finally 1000 sand tape with a little bit of fork oil. I did try it with a fork leg on a lathe at nearly 1200 rpm but I must say that the surface is a bit rougher than on the places where I did nothing. Another hint was to use scotch brite for the finish, until now I didn't try it. So it is up to you...how do you do it?

 

[jho410]

I wet sand (water) and end up with 1200 grit. Seems to work fine.

 

[marcusgunby]

Me too.

 

[DEANSFASTWAY]

I like to use a really fine honing stone then polish with like 1K grit

 

[DEANSFASTWAY]

Sometimes for small knicks you can use clear nail polish or touch up paint and it fills the voids and helps tostop leak . No kidding.

 

[dbrace]

I have another soluction for small chips, super glue. I just sand the chip, apply a drop of super glue, a touch of heat to help it dry quicker and rub it back to smooth. U can buy 6, 5ml tubes for $2 (5 cents U.S.) I have been using it for over a year with no failures as yet.

 

[DEANSFASTWAY]

Yup super glue is good but I always get my fingers stuck together.

 

[RM_guy]

What ever you do make sure you don't get them too smooth. The surface needs some small grooves that catch and retain oil to keep the seals from sticking. Just make sure it looks the same as the rest of the surface and you should be fine.

 

[prcucuma]

Thanks for all your input! The super glue was new to me. Until now I did only know the nail polish.