In a message dated 9/17/99 5:24:27 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
comorgan@juno.com writes:
<< I don't want a mirror finish on the wheels, I just want to clean them
up a bit, even out the finish, etc. There are both machined and rough
cast
portions visible. It's probably been a couple years since these had been
touched, and when I bought them up, the had been sitting outside, covered
with
leaves, etc. What's good these days for cleaning and polishing aluminum?
>>
Stu-
I just went through this exercise on a number of aluminum bits, including
rims, on a Yamaha RD400 I "restified".
Depending on how stained or scratched the aluminum is, you can start with a
fairly fine sandpaper, like 400 wet. Work out to 600-800 wet and then break
out the buffing wheel. Even if you don't want a "mirror" finish, you will get
one...if you want to back it down to a brushed look, simply hit it with fine
steel wool, "sanding" in one direction. For the actual buffing, I used a
white polishing compound stick which can be bought at many places, I got my
compounds at Sears. A high speed drill with an appropriate buffing wheel is
also needed, although I used a Dremel and smaller wheels because of the
smaller surface areas on my motorcycle. You will be amazed at the results by
taking the time to do your wheels this way...You may even to decide to keep
that "mirror" finish on the rim lips.
Mike
|