polishing swingarm in stages

Get results like this following my polishing tips
it takes about 3-5 hours from start to finish to get a top notch result using a heavy duty hand drill.
equipment you need.
high power drill. i used 1050watt
large drill mandril for mops
small drill mandril for felts and small mops

1x 6"X1"(2 section)coloured stitch mop/sisal/white close stitch/calico.
1x 2"x1"(2 section)coloured stitch mop/sisal/white close stitch/calico.
1x 1"X1"(2 section)coloured stitch mop/sisal/white close stitch/calico.
1/4 bar 150 grit satene(abrasive compound)
1/4 bar 240 grit satene( " " " " )
1/4 bar 400 grit satene( " " " " )
1x mini bar grey 523bff compound
1x mini bar green 439T compound
1x mini bar blue p164 compound
and a selection of mounted felts.
1000 grit wet & dry

step 1: clean swingarm with soapy water or a cleaning agent for bikes.
step 2: use a 150 grit satene on a coloured stitch mop to get rid of all heavy casting marks and deep scratches, drill should be set to low rpm's to allow cutting action to work.
step 3: clean mop on file fixed to vice or a rough surface, making sure to get rid of 150 grit.use 240 grit satene on same mop to get rid of medium scratches
step 4: clean and use 400 grit saten on same mop to get rid of light scratches
step 5: rub down with wet and dry
step 6: use grey compound on sisal mop
step 7: wipe down with clean cloth and use green compound on white stitch.
step 8: wipe down and use blue compound on calico mop.
use small mops for tight areas and felts for even smaller places. all compounds can be used on felts.
keep a clean area at all times to minimise scratches, start inside swingarm first and clamp down for better control.
dont forget to cross cut to minimise gouges developing.
happy polishing.
my website is opening a new shop were all these goods can be got.

useful tips for loading mops on drill

Working with a drill and mop can be quite difficult; you need three sets of hands when loading drill. So here is some helpful tips for loading
1 loading satene abrasive to a mop on a drill
The way I do it is, fix abrasive in a vice. If you have a grinding wheel turn on and turn drill on opposite way. Put mop to wheel, this cleans and also heats mop. Then put mop to satene while still turning on drill. This way it’s got enough heat to melt glue in satene compound and leaves a level surface. Also glue sets faster when heated saving time.
If you don’t have grinding machine a ruff surface like a file will do, fix it in vice for safety
2 loading compounds on a drill
I fix a flat file in vice and fix compound in vice with it as well. only showing a little so it won’t vibrate too much, when loading I put mop to file cleaning it and straight on to compound.
Simple time saving solutions.

Hi
In this blog I’m going to talk about how I got a mirror finish on some aluminium lambretta suspension parts.
The pictures featured don’t do the finish any justice, but believe me they were very bright mirror finish.
For this job I used

 A half round file
 Coloured mop with 150 & 240 grit satene
 Sisal mop with grey supercut 523 BFF
 White stitch with green 439T
 Calico with blue p164
 Wdr ( swansdown) with yellow p175 “ you can pink p126” instead of yellow, but yellow gives a better brighter finish.

This job will take a novice about 30 to 40 mins using a converted bench grinder using 6” or 4” mops.
You can buy all this kit from my online shop, including the bench grinder for £50 including postage. Excluding the satene and coloured stitch mops
Because the client wanted all the casting, stamp and anodising off i used a half round file at first to remove the bulk of it. Making sure not to take too much off and create flat spots.
After I was happy, I loaded the coloured stitch mop with 150 grit satene, waited 5 mins and loaded it again making sure I had a thick coverage.
Working the piece I moved it in a forward motion because it was tubular, making sure not to keep it in one place too long and create flat spots. We don’t want to create too much heat at this point. If it’s too hot to hold leave it for a couple of mins to cool off.
Once I was happy with the finish which looks sort of brushed I cleaned the mop off with a wire brush and then a heavy flat file, making sure all the previous satene was gone. What we don’t want is to make more scratches so it’s important to clean the mop well. Also make sure to clean the piece you’re polishing with a clean dry cloth, and do it softly.
I loaded the 240 grit in the same way as before.
I worked the piece same as before constantly turning it, this took about another 5 mins. When I was happy with the finish and all anodising, scratches and casting marks were gone I put it to one side to cool. By now it looked smooth brushed finish and you’ll know when this is..
Next we get to the best bit, sisal mop. This is where you’re going to see it coming together. We apply grey compound in a dabbing motion for about a second at a time, do this 3 times and you will have enough on it. We work piece in the same way constantly turning it and create enough heat for compound to work. Every 30 seconds or so add a little more compound in dabbing motion but only one time. You’re going to want to clean mop every 3-4 applications of compound, do this with edge of file or something with a flat straight edge. This is to get rid of any build up of compound and material. When you’ve been over it 4 or so times its going to look ready for next stage. You can tell because the piece will look dull metallic with no real visible scratches. Wipe clean with cloth and you can also use Vienna lime which gets rid of residue.
Now we use the white stitch with the green compound, same application as grey and same methods of cleaning and working. After you’ve been over it a couple of times it’s going to look bright, you can stop here because if you have done the process well it will look polished. But were going for a real bright mirror finish.
Now we use the calico with the blue compound same methods as before, after this stage it’s classed as mirror. You might find it cloudy in some areas so add a bit more compound and generate a bit more heat which will get rid of the clouding. Now the next step usually is to go to pink compound but if you have done all the previous stages well and it looks mirror you can use the WDR with the yellow compound. This will leave a very ,very bright mirror finish. Almost bright chrome looking and well worth the effort.
Now if you’ve taken your time you’re going to get the best finish, it will surprise you how bright it is.
Any problems get in touch with me at www.waxonwaxoffltd.co.uk
enquiries@waxonwaxoffltd.co.uk
or if you want to buy a kit for this job or any other polishing job get in touch and I’ll help you out.
Happy polishing oh don’t forget to wear a dusk mask cos you’ll have lungs of iron if you don’t.

abrasive & polishing step by step guide

The Abrasive & polishing process
In this blog I’m going to give you a step by step guide on how to polish a piece of aluminium to a mirror finish and all the products can be bought from my website. www.waxonwaxoffltd.co.uk.
If the shop is not up and running by the time you read this get in touch and I can get the equipment.
It doesn’t matter if the piece you’re polishing has anodised coating, medium scratches this process will guide you through.
This is what you’re going to need.
. If you don’t own a polishing machine or a converted bench grinder a hand drill will do.
. Abrasive work you’ll need 2 xcolored stitch mop, 150, 240 grit sateen.
. Polishing work you’ll need sisal mop, white stitch mop and a calico G with grey supercut compound, white compound and blue compound. I also use wet & dry 600 1000 1200 but that is optional
To start with you got to prep your colored stitch mop, the best way to do it is start your machine or drill and wait for it to get to speed then turn off and apply the 150 grit satene in a dabbing motion. keep doing this until the mop is lightly coated, because it is a new mop you will have to wait 5 minutes or until the sateen has turn hard then do the same again until it has a full coat. Take the other colored stitch and do the same process with the 240 grit sateen.
Abrasive work
So the mops are prepped we get to work, using the 150 grit turn machine on or if you’re using a drill you’re going to have to clamp piece to be polished. We take the piece and work top to bottom going from one side to the other, so all the piece has been worked on then turn it 90 degrees and follow the same process until the scratches or anodised coating has been removed. This could take some time so be patient and try not to press to hard.
Now we use the mop with the 240 grit following the same process and by now you will start to see a difference. What were basically doing is making a series of smaller and smaller scratches. Try not to get the metal to hot as this will cause a ripple effect and you will have to start the whole process again. After I’ve finished this process I would normally give it a light rub with wet 600 grit wet and dry and this would give me an indication of how well I’m doing. Are there any deep scratches or tiny pieces of anodised coating that you missed?
Now we use the sisal mop with supercut using the same process of loading as before but without leaving it to dry or set. Bear in mind this should not be as heavily coated as satne so just do it the once.
Once you’re happy with the amount on the mop which is a light coat follow the process as before going up and down left to right and working the metal until the black smudges disappear and now you will start to see a difference in the metal, it will look semi bright. I must stress how important it is not to get the metal too hot now because it will ripple which you might not see and if it is hot you’ll have to start over again which is a pain.
This part is now optional
Rub it over with the wet 1000 grit wet and dry
Now take the white stitch mop using the supercut again with the same loading process until a very light coat, follow the same cutting process up and down left to right and it will get a bit brighter and looks a smoother finish. DONT get it hot.
This part is optional
Rub it over with wet 1200 grit wet and dry

Now take the calico G and load it with a dab of white compound, with the white and blue its best to use a little often and follow the same process up down left to right. Don’t rush and don’t get it hot and if the mop is fraying snip the frays off because these can cause scratches when they slap the metal. When finished this will be a semi mirror finish.
Now load the mop with the blue compound following the same process as white compound and same technique. A little and often. DONT get it hot and don’t rush because this is the final stage and when you have finished it will look mirror finished. Bright gleaming and if you aint got it hot no ripples. A tip would be to practise on something until you have mastered the motion of polishing. Be patient because you will get there in the end.

Any questions visit my website and ask. Im going to post a video up soon of the process from start to finish. Thanks for reading and good look.

tips for polishing

If you have any questions about polishing any metal. contact me on
enquiries@waxonwaxoffltd.co.uk

Part 1 basic guide to polishing

Polishing techniques

How we produce a mirror finnish is down to hard work, skill and a little common sense.
Take aluminium, its a very dirty material to work with, producing lots of black dust when being polished, but the end result and sense of pride far outways the hard work and sweat put into it. Just patience and commitment is all thats needed.
To get a show like finish or show finish, well thats a whole new ball game.

So what is a mirror finnish? If you were to look at a mirror finish under a microscope it would look like a mountain range. But because the peaks and valleys are so small and close together and rounded off, they reflect light and the surface appears smooth and mirror like, although its not.
Absolute flatness is actually impossible to achieve but we can get pretty close. therefore all we are actually doing is making a series of finer and finer scratches untill we eventually round of the peaks. This is achieved by going through the abrasive grades untill we get to the finish we want. The three methods used are: Abrasive finishing polishing, Buffing or bright finishing and colouring.

The first stage is often described as 'emery bobbing' or 'scurfing' this involves the use of abrasives which cut away the surface irregularities and imperfections. It can also be done by the use of abrasive belts, flap wheels, hand rubbing blocks or abrasive cloths and papers.

The second stage is polishing or buffing and requires the use of polishing compositions and mops to produce a bright smooth finish. The term COLOURING is applied to the final polishing of metal part when again use is made of mops and polishing compositions. After all the scratches have been polished out the metal is finally 'coloured' . To make it clean and brilliant, a lime-based or rouge composition is used on the finishing mops.

ABRASIVES

There are three main abrasives which we use, emery, aluminium oxide and silicon carbide, aluminium oxide being the most popular. The abrasives can be obtained in various grit sizes, from flour which is the finest and comes in 1200 and 1000, right through to the most common of 320 and so on till it reaches 60 or sometimes can be coarser. For abrasive finishing we only need grit sizes 320 to 60.
Abrasives are used in metal finishing in the following ways:: On abrasive belts, flap wheels, cloths and papers, etc.: On dressed wheels, mops, felt bobs, etc.: In grease bonded and lime-based polishing compositions: Loose grains for grit blasting, vapour blasting and lapping, in flexible rubber polishing blocks, sticks, polishing wheels and mounted point .Abrasive belts and flap wheels are now extensively used for preliminary abrasive operations prior to the polishing of components.is made up of strips of aluminium oxide coated belt material and bonded circumfrentially around a central resin core which is mounted on a steel shaft. This can be used on any D.I.Y. electric drill and hey presto you have a portable abrasive finishing machine which can be taken anywhere there is a power outlet.The abrasive flap wheel has all the advantages of the abrasive belt machine but with none of the disadvantages of high cost, non-portability, size and inability to work in small internal recesses.

ABRASIVE DRESSED WHEELS
The wheels or bobs are dressed with abrasive grain (emery, aluminium oxide or silicon carbide) using glue or cement as adhesive. Felt bobs are the most popular wheel used commercially, for their long life, although they are quite expensive, Felt wheels can be turned to any shape to suit particular trades or duty, such as grooved bobs for tubular work, small cones and fingers for jewellery and knife edged.

Visit my website for all your Metal polishing needs:

http://www.waxonwaxoffltd.co.uk