polishing thread?

[Oddjob]

Oh and before I forget, yesterday I started something that may interest members.

How to get better results and cheaper chroming for your parts.

I have 2 old CB500 chain adjusters, 50 year old parts, not too bad TBH BUT with the usual pitting etc. So I decided to spend a little time on one and leave the other alone. They have both been de-chromed so back to bare metal, although it's a sort of dull grey metal now. The pits are easy to see now, you can also see which parts will start to rust first, so I set about removing all the pits and removing all the potential areas where rust would start to get a hold of first, you don't see these areas until you look very closely and see the damage already caused by rust, on the chain adjuster for instance it's the edges, they are really rough, lots of small cavities that water tends to hide in and sit there and slowly attack the chrome until it finally gets through and then it starts to attack the metal and blow off the nickel layer etc. So by removing these small cavities this will hopefully stop this happening after your expensive new chrome finish, putting a radius on the edges is another, lets get that water off there quicker.

I was intending to do a small thread on the subject but this has prompted me to bring it up before I finished. This was in answer to Roo having trouble with his plater re the chain guard and the small pits on there, I find my chromer loves it when I do a lot of the work beforehand, he charges me a pittance in comparison as it reduces his time spent on the piece by 80%.

Should I complete this?

[Sesman]

Oh yes….

[Oddjob]

Oh and before I forget completely, if you look at the pic of Roos brake plate, the area in the middle between the 2 ridges, that odd line that's appeared and those marks to the left of them are very typical of the stuff hiding under the paint.

To get between the hole for the brake lever and that small knob use a brand new brush Roo so the fronds are as long as possible, don't use that brush again until you need to access deep areas like that, use a brush already shortened for simple to reach areas.

The top of those ridges, use a flap wheel on those, it's got a flat surface so it's better for areas like that, they go really flat and all the damage will just melt away.

[Oddjob]

Just spotted these on Amazon. In case anyone is after some.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mandrels-Cleaning-Finishing-Deburring-Abrasive/dp/B089F215V5/ref=sr_1_38?crid=37CFJC8F7TO54&keywords=abrasive+brushes&qid=1667830829&s=industrial&sprefix=abrasive+%2Cindustrial%2C67&sr=1-38

[Sesman]

Purchased…ta.

[Laverdaroo]

Them are the ones i got....

Im on with it tonight I think so I'll have a go at that. cheers.

[Laverdaroo]

Meant to add earlier but forgot. It’s only that I’ve just done it reminded me.

On these plastic disc things, one side is plain, the other has a small dimple, divot in it. When you put them on the Drexel, the little dot needs to be facing the Drexel otherwise they rag to bits in seconds. Direction of travel and all that.




I say both discs only coz I use two at a time.


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[Laverdaroo]

Comin on…..


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[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

That's impressive how many hours did it take with that little flap wheel ?

[Laverdaroo]

I did 4 last nite. Just picked it up again as there’s some spots that are Buffera touring out.

Having a ash with a couple of the purple ones to see if Iva get out what I wanted. It’s being a bit stubborn but Muddy Waters is on the radio, kettles on and I’ve even remembered to wear some gloves……….get in


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[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

4 freaking hours Roo that's almost a working week for me these days. Looking good though.👍👍👍

[Oddjob]

If buying those sets of brushes I'd advise buying at least 2 sets if not more. Sure it racks up quick but you'll find you need the green, blue and red most and whilst they do last they are not indestructible and having spares handy is better than having to stop to order some more.

Plus you'll find doing this kind of stuff gets contagious, you'll be cleaning stuff up you didn't consider before, like de-rusting the gear lever, using the white or light green brush can do this without affecting the chrome too much.  You could also try this, although I haven't tested this theory yet, do the camshaft end caps with a very high numbered abrasive, like purple, just to remove the paint and lacquer, then try and see if scouring the surface with a kitchen scourer leaves a surface you can relacquer. Might work, who knows till someone tries it. If nothing else it will make them look better than dirty old lacquer.


A couple of pics of stuff, to keep you motivated.

Before polishing, just flatted.





Notice the small darkish area halfway up and slightly to the left of centre. That's one of those mysterious marks that appear when you sand away the paint etc, it's some sort of stain or something, it will go if you work hard on it but best to see if the buffing removes it first.
Close up. It's not a dent or a crack, it's not caused by the sanding, it's some sort of casting stain I think.



Not the same float bowl but it was in the same shape as that one, not final polished, just it's initial polish. The final polish will remove some of the very fine marks, hopefully.

[Oddjob]

Meant to add earlier but forgot. It’s only that I’ve just done it reminded me.

On these plastic disc things, one side is plain, the other has a small dimple, divot in it. When you put them on the Drexel, the little dot needs to be facing the Drexel otherwise they rag to bits in seconds. Direction of travel and all that.




I say both discs only coz I use two at a time.


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Good point Roo, I'd forgotten to mention that.

[Sesman]

Ken, FFS stop prepping and start building…😀

[Oddjob]

I did 4 last nite. Just picked it up again as there’s some spots that are Buffera touring out.

Having a ash with a couple of the purple ones to see if Iva get out what I wanted. It’s being a bit stubborn but Muddy Waters is on the radio, kettles on and I’ve even remembered to wear some gloves……….get in


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Purple might be too fine as yet Roo, unless that's done with a red, if not I find red is my favourite one to use, you can finally see it coming on and it gives you that encouragement to continue.

On the brake rivet things, clean them out with a wire brush, metal not brass and I filled them in with black paint to stop them rusting again afterwards. A little forward thinking saves a lot of effort later.