Just spotted this on german e-bay

[Oddjob]

Don't know who he is but he can certainly polish to a very high standard. Can't read the auctions so have no idea of that's the price to polish something or your buying the finished part, suspect the latter.


http://stores.ebay.de/Poliershop-H-Lang/Four-550-/_i.html?_fsub=1839517013&_sid=452389423&_trksid=p4634.c0.m322

[Trigger]

Oddjob, he sells refurbished polished motorcycle and car parts. The price is not a service. 

[Oddjob]

Well he's very talented. I'm a bit of a dab hand at polishing myself and those are certainly as good or even better than my best work.

This is some of my work, the first case was quite damaged after having a slide down the road ( I bought all these off E-Bay cheap due to damage)

[Lobo]

Stunning Oddjob,

So many questions... perhaps a full low-down including..

Set up costs & tooling...
Maintenance of the finish
How to... INCLUDING getting into all the nooks & crannies..
How do you cope with deep nicks etc
How long it takes to eg get photo 1 from Honda finish to Oddjob finish.

...and anything else worthy of note...

Cheers,
Simon

[LesterPiglet]

I would be scared to put those pieces on my bike. What do you do to keep them like that in our weather?

[Oddjob]

I would be scared to put those pices on my bike. What do you do to keep them like that in our weather?

Those casings have been on my CB1300 for the last 6 months or so. The footrest brackets considerably longer. The casings are harder to keep pristine as the heat generated by the engine makes these cases red hot and any crap which gets flung up at them tends to burn onto them, I usually just give them a quick wash with a micro fibre mitt and they are good to go again. I did run the bike all through last winter and have only just stored it for the first time for 3 years this winter. The footrest brackets require very little attention as they don't really get hot, quick wipe over and they are fine. Occasionally I'll clean them with Solvol or something just to get them gleaming again.

I rather foolishly let the road salt on the casings when I stored it, I've only just got round to washing the bike and changing the oil after 2 months and the casings aren't the best, I'm going to remove them again just to use the buffer to get them back to standard. All in all they don't require as much attention as you'd think.

I may do a How-To Lobo if that would help. The initial cost can be a trifle expensive but you recoup that by saving on having them done professionally. I've just this week been approached by another 1300 owner who wants his casings done, so I suppose if you get good at it and TBH it's not as hard as you think, then you can turn a profit on them.

[LesterPiglet]

I just prefer a shine and a quick rub now and again. Those casings look brilliant but I have no time for that. Is there any coating in particular you use when cleaning your bike.
I try to do things as cheaply as possible as I'm unemployed at the moment.

Know anyone who needs a computer built?   

[Lobo]

Certainly I'd be keen to learn Oddjob... thanks.

Working abroad I have heaps of dead time away from the bikes.... a perfect way to keep busy on them.... bit by bit from a suitcase. Lucky eh? (not)

Cheers,
Simon

[Oddjob]

I just prefer a shine and a quick rub now and again. Those casings look brilliant but I have no time for that. Is there any coating in particular you use when cleaning your bike.
I try to do things as cheaply as possible as I'm unemployed at the moment.

Know anyone who needs a computer built?   

There is about the same maintenance on them as there is on the chrome on your bike Lester. For instance to get my 4 into 4 exhausts nice and shiny and to protect what is essentially a very expensive investment I used to remove all the exhausts just to clean them. That way you get to those areas where the crap accumulates and eventually it rots it through. Just a quick wipe over with a soapy cloth, rinse off and they are good for a while. Then every few weeks you can polish them real well, just like you do with your handlebars for instance.

The main problem with Honda casings is corrosion, you may not believe it but the alloy isn't lacquered, that shine isn't the alloy. Yeah amazed me as well but as you work on something you notice certain things and that's one of the things I noticed. Honda use a rough casting, polish it a bit to remove the rough edges so it looks and feels nice, then they spray it with a silver paint, then they lacquer the paint. That's the shine, lacquer on paint.
When the casing gets hit by a stone chip it breaks the coating of the lacquer, water gets in and attacks the paint or even worse gets under the paint to the alloy underneath, this then reacts and blows the paint off the surface in that bubbling we all know so well. As you remove the lacquer in the process of preparing the casing for polishing you'll first off see the lacquer coming off and then there's a dull grey surface underneath, that's the paint. Rub hard enough and you then see the alloy, it's shiner than the paint believe it or not. However they didn't polish any harder as then the paint won't bond. That's the main problem with polishing, it's so smooth you can't lacquer after as the paint just runs off. You'll see all this if I do a How-To

[59viperman]

  I have dabbled in this from time to time and have a few bits of kit, only problem is im shite at it so a script of wisdom on here would be a big boost.