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Need help cleaning and polishing parts
Posted: May 16th, 2011, 6:50 pm
by Domb1972
Hi all
I was wondering if yall could help me out , how are yall cleaning and polishing these car parts
do I just get a bench grinder and add a felt wheel ? what kind of polish do I use ? Cleaner? I have a Raco Grand National that I am thinking of cleaning up. Thanks for the help.
Dom
Re: Need help cleaning and polishing parts
Posted: May 18th, 2011, 4:41 pm
by Domb1972
WOW amazing what one can do when they give the effort
I went to Harbor Fright and bought a 6" buffer , stand and polishing compound I came home put all togeather and put the compond on the polishing wheel and polished the rear bumper mount then used the buffing wheel to buff it out AMAZING!!!!! its like a mirror !!! I called a local shop and they wanted 500.00 bucks to polish out all the parts on my Raco GN !!! Total investment $76.00 and now I can polish out anything! By the way thanks for the help guys and yes that was sarcastic LMAO
Thanks Dom
Re: Need help cleaning and polishing parts
Posted: May 18th, 2011, 4:53 pm
by Mike Casey
thats the way to do it. just hold the parts really tight. Its no fun having one hammered against the ground.
Re: Need help cleaning and polishing parts
Posted: May 18th, 2011, 7:56 pm
by Venomusss
I bought most of my polishing supplies at Harbor Freight. I do most polishing on the wheel and use a dremel for the tight spots. Here is some of the polished parts:
http://www.quarterscalelegends.com/bb/v ... =18&t=1328
Re: Need help cleaning and polishing parts
Posted: May 18th, 2011, 8:29 pm
by Domb1972
Wow just check those parts out and all I can say is WOW!!! Great Job ! I am tackling my skellenger rear cover tomorrow, any tips?
Re: Need help cleaning and polishing parts
Posted: May 19th, 2011, 3:45 am
by Venomusss
Domb1972 wrote:Wow just check those parts out and all I can say is WOW!!! Great Job ! I am tackling my skellenger rear cover tomorrow, any tips?
The one I did was pretty bad. I had to do lots of wet sanding to get all the nicks and scrapes smooth. I started with 120 grit, then 220, 400, 600 and finally 800. I had to cut little sticks of wood to fit in the grooves. It's funny each groove is a different width??????
The tiny areas needed a Dremel to polish. The 6" wheel could do about 75% of the area. If yours is in decent shape you might be able to start with the wheel right away and finish with a Dremel.
Re: Need help cleaning and polishing parts
Posted: May 19th, 2011, 9:52 am
by Domb1972
Thanks Venomuss mine is in great conditiona no nicks so hoping it goes smooth I will be happy if it comes out 80% as good as yours ,that is an AWSOME looking part
Thanks Dom
Re: Need help cleaning and polishing parts
Posted: May 19th, 2011, 1:58 pm
by cryo-tek
I did it the old school way.

I took the motor out of a washing machine and bolted it to my work bench. Then I purchased an arbor and buffing wheels from the hardware store. I’ve been using it for the past 30 years polishing BSA, Triumph and HD cases.
Some tips for you…

keep a soft buffing wheel for use with Simichrome only. When you’re finished polishing your parts change your wheel and go over the part with Simichrome. Also try some Simichrome on your chrome parts.

Mount a drill chuck on the motor so you can grab and spin rods to polish them. Sand and polish one end, flip it over and do the other end. The part won’t get pulled out of your hand this way.
Re: Need help cleaning and polishing parts
Posted: May 20th, 2011, 3:28 am
by Venomusss
I have never used Simichrome. I usually finish the aluminum with the rouge jewelry compound. Is the Simichrome better?
cryo-tek wrote:I did it the old school way.

I took the motor out of a washing machine and bolted it to my work bench. Then I purchased an arbor and buffing wheels from the hardware store. I’ve been using it for the past 30 years polishing BSA, Triumph and HD cases.
Some tips for you…

keep a soft buffing wheel for use with Simichrome only. When you’re finished polishing your parts change your wheel and go over the part with Simichrome. Also try some Simichrome on your chrome parts.

Mount a drill chuck on the motor so you can grab and spin rods to polish them. Sand and polish one end, flip it over and do the other end. The part won’t get pulled out of your hand this way.