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Looking to get the barrels polished on my '75

Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2015 9:30 am
by 75GT750
Anyone know of a polishing guy within driving distance of Southeastern Michigan? I considered doing it myself, but would prefer to pay a professional and save myself a week of work... :)

Re: Looking to get the barrels polished on my '75

Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2015 8:40 pm
by GT750Battleship
:shock: Hi,very easy job really to do yourself,depending on how bad the alloy is various grades of fine wet & dry paper will bring it back to a mirror finish,that, & a quality alluminium polish & microfibre cloth.Very satisfying to see the end result :up:
Cheers,
Roger

Re: Looking to get the barrels polished on my '75

Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2015 11:33 pm
by tz375
Strip the clear lacquer off first and then polish the ends only. 10 minute job

Re: Looking to get the barrels polished on my '75

Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2015 7:39 am
by 75GT750
Thanks Battleship. I think I'll give it a try. Just cleaning the grease and grime off of this thing will take a week in itself, but I'm not really in a rush, just anxious to get this thing on the road! :) BTW, why/how do people let these beautiful old bikes get soooo bad???

Hey TZ375, what did you use to strip the lacquer off?

Re: Looking to get the barrels polished on my '75

Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2015 8:01 am
by Coyote
Auto Zone sells a product made by Rust-Oleam called Aircraft Remover. By far the best stripper I have ever used. Just spray it on, wait 10 minutes and wipe / wash the old yellowed coating off. Works great on stuck gaskets too. ------------ Thanks Dave.

Re: Looking to get the barrels polished on my '75

Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2015 10:36 am
by 75GT750
Great, thank you Coyote!

Re: Looking to get the barrels polished on my '75

Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2016 5:56 pm
by MarkH
An alternative is to just use a die grinder with a polishing wheel. Super easy and will strip the varnish/clear coat - then polish to a mirror (or however you want the metal to look). No need for chemicals.

I have no horse in the race, but you can check out my restore site at http://machinesofman.com. I point to the youtube video where I learned to use a rotary wheel to get rid of this.