polishing how do they get it to look so good???

[vartiak15]

like this http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=43974&item=4506133475&rd=1

and there is a link to a caliper under my post"waht kinda of exhaust is this" i just dont know how they get it to look chrome is it just the camra? or am i not using the right polish or steps? i just sand it down starting with a coarse grit then go down to 1500 is that right then i polish with some plue polish trailprotrailprotrailprotrailpro. i odnt no what im doing wrong do i need to get finer grit sand paper or use a diff polish let me know!

[Quickonstep]

an easy way to do it (if you have the stuff) is sandblast the part, then sand it with 300 then 400 then 600 then wetsand 800 then get some "mothers aluminum and mag polish" and itll look just like the one in the pictures :P

Jesse

[brandosfiero]

ive been doing this for awile now and you cant get a chrome like finish with just sanding and using mothers polishing crap.you will need to go buy a bench grinder and some buffing wheels.then go get some buffing compound. i would recomend the old homemade grinders with belts on them they have more power.i bught a flex shaft for my drill press that makes it lot easier.dremels get to heavy after holding them for hours.you should sand down to about 220 grit sandpaper or get a sanding spounge thier alot easier on your hands.then you should be able to start buffing.you will need different buffing wheels for each compound you use so i hope that helps alittle.

[brandosfiero]

here is a pic of one did in a day

[x.system]

They get it to look like that by using a buffing wheel with compound and a different wheel and compound for polishing. A machine will polish alot better than you can do by hand and you will have fewer scratches. Fewer scratches means a better finish. If you sand your part like you say you do and then use a machine to buff and polish yours will look as good.

[vartiak15]

ok my dad had baought the compund already and some wheels. the compound is in like sticks how do i use it? just hold the stick and then rum the whell against it with its turning then just like sand it into the part?

[TrikeKid]

run some compound onto the wheel with it spinning but dont go overboard with it. then put the part on the lower area of the wheel and move it under the wheel with a little pressure. this method works very well for making a dull part shine. my dad has a semi truck fuel tank that was weathered badly and after sanding and buffing looks good other than some pits in the aluminum.

[Kevin in Ohio]

I've done quite a bit of polishing but I deal with stainless steel mainly. You can get it to a near Mirror finish with sandpaper by going up in grit sizes clear up to 2000 but it takes a lot of work and time. If your going to do something like the triple tree you'll definitely need a die grinder/dremel and some felt bobs to get in the tight areas. Flat surfaces are the hardest to do because it you work in one area too much you'll have waves and it won't look flat. Diamond compound with a felt wheel works real well for final polish but it runs around $20.00 for a small syringe tube. I'll try to post some pics of some things I've made from scratch. Kevin