Anyone done any polishing on their sidecovers?

nogig

nogig

New Member
Just wondering if anyones tried to polish the clutch covers and stuff? Am I nuts for wanting to try it? I know you can get chrome ones for like 25 dollars but im on a limited income and have tons of sandpaper,polish and time
 
i did mine with a 3M finishing wheel and a drill, then went over that with 600 grit.

i also took the finishing wheel to the fins to clean up the casting. makes the motor look less like a piece of junk.

dunno why i never posted pictures. i'll take some later.
 
If you have a bench grinder or even an angle grinder get a cotton wheel and some compound sticks. You'd be amazed at how shiny almost anything can get after a few minutes on a buffing wheel.

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here's some pics. it's not "mirror finish," but i don't really want it that shiny. i think the best part is the jug. getting rid of all those sharp edges really makes it stand out.

btw, i haven't cleaned this motor since i installed it, like 2 months ago. that's another plus side of opti2. no oily mess.

it's also really overcast here now, so you don't get the full shiny effect.
 

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Nice work Bairdco, that's something else I will add to my "must do" list for my new build.

That air filter cover looks cool too, did you make it?
 
Be careful polishing and sanding that metal, I don't know what it's made of but I wouldn't be surprised if it made in Chinaland, that it's got Lead and other lovely stuff in it. Wear a particle mask/respirator!.shft.
 
thanks guys. for the fins, all i used was a 3M Scotch Brite Finishing Wheel i got from Ace hardware and a cordless drill. i mighta used a file on a coupla the big burrs.

i did the same to the covers to get rid of the roughness, then wetsanded them a bit. like i said, i didn't want them mirror finished, just lightly polished and smooth.

the air filter thing i got from a swap meet for a coupla bucks. it was with a box of busted dellortos, so it might be offa one of them. i dunno.
 
Okay so I got satreted on my clutch cover this afternoon only to find out i only had some 80 and 180 paper laying around, but i was curious so i started gonna pick up more paper today.

First off I sprayed it down with oven cleaner to remove any residue from the sticker, grease etc.



heres how it looked after being rinsed off




And heres after some 80 grit



and after 180



I'm gonna try for a mirror finish as I plan on painting my motor black having polished convers and polishing the edge of the cylinder fins. A buddy of mine had an old harley done like that and it looked real nice. I'll post more after i get some more sandpaper tomorrow
 
carb cleaner or wd40 will take off sticker residue without the hassle of using messy oven cleaner. nail polish remover works good, too.

the best way to get those lousy paper clutch cover stickers off is to heat them up first. use a hair dryer, leave it in the sun, or a torch on a low flame. you can usually get them off in one piece with only a little bit of sticker scum left over.

Beej, yeah, the two dots were from the Grubee tag. i just took it off 'cause it was ugly. might make my own someday.
 
bairdco said:
carb cleaner or wd40 will take off sticker residue without the hassle of using messy oven cleaner. nail polish remover works good, too.

the best way to get those lousy paper clutch cover stickers off is to heat them up first. use a hair dryer, leave it in the sun, or a torch on a low flame. you can usually get them off in one piece with only a little bit of sticker scum left over.

Beej, yeah, the two dots were from the Grubee tag. i just took it off 'cause it was ugly. might make my own someday.
Click to expand...

But i kinda like the smell of lemon oven cleaner, and my sink was dirty
 
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