The Secrets to Polishing Aluminium

After my first attempt at polishing my aluminium gs850 engine one year ago: • How To: Polish Your Di...
I have finally learned the correct way to polish oxidized aluminium.
Watch this video to learn my method to polishing aluminium! (this is the best, easiest and fastest way to do this, trust me)
Follow me on instagram! @goldguy_official
Watch the Complete CB750 "Vintage Americana" Cafe Racer build!
• 1981 Honda CB750 Cafe ...
Mothers Mag & Aluminium Polish ( the secret): www.amazon.com/Mothers-05101-...
Make me an offer on these 1981 cb750 engine cases!
www.ebay.com/itm/323738637529
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[@bentnickel7487]

Age has no bearing on a great idea. I'm 70, but if a 10 y/o kid has a great way of fixing my problem, I'd be stupid not to listen to him. WISH I WAS YOUR AGE AGAIN !! Great video.

[@michaelslack5269]

Lol Not that far behind ya Nickel...totally agree with ya.

[@vernonbennett7940]

Thank you young man. So many of us are just to lazy to share what they have learned in life with others, I commend you.

[@gstargstar8376]

I've just started a project and I'm really appreciate watching that video will come in handy thank you

[@hdtech1]

Kid knows his stuff. I like his attitude, his humility, and results. I’m an old road dog, factory trained tech.

[@Mattjampet]

Just an observation but it seems like you buffed all the ages off the casing. The sharp edges are critical to making it look right once you're done. A few suggestions to further improve from the perspective of someone who polishes a lot of precious metal. Only use one wheel per compound mixing compounds will not give you the very best finish. Polish in different directions for each compound and mop combo. Clean between stages ideally Best to various grades of paper on the case in different directions to avoid drag marks and heavy directional graining. Don't use too much pressure with the case as it builds heat and renders the polish useless and takes the edges off too. Finally use a soft mop with fine compounds and course mops with cutting compound.

[@scottmoody5685]

Good job man, yer age is not important. Yer passion/ interest in them old bikes really shows. Most of us started out the same way. I'm 55 and been riding since I was 14. In fact, I learned to ride on a 1977 GS750! Nobody knows it all, yer vids help me for sure and I've been fixing on them old bikes for a long time. Scott in Detroit

[@idselseno2306]

Thumbs up for the honesty and the truth of polished engine covers. Now I know that I'll paint mine for practical reasons.

[@arnaudpilma1630]

Thanks alot, you saved me alot of time ! Just bought a 550 and it's in bad shape. I'm glad you found an easy way to make it look new again! Keep it up, love your vids!

[@dirkbergstrom9751]

Tx! Mothers alum mag polish also restores fuzzy, hazy headlight covers in about 5 min with adrill and buffing wheel! Excellent.

[@sweetdarlanddan]

Dude I’m an old guy and your vids are awesome. You are a very talented young man. If you can teach an older dude your doing good. Cb900c fixing to drill some jets.

[@ando9300]

Very nicely done, really appreciate the way you presented the steps in a manner that is Lear and concise. Also thanks for presenting mistakes you made and what the solution was that you took.

[@MisterSuki]

Give Wenol metal polish a shot. Best I've found.

[@strattuner]

what impressed me the most and the fact you are saving lives,is the mask,i knew a professional buffer,he was about 53 years old had copd and then it turned to lung cancer,wear your respirators and live,LIVE,no one is immune,buffing is dangerous business,now, the finish you attained is wonderful,there are clears now that will hold the coat for about 10 years then they yellow,good job,thanks for caring and showing the correct way to buff,the clears are polyurethane and contain isocyanates and they require a respirator to spray them also,,thank you

[@impendingdoom385]

Yes! Awesome comment

[@afterburner2869]

When I was just a kid, I used to watch my dad polish Kirby vacuum cleaners with a bench grinder and compound. That black buffing pad brought back a lot of memories.

[@asarnatskiy]

"You can go as far as your OCD goes." Nice one

[@akbarhussain1767]

Hi there, thank you for your great posts & your knowledge on how to get a great shine to the Aluminium pieces, thank you friend....

[@vanwilliams7808]

You saved me so much time man! I was getting ready to decide what grit papers to use when I found your video. My bike looks a lot better too 😊

[@marcusowen-henson9975]

You should use a rubbing block when sanding so that you rub away at the surface and it will be a flatter finish! You should also use heat resistant clear lacquer for metal, after you have polished the surface and that way things would remain nice and shiny.. simple!

[@gertroewer152]

I commend you for your efforts. Without offence I'd like to give you a little advice. I've been doing this for decades and my way is much less labour intensive. First remove all scratches and nicks with a scotchbrite (coarse) 3 inch pad on your angle grinder. This is a super quick and effective method. Then use a sisal polishing pad on your bench grinder with a polishing compound that comes in a bar called "Fast cut". Next use a loose leaf pad on the bench grinder with "Green rouge" polishing compound. Afterwards clean up leftover compound on the alloy with kerosene or paraffin and hose off with water. you can then give it a quick go over by hand with Autosol metal polish and I guarantee you will have a flawless mirror finish that will require very little maintenance. No hand sanding involved and much quicker for probably a better result. Cheers, Gert Roewer from Jindera Australia.

[@shaunlastname391]

Orrrrrr........skip all that jazz and spray some carpet or fabric glue on the part and chuck a drag queen sized handful of glitter on it. Blow off the excess and boom, looks shiny, 1 minute worth of work

[@Mr.Beastforpresident]

How to prevent aluminum Oxidation on engine? WD-40? Marvel Mystery?

[@jesseward2552]

Gert Roewer I’m gonna have to try your method of removing the rouge. I just left a comment about using flower to remove it I’ve been doing this type of work for some time now myself. Flower helps at least I think it does less rubbing to get it off. Thanks I’ll gonna try your method.

[@SoulDaddy33]

@@jesseward2552 Flour? Like what the old lady bakes with? Ok then.

[@jesseward2552]

SoulDaddy33 Yes that flower I’ve found that it works pretty good. Some guy told me about it I tried it and it does.

[@garystratton4125]

was surprised to see how good you got that piece with the deep scratches... Nice job.. Good video!

[@jen-yk9ni]

Nice bikes bud love them old 70's,80's Hondas, Suzuki, Yamaha, Kawasaki... Love your post thanks...

[@bigrod0069]

awesome job, nice to see a young dude actually try to do something productive, great work

[@lewisrowezer7193]

Great video. I love how you don't use a electric sander like most people who do these videos. Good job man!

[@watdahell7475]

Great vid.just wondering,is it better to use mothers mag polish than rogues? Tnx

[@stevenbullis8834]

I'm proud of you! I don't like negative feedback either. Had alot of it in my 55 years of life. Watching during 2020 pandemic from Vermont.

[@vanrijn1669]

I was a jeweler for 25 years, good video and agree with most of your process. One word of caution: I would never put a cloth up to a spinning wheel. That cloth could catch in the wheel if you’re not as experienced as you are doing that. Since there may be some real beginners checking your videos, I think you might want to mention that as a safety tip. Also, if you’re going to use a buffing wheel and white rouge, you could ignore the Mothers and use a jeweler’s compound called Tripoli as the first course. Cheaper and available at any supply house/online. Nice work overall. Thanks for posting.

[@kirbylee57]

Hey Mick, what would take that cloudy mess off? I'm not familiar with white rouge. Dose Tripoli not leave that cloudy, unfinished look?

[@richardweyland116]

Agree, I use a hack saw blade to clean a buffing wheel.

[@vanrijn1669]

@@kirbylee57 all metal compositions are variable, so, can’t peg a yes here with certainty. If I could put a sandpaper value to Tripoli, I’d say a course 220. That should clear any fogging. There’s also a stainless steel compound that should fly through any aluminum. Use that one with caution. Good luck with your projects.

[@ghislainpoulin4913]

I like the way you get right to the point and explains really well Nice video thanks

[@consubandon]

Abrasive pads (Scotchbrite, and their ilk) come in abrasive/hardness grades differentiated by colour. The classic "greenie" pad is hard enough to scratch a haze into window glass, so maybe stick to the brown grade. That's the colour safely used for dinner plates and glassware, so you won't be hazing the finish on the aluminium you're trying to turn into a mirror. I was pleased to see you had come upon many the same truths as I've found, and for many the same reasons. You have a good, no-bullshit, always-learning head on your shoulders. We should be glad for a world of grown-ups as grown-up as you. Mind those safety tips from the various other commenters, and never stop learning. Good video. You're getting a subscription out of me, and I hardly every subscribe to anything. Cheers.

[@MotoMango]

Nice work dude! Always better to restore than replace :)

[@GETUPANDGO]

Those look awesome, nice work

[@nathanscale]

Watched your original video a few days ago, glad I came across this follow up too :)

[@jrctattoo]

Good work dude, I just rebuilt a 2009 Harley FatBob, has the aluminium rims, and a few other aluminum parts that were oxidized, that mothers does work really well, I have a few different ones, had to use a mothers ball and drill to get it looking pretty good! Keep up the good work!

[@daveswarbrick5576]

polished an alloy gixer frame 10 years ago, to protect the finish a mate told me to use MAAS metal polish protector, the guy was right, 10 years later it still only needs a wipe over to look like new, great stuff, really does stop the alloy furring up

[@EddieErion929]

I purchased this 2 months ago and have been putting it through some tests since then- I have a lot of polished parts on a few bikes. I have a polished gas cap on a Honda Cbr that no matter how mirror like I get it the finish always turns gray in a matter of a few weeks and been Repolishing this cap for 10 years. But this stuff really works great, the cap looks like I just polished it even after 2 months. Thanks for the tip mate! I have been putting this shit on everything lol!

[@daveswarbrick5576]

@@EddieErion929 i recommend it to all my mates who polish alloy now, great stuff that really works, use it on my Fazer as i've polished a good few parts on it. Glad i could help mate, ride safe mate

[@keithseeberan]

Knowledge is power! Well done Man

[@mogmorris6347]

Excellent. This kids got the mind of an old timer .keep it up

[@waynepennington1]

Nice job. Thanks for sharing.

[@impendingdoom385]

Great vid, but love you comments and sense of humor 🤘

[@nightrider6769]

Very educational I was definitely doing it the wrong way now I know a better way.

[@billburnard3790]

I found using Nevr-Dull wadding polish before Mother’s works really well for crusty engines!

[@colinsharp1314]

Great job and good advice cheers mate keep up the great vids you make

[@chicoesqualia7061]

Thanks...great video. Labor intensive...no getting around it, but the results speak for themselves. A old MC mechanic told me to use silicone spray as an easy way to keep engines from oxidizing over the winter months. BTW, what HP buffer is needed? I have a 1/3 HP buffer and it will stall if you press too hard on the buffer..plus, my hands get too hot from the friction heat. Enjoy riding those machines, too!

[@luketarbox7722]

I’m willing to be bet this was a long video to make. Polishing aluminum can be super tedious but it’s super rewarding. Good work man

[@GoldGuyRides]

Honestly, it didn't take that long. The bench grinder with a buffing pad combined with the mother's polish (not my mom) polished the case in under 45 minutes. Give it a try sometime!

[@luketarbox7722]

Oh absolutely

[@jerrypeal653]

Looks great good job . Wondering if you can use something to make a clear coat stick .

[@bigz8658]

I love mothers for buffing, but try using a Never Dull pad with Mothers mag and aluminum that works great.

[@CharlesNolanArt]

I really like your method I kinda figured something like this. You have given me a lot of ideas and I thank you. I am a subscriber.

[@richb.4374]

Try Jewelers rouge on your buffing wheel. The aluminum will look like a mirror. It only works on surfaces that aren't deeply scratched. Deep scratches need to be lightly sanded or bead blasted, then polished.

[@stancoleshill8925]

Tried some of this on a 50 year old Norton and WOW. It brought the shine back to a show room glow on the engine side cover and other aluminum parts. Mom didn't pay me either.

[@johnny5stickswilliams696]

I find solvol autosol with news paper works just fine and it’s a great way to upkeep the casings

[@thebat1672]

keep doing what you're doing young fella

[@redstrat1234]

Nice work sir

[@donsinor1713]

Good advice GoldGuy and good job!

[@GoldGuyRides]

Thanks Don!

[@kristafoster7190]

Would this work on after porting and polished aluminum cylinder heads and making the intake and exhaust ports more shinny and making the exhaust a non carbon stick Surface

[@halpayne612]

Great Job Young Man.

[@vhjvbhjb5280]

Ive found that using some scotchbrite after cleaning to remove the oxidation gives a good starting point for the polish. There are some rust protection oil i use on my polished cases and they have Held up for about a year now. Like once a month i get a cloth and spray som rust protection oil in it then i wipe it down and leave it for about 24 hours to dry.

[@tyrssen1]

Good vid, man, thank ya. And I like your caff racer especially!

[@robcox5929]

Thanks really helped got to do my crankcase soon

[@mitchellgoulla2232]

Good video bro. Your A smart kid. Thanks for the lesson. Mitch

[@wengqwerty4196]

is it possible to achieve a mirror finish using smaller tools like dremel? great job btw.

[@WHOMEWHOYOU]

I know it's a old Video but , lots of Good Tips, I will give it a Try and Stay Safe on That Bike !!! Thanks for The Video.

[@spikepike42]

Cheers mate want to try this on my aprilia rsv mille swinging arm🙂🤘

[@markyyyyyyyy321]

Think I'll stick to my brushed aluminium chassis! Haven't got time for the maintenance but great video mate

[@charliedee9276]

Covers are pretty easy, getting into cases themselves is a trick. I polished the cases of my 74 Harley Ironhead Sportster along with the outer covers. A Rotozip with polishing mandrels works great using Mothers or Wenol compound. Finish it up with red rouge and clean using WD40 and then wash with soap and water making sure to dry completely. Never dull or Mothers will keep it looking great. Also a great way to make those fork lowers look MUCH better.

[@melonheadgreg]

Good work mate. Great vid again 👍

[@vitoraimondi2626]

Great video...thank you for sharing!!

[@lolitabonita08]

what is the name of the block compound to really polish nice the metal thanks

[@IdeaShip]

This is awesome!

[@guesthouse1455]

Clear coating a surface entails a lot of work. This is why most people prefer polishing./ once buffed and polish I have found ProtectaClear adheres to metals and has a tough clear finish! Great video and Bikes/

[@gc33]

Autosol... Great metal polish... Been using it for 40 years now... Tried a lot of others. And still keep coming back to autosol

[@andreokazaki14]

Your cleaning info is great. The step you missed prior to that, will save tons of time and give better results. Vintage aluminum on Japanese bikes is originally poorly polished and clear coated or painted silver. Whether it's fork legs or engine covers, I use paint stripper to remove the coating before doing anything. Once the old finish is removed and the surface is cleaned, you will often find aluminum that is ready to refinish on my buffing wheel unless it has road rash or other damage. Everyone has their own ideas about buffing, compounds and wheels so I won't go there, but keep in mind that anything abrasive used to clean the aluminum leaves damage/marks that you'll have to polish out later. Paint and varnish stripper from the local hardware store gives you bare aluminum without hard work or damage to the surface that has been covered for years with clearcoat.

[@youtube.youtube.01]

Does naval jelly work for this step?

[@andreokazaki14]

@@youtube.youtube.01 I use automotive paint stripper. I would think that any paint remover should work fine. Once the clear coat has been removed, polishing the part is easy.

[@maxdaddy6434]

Good job!

[@RealSuburbanCowboy]

Well done!

[@mrweisu]

I have an aluminum shifter knob whose paint is coming off. What should I do? I was painted candy red (think about those Mustang color). Now the paint on the edges is fading. Thanks.

[@robertrichmond3074]

I polished metals for 40 years. When you go to the final high shine stage I would use a new wheel. Take a sharpe blade and cut threw about 2 or 3 rows of the stitching on the wheel, pull off the thread. Then take something like a stiff putty knife and with the wheel spinning rub it firmly against the wheel in a back and forth motion to fluff it. Wear a mask because it will produce a lot of wheel dust. When I got ready to polish I would use a slower speed if possilbe. I would do the final high shine with either tripoli (good) or rouge (best). Or tripoli first then rouge. Refluff your wheel occasionally and especially between application of the different polishing compounds.

[@lukemcqueeney4134]

Hey dude where'd you get your fender lights? And front blinkers for that matter

[@nastyham5302]

Looking to polish my alu MTB frame can this be achieved after sandblasting ?

[@Daryll_Flaro]

Just thought i'd throw my input in here. The engine case looks great, I think you could take it 1 step further. You should try some buffing compound (buffing stick) as they call it, I apply that to the wheel on my bench grinder and go to town. I can literally compare it to chrome. I also use mag and aluminum polish to clean up the job, I apply by hand though!

[@jamieaddison9332]

Love this mate

[@codelicious6590]

*whistle* purdy! Great tip about the steel wool man! I truly would not have thought anything about that. Steel wool is great for smoothing in between coats of spray paint, but I'll never use it on bare aluminium again.

[@stinkycheese804]

I use it on bare aluminum all the time and don't have the problems he mentioned, but it is not a final step, must be polished afterwards to go from smooth to shiny, and yet it makes the surface too smooth for good paint adhesion if you were planning on painting as he ultimately decided was the better route for longevity which I agree with.

[@jukeboxhero1649]

Polishing aluminum is a pain in the ass. Good video.

[@andriesvanr3422]

Nice. No need to oil or grease or something like that when you're completely done?

[@mark1087]

GoldGuy Use a sanding block or wrap your sandpaper around a piece of board to keep consistent pressure.

[@Icanreadgood1]

nice to know I can easily fix my engine cover on my yamaha vstar 250. just one question, after polishing should a spray be applied to protect the aluminum or is just fine as is? thanks.

[@GoldGuyRides]

You can spray on a high heat clear coat for some extra protection but it probably won't stay on a polished surface for too long. It's probably best to just repolish as needed.

[@JacoboCastroCristo]

Thanks! great video! what if you want to polish aluminium but first have to remove paint? how would you remove the paint without having to sand it?

[@GoldGuyRides]

Simply use a chemical paint stripper first. Thanks for watching!

[@arymonem]

Great job!

[@emerysmith8601]

Hey Bud,you’re on your way. I started the same way ,then this is what I found to (wish I had pics)truly give a mirror sheen to my 1978 kenworth tractor fuel tanks and Alcoa wheels. I started at Blue Beacon truck wash for the well known acid/brightenerbath to clean all grime and crud off which turns aluminum white. Now it’s time to cut,you can start with black jewelers rouge for ruff and scratched up aluminum then red the white the blue rouge for the final luster. You can skip colors depending on the condition of your subject. I found that moving slowly back and forth in a straight line starting at the bottom and moving upwards to the top was best for my subjects. I could stand 5 ft away from my fuel tanks and count whiskers! The tightly sewn cutting wheels,safety glasses and resperator are all you need. Well a day off ,good tunes, a container of Blue Magic or Mother’s or a mag POLISH of your choice and a Girl friend/Wife/Ole Lady who isn’t afraid of sporting /helping with the project she will be modeling !!! Happy Polishing

[@emerysmith8601]

I forgot a hand held high speed grinder and the Bikini for her. My girl didn’t want to help til I mentioned the modeling part.

[@Trpmanne]

Looks good!

[@lauramolina5064]

Hi, what do you say after the buffing nail...something white something.

[@jeherronjr]

Perfect brother, Plus 1 subscriber, serious young man, ty sir

[@user-ic1pm6uo7w]

I removed the paint from my stator cover on my honda using a brass wire wheel then I started to polish it only to find some scratches that are tough to get out... what do you recommend to get some deep scratches out of an aluminum cover? I know you said sandpaper but should I use 220 wet with only water? or should I just use 220 dry?

[@georgisgarage]

Wet is best mainly for clearing the dust off the sand paper and keeping the dust down. Don't breathe it in its super bad for you and stays in your lungs for life

[@smiling.buddha]

Good informative video..👍👍

[@dominicbowers6628]

You should do a video on how to make sure your bike is ready to ride. Like “unwinterizing your bike”

[@paulbaker9064]

Keep the shine for longer, on my Classic Bikes alloy components I wipe them over frequently with Kerosene ,Alloy loves it, like a Sun Screen Barrier for Alloy. 🇳🇿😎👍

[@bodeine454]

Never heard this before, gonna have to try it...👍

[@kirkgreenman1386]

Great video, Thank You

[@mikegalvin4655]

have you try autosol it sem to work good but its a small tube

[@collaredgreens1600]

You have a great channel! Ever tried anodizing?

[@MrSteen12]

Very nice. The result is so nice. I'm defently gonna try it on my bike. I have a Honda CX 500 a MZ 150 and a MZ 250. So thank you for your video. I live in Denmark and our climate can be hard on the metal parts.

[@cbarrick7259]

You will look back at this video in a decade and realize you were doing things the hard way.

[@garyaanderson214]

Did you buy your gloves at harbor frieght also

[@r.tillery575]

Great videos, I mention "water spots"on my aluminum Royal Enfield cases & the parts guys hand me WINDEX ...Every Time, but Mothers is my 'go to' polish. Gonna try some 'White Diamonds' after the next polish, it's "supposed" to seal & protect the aluminum shine...we'll see.

[@edgargo3068]

Nice video help a lot