how do I make he engine shine?

[NATEO]

Yep, Keith has the ultimate shine!8-) He was my inspiration.

Be careful when polishing your engine. Chances are, it won't stop there. You'll become an addict!

Im hoping I can make my cases look HALF as good as some of the stuff I see here. and Im not looking to do the whole engine..just the cases and caps... but we shall see!

[jeeptrix]

Krause

How did you get the "Suzuki" round symbol to shine? How did you remove the black paint? Is it aluminum under that paint?

[beby99]

The rest of dont even bother after seeing how high the bench mark is lol....

Nah...just shows what a little elbow will do...should be an insperation not a deterant....now get out there and shine your knob. :-D

[bpdutton]

I have just started to restore a 1980 GS1000G. Here is a link to some unbelievable stuff recommended to me by a friend. Works better than advertised.

http://www.swmetal.com/cart/item?itemID=11880

[KEITH KRAUSE]

Krause

How did you get the "Suzuki" round symbol to shine? How did you remove the black paint? Is it aluminum under that paint?

I just buffed it like everything else. The emblem is aluminum but I'm not sure it's 100% aluminum. It actually polishes up a bit better than the cases.
I first tried masking off the emblem and just wanted to polish the raised lettering. After doing so, I removed the tape and the black came up with it. I was pretty mad until I started polishing the whole emblem and saw that it still looked good. So that wasn't my plan but it turned out OK.

[brenno]

I just buffed it like everything else. The emblem is aluminum but I'm not sure it's 100% aluminum. It actually polishes up a bit better than the cases.
I first tried masking off the emblem and just wanted to polish the raised lettering. After doing so, I removed the tape and the black came up with it. I was pretty mad until I started polishing the whole emblem and saw that it still looked good. So that wasn't my plan but it turned out OK.

G'day Keith

I have a couple of annual leave days next week and after seeing how sweet your bike looks you have definately given me the inspiration to shine the old girl up.

Thanks for the pics and info.

Cheers

Brenno

[ikazuki]

keith; is top notch at everything he does . from mechanical to appearance tips he's got the mind of an nasa engineer . it's great to have him on board . ikazuki

[jeeptrix]

I have been using 0000 steel wool with great results except for the bottom of the cases. I tried using 600 wet sandpaper on those parts. It was way too course but it did work.

I will attack the "Suzuki" symbol and hopefully make it look as good.

[J_C]

My polishing has left me a little bummed.... I went over it from 400 up to 2000 grit then polished but I'm not getting the results I want. I'm considering trying 0000 steel wool and then repolishing

[bostrom155]

JC, What kind of polish are you using? after the 1500 or 2000, I hit it with a medium (some cutting) bar and the buffing wheel on a drill then work up to fine or jewlers Rougue (no cutting). Also noticr when you sand or polish, just like wood, metal has a grain of sorts one way is cutting, one is polishing.

[J_C]

I'm using the Mother's aluminum polish with a drill mounted buff. When I polish I continue polishing the same direction as the grain of the sand paper, right?

The cover that I'm polishing... it's not like you can really see grain going in one direction or another. You see a bunch of very very light swirl marks. Can't see them until youre very close up, but it significantly detracts from the shine at a distance

[jeeptrix]

The "Suzuki" plate on the left side case didn't respond to paint remover and it seems like it is a plastic insert. Any suggestions out there?

Since it is a separate piece how does one remove it?

[KEITH KRAUSE]

The "Suzuki" plate on the left side case didn't respond to paint remover and it seems like it is a plastic insert. Any suggestions out there?

Since it is a separate piece how does one remove it?

The Suzuki emblem is aluminum or some kind of aluminum alloy. It polishes up very well. I treat it the same as the cases, fork legs, wheels, etc.
Don't attempt to remove it. It's very thin and you'll damage it beyond repair. It's held on by a strong 3M adhesive.

[KEITH KRAUSE]

I'm using the Mother's aluminum polish with a drill mounted buff. When I polish I continue polishing the same direction as the grain of the sand paper, right?

The cover that I'm polishing... it's not like you can really see grain going in one direction or another. You see a bunch of very very light swirl marks. Can't see them until youre very close up, but it significantly detracts from the shine at a distance

When you polish, you make passes at 90 degrees to each other. Go left to right on a pass, then up and down. Don't make circles.
It can take some time and practice to polish metal right. So many things can make or break the shine.
The real "secret" to a mirror shine is heat. You simply can't get the same shine with only your hand. I could show you a part polished to the max by hand and if I just made a very quick pass with a drill mounted buff you'd see how much brighter the shine can be with little effort.
The kind of buff...condition the buff is in...amount and type of compound...buff speed....pressure applied....I still have problems now and then and it takes me awhile to be happy with the work.
I learned by visiting various websites and picking up tips here and there. I then decided to visit www.eastwood.com and ended up buying their supplies. I'm not saying they're the best but I'm happy with them. They answered some of my questions over the phone too. Nice people.

[KEITH KRAUSE]

keith; is top notch at everything he does . from mechanical to appearance tips he's got the mind of an nasa engineer . it's great to have him on board . ikazuki

Thanks for the compliment but I've just learned stuff through a lot of trial and error, not from being smart. I then pass on what I've learned to try to save others from making similar mistakes.