Product for tarnished metal

[Simonak3000]

Hello.

the metal covers on my 1982 GL are quite tarnished so im asking: what is the best product and/or the best way to get it back to its original shine(or close)?

dont have a picture on my phone but will post one in the commentaries the evening.

thanks!

L.Leblanc 1982 GS650 GL restoration project

[wyly]

There are a number of chemical rust removers at auto parts suppliers.
To remove minor scratches and polishing I use 0000 steel wool.
To keep it shiny Gibbs, a small amount on a paper towel, rub it in and buff it dry.

[rphillips]

Not sure what you mean by tarnished. If you're talking the grey look on the alum. engine covers, clutch, primary, ign., they came with a clear coating that flaked off in a few yes. Two products that have worked well for yrs., with a little rubbing, are Semi-chrome polish or Never-Dull. Should make them as good as new or better

[Big T]

Don't know if you can get AirCraft Stripper up there in Canada, but that will remove the old clear coat. Then, you could polish if the aluminum isn't oxidized

If you have bad clear coat, you have to wet sand with 400/800/1200/2000, then polish

You'd be polishing for days to remove a bad clear coat

[Cwoods]

I agree with BigT on the removal of any clearcoat with Aircraft Zip Strip vs the wet sanding for that step. After that if its shiny aluminum your after it's time to polish away.
I have just done aluminum clutch side cover, ignition cover, fork bottoms, swingarm, rear peg mounts, both rims, counter sprocket cover and handlebar top clamp plate. Just the flywheel cover to do for the aluminum bits. Also removed and polished alot of chrome bits back to shine from the surface rust look it started at.
Some aluminum pieces I had to do some wet sanding stages to get rid of some imperfections from scratches etc then for polishing where I could I use a Finex material wheel on my angle grinder, smaller versions of material wheels from the local hobby shop made to work on my dremmel and some elbow/wrist power as well. I used Mothers, Blue Magic and green or white rouge as well as recently ordering some Autosol to give that a try for comparison. In the end with power buffer the rouge brought me the best shine, by hand the Blue Magic beat the others out....even the Autosol in my experiences.
I see someone chimed in to use Gibbs to condition the metal to preserve the shine after getting it to that point. A very good friend of mine has been using Gibbs for some time now on his Vette wheels and side pipes and swears by it. My intention was to order some for this project but in reading up on it got sidetracked with reviews that a product called ACF-50 performed, protected and preserved the shine better keeping new oxidation and watermarks away. I got a bottle delivered Amazon a couple days ago and only treated the ignition cover so far so I really cant attest to how well it works as yet but will say it does just as I read in that it dulls the mirror finish I worked for ever so slightly but I can live with that if it keeps maintaining it at longer in between intervals. It's made for aircraft so to me that says good things.

[limeex2]

If you like ACF-50 on metal, wait until you use it on old oxidized handle bar switches. They will look like brand new. It's a must have on the "shop supplies" shelve. FYI, you can buy it by the gallon on Amazon, get a couple of friends and split it up. Much better price.

[Cwoods]

If you like ACF-50 on metal, wait until you use it on old oxidized handle bar switches. They will look like brand new. It's a must have on the "shop supplies" shelve. FYI, you can buy it by the gallon on Amazon, get a couple of friends and split it up. Much better price.

Yes Sir I got it off Amazon but in a 32oz bottle because I wanted to give it a trial run first and the smaller aerosol cans cant be shipped air to Alaska.
If it works as advertised I wont have a problem getting me a gallon all on my own to hoard!