RCCrawler Forums

vrip79 · 09-30-2011, 12:14 AM

So I've been trying to polish my rims, Links, and axles on my berg using Brasso metal polish and 4ott steel wool and a polishing wheel with my Dremel but I'm just not getting the results I'm looking for. I'm basically trying to get as close to a high shine like chrome as possible. Any suggestion????

Onebdgti · 09-30-2011, 04:40 AM

Yeah get away from the polishing compound at first.

I like to use different grades of emmery cloth(sandpaper). It depends on how scratch up the part are to decide on grade to start with. I usually start with 280 then 320 all the way to 2000. The idea is to remove the scratches from the previous grit of sandpaper. So dont jump from 320 to 2000 get alot of different grits in between those. Once you are happy with your results its time to use the polishing compound.

Keep this in mind if you only go to a 500 or 600 grit paper and try to polish it you will see all kinds of scatches and you wont be happy with it. Make sure you use pleny of soap and water when doing this it keeps the sandpaper from getting clogged.

Hope this helps.

Erin · 09-30-2011, 06:35 AM

instead of brasso, which is more for brass, once you are done sanding, try some flitz metal polish. really easy to use and doesn't take much.

If your doing straight pcs, chuck them up in a drill, speeds up the process alot. Get some wet/dry paper, and use alil oil. 600g is usually enough when using a drill, comes out sweet.

Onebdgti · 09-30-2011, 06:56 AM

After all of the sanding i like using mothers aluminum polish and never dull. Best results by far.

ClassicGMJunkie · 09-30-2011, 07:58 AM

Nevrdull will bring out the shine before most other pastes will. I use it on my aluminum trim on my 1:1s after de-anodizing and sanding down scratches. you might not wanna go smoother than 1500 grit, sometimes with aluminum anything more just gives you a dull grey look. must be something with the porosity of the metal. but what gti said ( sup Mike!) Mother's billet and alum polish is killer, but use the nevrdull first to bring the initial bling out.

wet sand the parts in cold water to keep the sandpaper clear.

Onebdgti · 09-30-2011, 08:04 AM

Whats up Joel. Yeah i learning on 1:1 rims helped me alot. I havent seen a need to polish anything on a crawlrr since they get scratched up all the time.

Duuuuuuuude · 09-30-2011, 10:23 AM

Polishing wheel on a bench grinder.

Doesn't work so well on wheels, but everything else will look like chrome.

These panels were kinda nasty when I cut them out. Polished right up.

Some old T6 I used for chassis plates...

This was made from some beat up skids off of a Rhino...

bigstu · 09-30-2011, 01:07 PM

The make a buffing kit for the dremels that comes with buffing compound and some cotton buffing wheels.
If you are doing one set, that is what I would do. I have polished lots of stuff with mine.

Eritex Inc. · 09-30-2011, 01:19 PM

I like polishing with 1500 to 2000 grit but instead of polishing compound or soapy water I like using a light oil like 3N1. Works very well if I can mount the part in the lathe and go after it at about 1500 RPM and a light touch.

Jrgunn5150 · 10-05-2011, 12:47 AM

Yeah you have to start rough, or it will take forever. Wheels should be close to start though, shouldn't take anything more than 1200 for a start. Also, clear coat them when you're done to keep them looking nice longer.

Charlie-III · 10-08-2011, 07:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jrgunn5150

Yeah you have to start rough, or it will take forever. Wheels should be close to start though, shouldn't take anything more than 1200 for a start. Also, clear coat them when you're done to keep them looking nice longer.

Ummm......I would say, what you start with depends on how good/bad the surface is to begin with as well as how good you want to end up.

If you have new parts, then starting with a fine grit wet/dry paper is OK.
If you have gouged up parts and you want a "perfect" mirror finish, you may need to start with a file, then switch to wet/dry paper.

ClassicGMJunkie · 10-08-2011, 07:30 AM

what Charlie said above is very important! You have to go rough to remove the rough flaws. no sense in trying to polish scars and gouges, they will only magnify themselves when you make the rest of it super shiny!

I plan to do my berg cases and re-polish the clover axle tubes this weekend. I might even go as far as to break down my SLW v2 respuns and sand down the machine marks and polish the spoke edges out

YYCADM · 10-08-2011, 08:23 AM

What they said. I'm a hobbyist knifemaker, and getting a high polish on a blade takes a lot of work, and you will only make a long process longer if you skip steps in between.
I start a raw blade with 220 or 240 grit, then move through the belts (400, 600, 800, 1000, 2000 and 4000), polishing out all of the scratches from the previous grit each time. Once I hit 4000, I'll then go to Chromium oxide or diamond grit polishing paste all the way down to .05 micron to get a really high shine. to protect it I will usually finish with conservators wax or hard carnuba wax, then buff it on a wheel. the wax puts on a really tough cover on the surface that won't wear off a knife blade very quickly during use, and is easy enough to re-apply when it does.
One thing; power tools aren't always the best way to do final grit polishing. Unless you have good technique using a wheel, you can have an uneven polish, which shows up just as readily as the scratches do.
With the final grit levels, I usually use a cotton buffing pad and do it by hand. You can feel the pressure you're applying and keep the buff even.

09-30-2011, 12:14 AM	#1
vrip79 Quarry Creeper Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Santa Rosa Posts: 269	Polishing help???? So I've been trying to polish my rims, Links, and axles on my berg using Brasso metal polish and 4ott steel wool and a polishing wheel with my Dremel but I'm just not getting the results I'm looking for. I'm basically trying to get as close to a high shine like chrome as possible. Any suggestion????

09-30-2011, 04:40 AM	#2
Onebdgti Rock Crawler Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: St. Albans Posts: 507	Yeah get away from the polishing compound at first. I like to use different grades of emmery cloth(sandpaper). It depends on how scratch up the part are to decide on grade to start with. I usually start with 280 then 320 all the way to 2000. The idea is to remove the scratches from the previous grit of sandpaper. So dont jump from 320 to 2000 get alot of different grits in between those. Once you are happy with your results its time to use the polishing compound. Keep this in mind if you only go to a 500 or 600 grit paper and try to polish it you will see all kinds of scatches and you wont be happy with it. Make sure you use pleny of soap and water when doing this it keeps the sandpaper from getting clogged. Hope this helps.

09-30-2011, 06:35 AM	#3
Erin I wanna be Dave Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Goin broke losing weight..... Posts: 2,262	instead of brasso, which is more for brass, once you are done sanding, try some flitz metal polish. really easy to use and doesn't take much. If your doing straight pcs, chuck them up in a drill, speeds up the process alot. Get some wet/dry paper, and use alil oil. 600g is usually enough when using a drill, comes out sweet.

09-30-2011, 06:56 AM	#4
Onebdgti Rock Crawler Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: St. Albans Posts: 507	After all of the sanding i like using mothers aluminum polish and never dull. Best results by far.

09-30-2011, 07:58 AM	#5
ClassicGMJunkie Quarry Creeper Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Wheeling Posts: 454	Nevrdull will bring out the shine before most other pastes will. I use it on my aluminum trim on my 1:1s after de-anodizing and sanding down scratches. you might not wanna go smoother than 1500 grit, sometimes with aluminum anything more just gives you a dull grey look. must be something with the porosity of the metal. but what gti said ( sup Mike!) Mother's billet and alum polish is killer, but use the nevrdull first to bring the initial bling out. wet sand the parts in cold water to keep the sandpaper clear.

09-30-2011, 08:04 AM	#6
Onebdgti Rock Crawler Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: St. Albans Posts: 507	Whats up Joel. Yeah i learning on 1:1 rims helped me alot. I havent seen a need to polish anything on a crawlrr since they get scratched up all the time.

09-30-2011, 10:23 AM	#7
Duuuuuuuude Suck it up! Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Arkansas Posts: 11,652	Polishing wheel on a bench grinder. Doesn't work so well on wheels, but everything else will look like chrome. These panels were kinda nasty when I cut them out. Polished right up. Some old T6 I used for chassis plates... This was made from some beat up skids off of a Rhino...

09-30-2011, 01:07 PM	#8
bigstu RCC Addict Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Auburn, MI Posts: 1,177	The make a buffing kit for the dremels that comes with buffing compound and some cotton buffing wheels. If you are doing one set, that is what I would do. I have polished lots of stuff with mine.

09-30-2011, 01:19 PM	#9
Eritex Inc. RCC Addict Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: in the woods Posts: 1,915	I like polishing with 1500 to 2000 grit but instead of polishing compound or soapy water I like using a light oil like 3N1. Works very well if I can mount the part in the lathe and go after it at about 1500 RPM and a light touch.

10-05-2011, 12:47 AM	#10
Jrgunn5150 Quarry Creeper Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Muskegon Posts: 223	Yeah you have to start rough, or it will take forever. Wheels should be close to start though, shouldn't take anything more than 1200 for a start. Also, clear coat them when you're done to keep them looking nice longer.

10-08-2011, 07:30 AM	#12
ClassicGMJunkie Quarry Creeper Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Wheeling Posts: 454	what Charlie said above is very important! You have to go rough to remove the rough flaws. no sense in trying to polish scars and gouges, they will only magnify themselves when you make the rest of it super shiny! I plan to do my berg cases and re-polish the clover axle tubes this weekend. I might even go as far as to break down my SLW v2 respuns and sand down the machine marks and polish the spoke edges out

Sponsored Links

10-08-2011, 08:23 AM	#13
YYCADM Pebble Pounder Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Regina, Saskatchewan Posts: 117	What they said. I'm a hobbyist knifemaker, and getting a high polish on a blade takes a lot of work, and you will only make a long process longer if you skip steps in between. I start a raw blade with 220 or 240 grit, then move through the belts (400, 600, 800, 1000, 2000 and 4000), polishing out all of the scratches from the previous grit each time. Once I hit 4000, I'll then go to Chromium oxide or diamond grit polishing paste all the way down to .05 micron to get a really high shine. to protect it I will usually finish with conservators wax or hard carnuba wax, then buff it on a wheel. the wax puts on a really tough cover on the surface that won't wear off a knife blade very quickly during use, and is easy enough to re-apply when it does. One thing; power tools aren't always the best way to do final grit polishing. Unless you have good technique using a wheel, you can have an uneven polish, which shows up just as readily as the scratches do. With the final grit levels, I usually use a cotton buffing pad and do it by hand. You can feel the pressure you're applying and keep the buff even.

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