Metal polishing
Turbo Mini Forums

Hi chaps

Im cleaning up the front suspension components at the moment ready for rebuild. Ive been using a wire wheel on a grinder and they have come up really nice. I then found a small mopping type wheel so put it on the drill and they came up really nice and shiny.

Does anyone have any experience with polishing up metal components? Any tips on what to buy as in machines and heads etc. Ive found it hard to get inbetween the small bits.

Also protection. Once i cleaned em up after a few hours the surface rust appeared. Whats the best way of keeping them rust free? I can only think of some sort of lacquer or varnish. Would a thick gloopy varnish hold up under harsh weather conditions?

Matt.

You will struggle to keep the shine.

Lacquer never seems to hold up as well as normal paint. When you get a chip the rust will creep under the lacquer.

its also hard to get it to stick to a polished surface.


you're probably better off just painting them.

Sand blast the fook out of them!!
Non mating faces that is.
Dust them with clear coat if show is your thing.
Powder coating chips so I just spray black because I have some.
regards
Colin

Have to agree with jonny. I've had the same. Experience as you and then lacquered the components but it has never really worked.

That is why people chrome things. Suspension bits should only be black, IMO. But each to their own.

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A man without a project is like a like a woman without a shopping list.

You can get an etch lacquer that'll do the job. If you want to keep the shiny metal look.

Keeping ally shiny is the worst, especially in the UK!

And with regards to chroming, it is not recommended on stressed parts such as suspension, steering etc, as it can make the item weaker due to hydrogen embrittlement, I have heard stories of people chroming head stocks (or whatever its called) on trikes etc which have failed and caused big accidents. I think there is a type of heat treatment you can have done afterwards to reverse the effects, but I'm no expert.

I also agree with powder coating- everyone seems to love it but in my experience it chips VERY easily, then you get water ingress and before you know it you have massive areas blistering where rust is forming underneath, and unlike paint, it's not easy to touch up.

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For a polished metal look you need to use a metal which is very stable, Aluminium and Mild Steel are not suitable.

This is why jewlery is noy generall made from mild steel and aluminium.

The only unpainted suspension components on my car are titainium, or steel that has been galvanised.

Fastest 998 mini in the world? 13.05 1/4 mile 106mph

Thanks lads. Ive had experience with powercoating and i agree it does chip too easily. But then it may depend on how good a job was done in the first place.

Its purley an asthetic thing im after. I just like shiny plain metal. IMO it looks better than painting them.
Again your right when you say its very hard to get any sort of paint / lacquer to stick to a shiny surface and i really dont think a shit load of wax is going to help.
Chroming suspension bits just seems pointless to me unless its a show car and not road worthy.

Meh looks like ill get the black paint out.

You won't see any of it once fitted anyway.

In the 13's at last!.. Just

On Aluminium after using a buffing wheel and fine compound I would use high quality car wax and try not to polish it off to much.This used to work realy well on my alloy wheels that had no coating what so ever