Question to those of you polishing parts.

[Truckin1999]

I've been trying to get this quad finished, but as always, I'm waiting on parts. While I've been waiting I've been killing some time polishing parts. My question is if you guys clear all of your aluminum parts when you polish them, or do you just wax em, and keep up with em. I know the steel will rust right away if you don't clear it, but I'm not sure how the aluminum will hold up. I polished the swinger last year, and it sat in the garage all winter. This spring it still looks as good as it did when I first polished it. It obviously wasn't exposed to the weather though. I've done a few parts like the swinger, water pump cover, rear master cylinder and caliper, clutch and brake levers, shifter, and the little clutch arm on the case. Oh and I polished the axle, but I cleared it. Should I clearcoat the other parts, or just wax em? If I need to clear, what type of clearcoat are you guys using that will hold up well.

Thanks for the help guys,
-Sean-



P.S. I took a couple pics today I will try to post later. With new powdercoat, paint, polishing and nuts and bolts the thing is looking great! Only problem is the crappy factory plastics. With all the new parts it's pretty much a 2007 Quadracer now.

[Smkmup]

We have clear powder coat put over our parts.....

[NELSON]

i have a couple coats of clear krylon over mine! always clear them, will last alot longer

[jsmstorm]

In the desert not alot of humidity I just keep up with them. But being up there in michigan it would probably be in your best interest to clear them

[lt250racer]

The clear poder coat is not really a good idea for around the engine. One the Gas toughes the powercoat clear, it starts to eat away at it causeing a very dull terrible looking fininsh. I just keep them polished, no caoting. However a good clear wax might be the trick.

[Smkmup]

Originally Posted by lt250racer

The clear poder coat is not really a good idea for around the engine. One the Gas toughes the powercoat clear, it starts to eat away at it causeing a very dull terrible looking fininsh. I just keep them polished, no caoting. However a good clear wax might be the trick.

hmmm...never had that problem....Maybe different brands of powder? We use all columbia coatings products....

[Paulie B]

It really depends on what alloy aluminum your shining up. Some like my brake lever looks just as good as when I finished but other aluminum like the power steering bracket on my Mustang seems to haze up overnight.
Clear coating or PC'in steel is a given and is a good idea for aluminum too but tends to flake off on high wear spots. For those things I like to use a metal polish. Mothers and other off the shelf polishes are inferior to stuff like Metal Master- it's all I use. Waxing is your least durable option for anything that gonna get wear or rubbed on.

[lt250racer]

Good info Paulie^^^^
Your bes bet is to wax them after polishing, for the "just polished" apperence to last. However, you would still need to take the cases off at least once a year to repolish...

[quadster]

Anodize.... takes away a little shine(the better the polishing job, the better the finish) lasts forever!!!

[Truckin1999]

I'm not spending any more $$ on powdercoat or anodizing. Though anodizing would look sweet. I have some clearcoat from Eastwood for engine parts that is fuel and chemical resistant. I might hit the parts with that, might just use a good wax on em. I just hate the way clearcoat can take away from the shine. I cleared the swinger, and its just not as shiny as the other parts now. Here are a couple teaser pics. Snapped em real quick when I was leaving today so I'm sorry about the quality. And I know the factory plastics are whack!









There are a couple more pics in the album.