WAT ABOUT A 2001 WITH THE CHROME FRAME AND SWING ARM

 

If anyone is getting ready to do this I would suggest that you clean the rims very well afterwards and then clear coat over the polished part. I have done this both ways and if you dont clearcoat them after a couple years the aluminum does start to oxidize.

 

nice job john87 on the frame..sweet!

 

yea it took forever but i was worth it but thanks man

 

much props on your hard work,i attempted to polish my wheels last spring.I didn't get a 1/4 of the way done with the first one and said Fu*k it and sent them for powdercoating...lol

 

Looking good. I have been doing this since 1999. Here's a tip for you and others that will save many many hours of work. I can do a back rim (not including spokes) in about 60 minutes as follows. Note you need stands for your bike and you need to take the tires off for the best results.

Put the bike up on a rear stand.
Remove wheel, remove tire
Replace wheel on the bike
Start the bike and put it in first - let it idle.
Start with 100 grit standard sandpaper and hold against the rim
Careful not to pass the last lip near the spoked area
Remove all the paint with the 100
Do both sides of the rim
Change to 150 standard sandpaper and repeat the process - you will see the metal cleaning up with the finer grade sandpaper.
Now get the garden hose and start it running slow
Use 220 wetpaper and remove all the scratches left by the 150 - both sides
Keep the water pouring on the sandpaper and the area you are working on
Next 320 wetpaper until the 220 scrathes are gone
Next 400 wetpaper to remove 320 scratches and so on.
Each stage only takes about 5 minutes per side as the bike does all the work
From 400 move to 600 wetpaper.
This should finish the sanding - if you want mirror finish keep going through 800, 1000, 1200, 1500 wetpaper - thats what I did.
Once you are finished, dry the surfaces and apply the Autosol - lots of pressure. fairly easy as the bike is still doing the labor. Some guys like Mothers polish I prefer the Autosol.
Once you have your high shine look it over and make the decision to go back and remove any small blemishes you may have missed - say at the 400 or 600 stages.
Be careful when sanding in towards the center of the rim and make sure you have a nice clean dividing line between the polished and the painted surfaces.

Doing the front requires a lot more work.
I place the bike on the front stand
Remove the wheel
Remove the tire
Using the same grades of sandpaper as used for the rear wheel I remove as much of the paint from the rim area to be polished with my small orbital sander. I'd say you get about 70% this way. The other 30% has to be done by hand - just the price of having those pretty wheels.

Added bonus with polished rims is no more paint scratches when getting tires put on..

People think its a lot of work to keep the shine up but it isn't really. I use Autosol probably 5 times a year to refresh the shine. Afterwards I use Speedy Polish to put a protective coat on the rims. Speedy has a silicone base and works wonders.

There's a pic of my R6 with polished rims, frame and swingarm in the gallery.

 

Anyone ever thought of doing the front wheel in the same way...except having a friends bike's rear wheel pressed up against your front wheel? (both in stands)...i need to but some stands....

 

Polish brand?

 

bling bling!