Anyone else use silver rub n' buff on aluminum?

[240sx4u]

I saw this stuff mentioned here and it seemed like an awesome alternative to bead blasting and things like that. Wax plus silver = decent looking cast parts.

Anyone use this stuff? Let's see some pictures!

Evan

[Airhead Wrangler]

The whole idea of "engine makeup" seems kind of goofy to me no matter how good it looks. Blast it with soda or walnut shell to get rid of grunge. Call any remaining imperfections "patina." Painting aluminum so that it looks like aluminum, just doesn't sit right with me. It just feels fake. Even if it looks good to others, I would always know that it's fake and it would bother me.

[240sx4u]

I have no blasting equipment or that is exactly what I would do. I mainly wanted to use it in places where it would be difficult to clean later.

[Airhead Wrangler]

you can get a cheap venturi blasting pistol for $20 at HF and a bag of media. Rent a good enough air compressor for the weekend and you'll be good. HF was unloading their smaller soda blasters REALLY cheap for a while also and the one I got actually worked pretty decently.

[240sx4u]

I have a compressor that is definitely up to the task, I hadn't even thought about just trying out a cheap siphon unit. Sweet. Thanks for the suggestion. That will also allow me to get into the hub area on the wheel where it's pretty gross looking.

[brocktoon]

The whole idea of "engine makeup" seems kind of goofy to me no matter how good it looks.

I guess when you call it "engine makeup" it's bound to seem goofy. Still, that's why I ride without oil seals. The whole idea of an "engine tampon" seems kind of goofy to me, no matter how well they work.

[Airhead Wrangler]

Oil seals serve a vital function. Rubbing silver goop onto aluminum to make it look "more" like aluminum doesn't.. The same people must have developed those bathtub inserts. They share the philosophy that instead of fixing a relatively simple problem it's better to just hide it under a bunch of cheap crap that won't last.

[Tenni126]

Originally Posted by 240sx4u

I saw this stuff mentioned here and it seemed like an awesome alternative to bead blasting and things like that. Wax plus silver = decent looking cast parts.

Anyone use this stuff? Let's see some pictures!

Evan

I tried it on the front cover of my R90/6. A little goes a long way, and it looks pretty good. It's held up well. To each there own, of course, on the pros and cons of the stuff, but it's a good option if you don't want to mess around with media blasting or whatever.

[squish]

I got a tube,
I found that it works best on surfaces that are cleaned but show discoloration from something.

Like the hubs on my GS where it's stained black and shy of media blasting it I've not been able to get the gunk off.

It's decent stuff and it has it's place but it doesn't make something that's nasty and dirty suddenly all clean and bright looking.

It will even out the finish on some lower grade polished aluminum. I wonder how well the black would be at doing the black plated fasteners and bits, the kind that fade to med. gray.

[lockyv7]

Would a soda blaster do any damage to a front wheel hub and spokes on a 100GS, i can clean the rim but to get in to the hub with the spokes its just a shit fight, maybe place a long threaded rod through the wheel with a couple of good rubber sealing washers to keep the bearings clean, or just use it as the time to replace the front wheel bearings while its apart.

[patanga]

Originally Posted by lockyv7

Would a soda blaster do any damage to a front wheel hub and spokes on a 100GS, i can clean the rim but to get in to the hub with the spokes its just a shit fight, maybe place a long threaded rod through the wheel with a couple of good rubber sealing washers to keep the bearings clean, or just use it as the time to replace the front wheel bearings while its apart.

Hi lockyv7... Wet media Soda blaster on the hub or most anywhere else alloy should be fine... It's the dry bead blasters that you need to keep away from anything alloy. It's also handy if the person doing the job understands a little about the parts and does their best to only get it where required.

Dry blast looks great until you touch it and then you'll learn that with every touch, finger prints will for ever be left all over the metal. Dry blast leave a sharp edge key which is near impossible to work with after that. You'll end up having to do the job a 2nd time with a wet soda blaster. Also keep in mind with any media blasting that's it's vital to make sure that everything is really well pressure washed afterwards... The media gets in to everything,,, especially oil galleries and other nasty nooks where is will come back to haunt you.. Otherwise it's great..

As for the spokes and other coated steel items,,, The blast media will likely remove any of the electro plating or paint that is on them. I'd suggest R & R the spokes and or having the wheel relaced with stainless wires afterwards.

One more thing for those keen on giving their engine parts that highly polished look;.... Highly polished finishes retain more heat as they don't provide that same cooling efficiency as flat or standard factory patina finishes... Look on any serious race car and you will find engine parts etc in mat or satin colours. Sorry lockyv7.. I digressed there a little, just thought I'd kill two birds with one stone... Cheers.....

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[coastranger]

soda balst is the way to go
food grade is softer and less agressive for areas you need to be gentle with

[boxerboy81]

I've used Rub 'n Buff to tidy up the disc carriers on a couple of older discs.

This picture shows the original tarnish on one, and after cleaning with scotchbrite and Simple Green metal cleaner on the other.



You can see in this picture how the stuff massaged into the metal changes the appearance. An old toothbrush or q tips would get into the tight bits.



The back of the carrier was almost black with years of untouched road grime. Same treatment with the cleaning, then a finger tip worth of the Rub 'n Buff massaged into the metal and voila!



Leave it a while to dry, then do as it says...buff. The more you buff the shinier it gets. It really feels like it just absorbs into the metal, and it spreads so easily that a tiny dab goes a long way. Amazing stuff.

[Jon-Lars]

Just how deep are those grooves in your discs?

[caponerd]

Originally Posted by Airhead Wrangler

The whole idea of "engine makeup" seems kind of goofy to me no matter how good it looks. Blast it with soda or walnut shell to get rid of grunge. Call any remaining imperfections "patina." Painting aluminum so that it looks like aluminum, just doesn't sit right with me. It just feels fake. Even if it looks good to others, I would always know that it's fake and it would bother me.

If that stuff adds any fake color to the aluminum, forget it!

I'd like to have a few words with the idiot who painted the spare set of Royal Enfield Interceptor cylinder heads I bought some years ago.

When I was restoring my Interceptor last year, the plan was to use those heads since they just needed the valves lapped in. The original heads were functional, but the valve guides are quite loose.
I had access to a commercial engine washer (giant dishwasher with a built-in oil skimmer), and put both pairs of heads in it to clean them up.
My old-worn out heads looked fantastic when I took them out. The heads with the good valve guides looked like hell, as the paint had only partially washed off, and was duller looking than the clean metal on the other pair.
So, now I have to get the good heads media blasted before I can use them. I put the bike together with the better looking heads to finish the restore in time for the OVM show in May.