[51rat]

right side case on my ironhead looks like it was chromed or polished about 2389573975 years ago, flaking off here and there, clear coat yellowing... i assume it is aluminum, sooooooooo....

could i just sand it down well and polish it up with some rouge and a buffing wheel?

was thinkin about doin the magneto too, but i think these were steel (correct me if wrong)

with new paint and all, once i get new wheel on, motor looks a lil dirty on that side, primary is nice chrome... bikes REALLY comin out nice, and im even thinkin of gettin a new rear wheel cause mines a hair off balance or bent or something, and the chrome is gettin bad... tryin to decide what else to work on before i tear into the trump im gettin tomorrow (pics WILL be up by noon!)...

 

[scootermcrad]

Depending on how much chrome is actually left, you may have to have it chrome stipped. It's the easiest way for sure. I had to do this with my Trump timing cover. Then I went through the polishing process. Take it down grit by grit until you get to about 600 or 800 grit, then go through the Tripoli, Rouge and maybe finish up with a platinum or something.

Your question isn't fully answered though... if you just have a bit of chrome, you might be able to just hit it with a 120 grit or something and then go through the grits.

Any pics of the case?

 

[51rat]

i can get some tomorrow or something... i may have to settle on touchin it up, cause im not into dropping the bread to have it chromed... too much money and work... chrome is NOT cheap around here... nor should it be, its dangerous and a hard process to go through, must be done RIGHT or look like hell...

i gotta get my hot rod valve covers chromed soon, and i know it will cost me $$$$$

 

[scootermcrad]

i can get some tomorrow or something... i may have to settle on touchin it up, cause im not into dropping the bread to have it chromed... too much money and work... chrome is NOT cheap around here... nor should it be, its dangerous and a hard process to go through, must be done RIGHT or look like hell...

i gotta get my hot rod valve covers chromed soon, and i know it will cost me $$$$$

Maybe I came across wrong. If you want to polish the case(aluminum right?) then you have to get the chrome off first. Polishing will be cheaper if you have the stuff to do it. Will NOT match the chrome, but if you have the resources to polish it yourself and still have a lot of chrome left on it, it may need just to be chemically stripped THEN you can polish it. Your chromer can do it and it shouldn't cost anymore than about $40... which is what you will pay in abrasives PLUS elbow grease to get the shit off. If you don't have much chrome left at all (I.E. mostly flaked off) then you should be able to just mechanically sand off (with a sander, not by hand) what's left of the chrome. Is it copper and nickel plated under the chrome? If you have any bronze bushings they may not do the Nickel strip and you'll have to do it by hand. Soft anyway. Just takes more time.

Are we going around in circles? Are you just asking if you can polish the CHROME that's left??

 

[Voneville]

The joys of living close to Mexico. Mexichrome is the shit if you got a good hook up.

 

[scootermcrad]

The joys of living close to Mexico. Mexichrome is the shit if you got a good hook up.

Do tell! What's Mexichrome? I actually DO know someone in Mexico, but he's not familiar with anything like that probably.

 

[51rat]

man if i lived near mexico I WOULD BE CHROMED for the prices they give down there!

 

[Voneville]

I have a friend from work that has family down there. He's into older chevy trucks. He restored a 68 Chevy. Anyway, he'll take stuff down there for me and get the mexican price instead of my white guy price. I would just have to give him some cash for his trouble, but it's still way cheaper and better quality then what we get here, because they have no EPA.

 

[Galaxie500XL]

Just leave it alone, the bike is going to get dirty if you ride it.

 

[stratocaster]

Have a chrome shop strip it.It's the reverse electroplating process.Way easier than trying to sand it off.That's some hard shit.Since it was polished before plating it should take little to buff it.-Strat.