Pumashine

[rayman375]

I sent you a PM.

[Pumashine]

Originally posted by rayman375
I sent you a PM.

Anything aluminum on your "R" can be polished. Your cylinder, side cases, center cases, brake cylinders, shock reservoir, nerf bars, after market bumpers and wheels. Anything steel can be polished and chromed.

You just need to realize everything has to be disassembled, all paint stripped and surfaces have to be smoothed out . Then buffing to a shine is easy.

I polish my beloved "R's" as a hobby when rebuilding from a trashed state. Keeps me out of trouble and takes up all my time but do not do it for a living.

There is usually someone in your nearby community that polishes. It is a very dirty job and many people don't seem willing to pay money for something that takes so much time and work. All the customer sees is a shiny part. Its hard to quote a price unless you want a do not exceed a certain $ amount. You never know what condition the parts are in and how much time its going to take.

A lot of polishers are shady people. No one likes to be covered in black aluminum dust everyday. Even a shower when you get home does not get all the grime out of your eyes, ears, nose, and hair, etc. So when finding a good polisher take your time and find someone that does it for a living not just a part time job. Tony

I agree with Pumashine 110% except for one statement; I have seen firsthand 250RTrikes polishing shop, it is fully isolated & sealed with a full vacuum system separated from the plating operation, yet; it looks like a coal mine in the polishing rooms. Polishing is a very dirty, labor intensive operation, with little understanding from the rest of us as to what it really takes to make 250R parts “shiny”…

As stated; “Its hard to quote a price unless you want a do not exceed a certain $ amount”…250RTrikes is no different and will not give you a quote on parts unseen…

I don’t see any of these folks as “shady people”; the polishers work very hard and for the most part at a low wage…nothing “shady” in hard work!

I do tip my hat to those that polish their own parts to a mirror finish; much more difficult, time consuming & labor intensive without the industrial equipment shops like 250Rtrikes have at their disposal…

Carlos.

[jcs003]

it is definitly hard work. i spent hours polishing parts and still wouldnt consider them "professional" quaility and/or results. my engine looks great, but without the best equipment its a challenge. alot of beer was drank in the process too.

also, for the bigger parts, i think powder chrome is the way to go. its cheaper and all needs to be done is the casting marks need to be smoothed out. works great for swingarms from what i understand.

It only took once for me to realize I did not want to polish my own parts, I would rather pay for the process to be performed professionally, and since then I have full respect for polishers…

All the powder coat chrome I have seen around here looks like powder coat chrome and not like plated bath chrome; not the same show triple chrome look.

It would be great to have a process or source besides plated bath chrome…

Carlos.

[jcs003]

the cost associated with professional polish or show chrome is cost. i wish i could afford it. but for my money, some parts would be just fine powder chromed. but my engine must have the real bling:D

[Pumashine]

Originally posted by acecarlos
I don’t see any of these folks as “shady people”; the polishers work very hard and for the most part at a low wage…nothing “shady” in hard work!
Carlos.

Good polishing shops do not employ the shady characters I am reffering to. We have had to hire polishers for jobs over the years. The last couple did not have transportation or a place to live. Sometimes they show up for work other times they don't. Once paid I guareentee you will not see them for a week. I was just saying how hard it is to find a good polisher.

Understood…

I know you do polish work and obviously understand the time and effort to get the great “shiny” look you achieve…your stuff is the only other polish work I have seen that is top quality; just don’t breath that rouge & aluminum dust…

Carlos.

[Chino886]

Originally posted by acecarlos
just don’t breath that rouge & aluminum dust…


Agreed! I feel like the boy in the bubble cause I wear a cartridge respirator when I am doing some grinding on a good ole thumper head.........nothing like breathing carbon dust and aluminum shavings! It's always fun to blow your nose after a good day in the shop! :devil:

Keep up the good work Pumashine! Mad props to your polishing and fab work!:devil:

Some of the guys polishing look like raccoons or coal miners when they remove the respirator mask…nasty stuff! I don’t want any part of it…

Carlos.

[rayman375]

I know what the work consists of, and I don't want to do it haha. I would be happy to pay someone to do the work for me.

[Pumashine]

Originally posted by rayman375
I would be happy to pay someone to do the work for me.

A few years ago I did a tips and tricks thread on polishing over on Planet sand. Since then I have seen 3 or 4 guys setting up shops and are now polishing aluminum quad parts.

There is a newer thread in the tips and tricks section on polishing. Who does what and who to trust and gives directions to guys who do a great job for a very reasonable price.

This site is watched and is hard to give out useful information because it may be advertising. But I will try anyway. Here is a link to that thread. Only planet sand members can see the pics.

http://www.planetsand.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/1015986#Post1015986

[rayman375]

Thank You.

[croat1]

hey pumashine:
can you give me your email address please. i have a couple fabricating (projects) and parts i would like to discuss with you.
thanks
joe

[Pumashine]

Originally posted by croat1
hey pumashine:
i have a couple fabricating (projects) and parts i would like to discuss with you.
thanks
joe

Sure, but I want to you to know straight up I will only work with the 250r. Or adapting 450r parts to the 250r.

[croat1]

no worries....only 250r parts