Z plate finish

Skyguyz · Jun 1, 2011

I guess this forum is my "go to" when I want to proceed with caution or a question. I just buffed my Z plates and I am not real happy with the results.
I tried every trick in the Caswell bible of polishing, but the finish is just worn/scarred too much. So, what would you ask your plating specialist to do to the Z brackets to have them like new? (*Type of blasting & finish.)

Thanks as always,

Sky

They look good from far......

but far from good.

DogT · Jun 1, 2011

They were a pretty rough casting to start with. I filed the casting marks off the bottom, sanded them to 320 and polished them the best I could with a buffer. I got the flats and edge areas to a good shine, but I just didn't worry about the recessed parts. Hit them as best as you can with Mother's AL polish. That's what I did.

Dave
69S

Skyguyz · Jun 1, 2011

Dave,

Thanks for the great suggestion.

I would like to have them replated? Chromed? whatever suggestion to have them get close to this:

Thanks and keep em coming.

Sky

jeffdavison · Jun 1, 2011

personally, I like patina. No matter how much I try to get things to look better than new, I have learned to love the natural patina of the part and the natural patina of aging. It adds to the character of the machine.

JD

DogT · Jun 1, 2011

If you want it shiny like that, you are going to have a lot of sanding to do, or take it to a plater, maybe they can fill it with copper and polish it up like that with a chrome finish? $$$

Dave
69S

pelican · Jun 1, 2011

Skyguyz said:
Dave,

Thanks for the great suggestion.

I would like to have them replated? Chromed? whatever suggestion to have them get close to this:

Thanks and keep em coming.

Sky

i'd say send them to cnw for professional polish.... it would probably be even cheaper than getting them plated. It's not advertised on their site, but they are happy to do it. I sent them mine, and they turned out like the pic you used. mirror finish! 8) I don't remember how much they charged without digging the receipt out, but it was extremely reasonable (compared to chrome plate)

maylar · Jun 1, 2011

I polished mine many times over the years. The recesses were always a bit rough, but they will shine. The problem is that with muffler brackets and footrests mounted you can't get at them very well to keep them up. So I bit the bullet and had them chromed. Now they clean up with just a wipe.

Skyguyz · Jun 1, 2011

Pelican,

Called Gary at CNW and he quoted each polished for $60. Not bad to have them looking brand new.

And thanks again for the replies guys. I'll repost after I get them back from CNW.

Sky

Hobot · Jun 1, 2011

Some surfaces have pits that are just part of what they are and don't distract as much as the rough casting. Fine inner polish is just how anal tedious you sand to flatness before polishing.

chasesa · Jun 2, 2011

I polished mine nicely, then glass beaded the depressed portions. Got the idea here, I think.

Anyway they look very nice and I worry less about polishing (them anyway as there's lots of other polishing to keep up with)

Tintin · Jun 2, 2011

Skyguyz said:
whatever suggestion to have them get close to this:

My guess is these were done using electropolishing. Means you polish them manually up to a certain point and then they are subjected to a Galvano process were material is actually removed (in contrast to plating). As the "hills" are attacked "more heavily" than the "valleys" of the rough surface the "hills" are flattened and thus the whole surface is more even - which equals shiny.

Tim

cNw · Jun 3, 2011

Tintin said:
Skyguyz said:

whatever suggestion to have them get close to this:

Click to expand...

My guess is these were done using electropolishing. Means you polish them manually up to a certain point and then they are subjected to a Galvano process were material is actually removed (in contrast to plating). As the "hills" are attacked "more heavily" than the "valleys" of the rough surface the "hills" are flattened and thus the whole surface is more even - which equals shiny.

Tim

Tim,

No electropolishing....the polishing we do to these kind of parts is just with a good old 'elbow grease' approach. Half the time spent on each piece is in fact sanding and then on a wheel with a couple of different compounds. Just like body work its all in the prep. We do a vibratory tumble finish, with a ceramic media, these days on cases and heads since they are really tricky to do on a wheel without spending countless hours on them.

Matt / Colorado Norton Works

Hobot · Jun 3, 2011

Ugh Matt, I didn't photo my Z plates to show their flat inner shine well, so know yoose guys don't charge enough for the fine finish we can buy. Glad of it of course.

cNw · Jun 3, 2011

hobot said:
Ugh Matt, I didn't photo my Z plates to show their flat inner shine well, so know yoose guys don't charge enough for the fine finish we can buy. Glad of it of course.

Hob,

You are right about more sanding making for better end results...thats for sure. The only problem we run into with these old castings is the inconsitency in the casting quality. Some parts are just so badly pitted that no matter what you do...they will never look as good as others. You can sand all you want but all you will find is another layer of pits....and maybe even more than what you started with. Thats one of the reasons I am trying to make as many parts in billet as possible, since I loose sleep over things like porous castings. Its an illness and as far as I know.....theres no cure.

Matt / Colorado Norton Works

Tintin · Jun 3, 2011

CNW said:
No electropolishing....

Ui, impressive. If you tumble then ISF might be interesting for you - that stuff is impressive and even better than electropolishing. However you need to run an awful lot of parts thru the process to get the cost down.

Tim