Hi Stewart - you can come out of hiding, I won't write a novel (yet).
Thanks Trev, appreciate your compliments but think people who take a very close look at my work will notice the voids.......
Stewart, to me, it would appear that "someone" has had a go at this with a "buff" and saw the effort required or got a bit scared as they got to the tricky bits............... result is that they have "buffed" the safe areas and left the tricky bits - much like some professionals tell you their product is "polished" - take a look at the concave curves and areas where a "buff" wont delve unless the surrounding detail is also removed..............recesses where mounting bolts are fitted are "usual" places for this...........
Alloy is a wonderful medium to polish - I don't know if you have any experience with it, but depending on the quality of the cast - it can come up nearly as good as chrome, but cools things down instead of heating them up as chrome plating tends to do........
It will never rust and only requires a bit of a scrub up with some alloy compound and a soft cloth to almost restore what the buff has brought up.
But being an alloy is usually soft and must be treated with respect whilst working around it with tools, etc...... soft cloths are a must for cleaning........
I don't know how many Brite Shine waddings I wore my fingers out with before coming to the opinion that if something alloy has to be polished well, it initially needs to be treated severely...........
Have you worked a "buff" on a bench grinder, Stewart? - if not, you're in for a few months of good reward.......... you will get out of this what you put in...... if you want good, it will take effort - if you want great, you will probably use up two/four weeks on this piece alone .........
When I find something I want to "attack" - I now use mechanical tools to grind away those "proud" high spots - but very, very carefully.
When all the "dags" are removed, I block back with 240 grit wet/dry until I get a "flat dull finish - don't "lean" too hard on this coarse paper or you will "grind" scratches into it - we just want to take off the remaining high spots and ground down the surface until the "lows" are brought up - the rest of blocking back is just a case of working the surface up with progressively finer grits through to 1000 or 1200 ............ until you get a very smooth flattened surface (satin).
For areas within lettering, fins, recesses etc, I make up special "tools" for hand working - usually icy pole sticks with wet/dry superglued to them - yes it becomes laborious, but the rewards often attract attention........
The cheats way (as many proprietary companies do) is just to flat "black" out the tricky bits............ I believe if alloy is to be highlighted - we need to show all the alloy........... each to their own............
- now to the buff.................
This is where the "polishing" starts - for alloy, I use a "stitched rag" buffing wheel, and a medium cut dressing bar............ when a shine starts to come up, I change to a calico buff and use alloy (white) dressing compound bar.
I tend to keep the stitched rag away from fine detail - better to "burn" a few calico buffs out than burn up the detail with a heavy hand.............
I think it very important to state that when using the buff - don't overheat your work or it will distort - depending on how thin it is..............
Also please be very mindful to work "off" your piece - never present a leading edge into the buff - or you won't be coming to Yamba - at best, without the piece you are working on, at worst................... nice knowing you, Stewart......... that buff will pick up your piece very quickly and hurl it at your face at a zillion miles an hour............... if you can "duck" it - you should have been a boxer...................
When you are satisfied with your work, I then "treat" the surface with a alloy mag wheel polish and finish off with Meguair's all metal restorer - I think you have seen the alloy fittings in my engine bay at Forbes - I even did the carby only to find out the blasted thing is covered by the air cleaner........................
Will give you the "full" job description if you decide to go ahead with it yourself...............
most will drop it off to a "polisher" - I prefer to do my own work - this is my passion.........
With the detail and importanc of that magnificent "speco" label, I would do it myself - I don't think polisher's appreciate just how "important" it is to us to keep fidelity in period detail............... not that I have any......
This is my bay - I did the rocker cover and side plates, alternator, carb, distributor, steering box cover and wiper plate............ there's probably more alloy which I polished, but can't remember from here............
I'll take another pic tomorrow of just the rocker cover and side plates if you want a close up - for now this will do - you may have to zoom it up a bit to see the potential.............the rocker cover and side plates are Kryal Kastings - they were the "polished" set - I wasn't happy - Jan!
frats,
Rosco
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I left him with strict instructions the Speco was to remain.
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