Summary for wet or dry sandpaper Discussion
Wet or dry sandpaper to polish my motorcycle frame? The answer explains that the term "polishing" can be misleading: in metal finishing, sandpaper or Scotch-Brite is used only for the intermediate rough-polish stage, not for a final mirror shine. The responder says you cannot get a truly shiny buffed finish with sandpaper, whether wet or dry. For that, you need soft cotton or flannel buffing pads on an air tool, along with progressively finer buffing compounds that have a waxy texture. The reply also notes that a Dremel can work on small parts and is useful for practice, but a larger tool is usually more practical for bigger motorcycle frame areas. The answer points Bob to other letters for more detail on polishing and buffing motorcycle parts.
Q. I was wondering when I’m polishing my frame do you have to use water or can you just do it dry or what is better? Is there anything else you have to use when sanding like some kind of compound? And can I use an air tool to do this too and what kind of tool will help me out doing this?
Thanks for helping me out,
Bob Komraus
– Euclid, Ohio
2002
A. Hi, Bob. Sorry to be tedious with a semantics issue, but it will explain why you are hearing what sounds like contradictory information. When metal finishers speak of “polishing”, they probably mean the intermediate step between grinding and buffing. But you probably are not interested in stopping at a rough polish stage . . . you are probably looking for a fully shiny “buffed” finish.
So if someone says they “polish” with sandpaper or scotchbrite, they mean they rough polish; you can’t get to a shiny buffed finish with sandpaper whether wet or dry. For that you need soft cotton or flannel buffing pads mounted on an air tool, and a lot of work, probably with progressively finer buffing compounds — these compounds are “waxy” in texture.
Although small parts can certainly be buffed with a Dremel
⇦ on
eBay or
Amazon [affil link] , and it’s a good way to practice and learn, practicality probably demands a bigger tool than that for large parts.
Letter 21746 and letter 800 go into great depth about polishing and buffing motorcycle parts. I think you’ll find just what you are looking for there. Good luck!
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com – Pine Beach, New Jersey
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