Thanks for all the feedback, both onlist and off. Someone directed me to Ray Dobbins' excellent website, with a good discussion of polishing aluminum parts. Ray makes the point that this is a very dirty process, generating lots of particulate matter, and he always does it outside. Do others do the same? If so, this would imply the the buffer is mounted on a workbench that is at least somewhat portable. What do folks use for this? Will the metal folding portable workbenches sold several places work well?
Of course, Ray evidently lives in Miami, so working outside is no problem, except during hurricanes. But the way he describes the process, it may be better to wait for a good day to do the polishing outside, even in colder climates.
Regards,
Jerry Moos
Big Spring, Texas, USA
> From: M-gineering <info@m-gineering.nl>
\r?\n> Subject: Re: [CR] Restoration of Alloy parts: Buffing, now more hints
\r?\n> To:
\r?\n> Cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
\r?\n> Date: Wednesday, December 2, 2009, 4:25 PM
\r?\n> David Kulcinski wrote:
\r?\n> > One more tip: Start with a light touch of the
\r?\n> part on the wheel; for 2 reasons. it will remove less
\r?\n> material and is easier to control. Also, don't get a
\r?\n> square edge on the top of a part near the wheel. That
\r?\n> is a sure recipe for a part flying across the room. If
\r?\n> there are square corners, polish the bottom half of the
\r?\n> face. Then, turn the part over and do the other half
\r?\n> of the face.
\r?\n>
\r?\n>
\r?\n> Do not polish the inside of a rack, so that another tube
\r?\n> will catch the opposite side of the buffer, unless you want
\r?\n> an instructional warning sign in 3D on the wall!
\r?\n>
\r?\n>
\r?\n> -- mvg
\r?\n>
\r?\n> Marten Gerritsen
\r?\n> Kiel Windeweer
\r?\n> Netherlands