Bench polisher/buffer
Discussion
I'm after a decent bench polisher for buffing up some alloy pieces on my bike, most seem to be converted grinders which simply don't have the power to resist the stalling effect you get when pressing hard to get a decent shine, anyone found a decent one that can give a recommendation?
As most of the ones advertised are little more than DIY type bench grinders of low hp it sound like you need a professional machine in which case your best bet is going to be looking for a used one.
A few what look like 2hp motors on ebay for around £150 although how good they'll be who knows & a couple of commercial ones which would certainly do what you want but are likely to be 3 phase electrics & are well over £1k.
Alternatively you could look into the different polishing compounds & see if a more aggressive one will do the job without excessive pressure on the machine or the part you're polishing.
Been a very long time since I did ally polishing on bikes - although I still have a 1950 A10 - but I never needed to use a lot of pressure to achieve a high shine & I only used a DIY type bench grinder with appropriate shafts, mops & compounds.
http://www.metalpolishingsupplies.co.uk/aluminium-...
A few what look like 2hp motors on ebay for around £150 although how good they'll be who knows & a couple of commercial ones which would certainly do what you want but are likely to be 3 phase electrics & are well over £1k.
Alternatively you could look into the different polishing compounds & see if a more aggressive one will do the job without excessive pressure on the machine or the part you're polishing.
Been a very long time since I did ally polishing on bikes - although I still have a 1950 A10 - but I never needed to use a lot of pressure to achieve a high shine & I only used a DIY type bench grinder with appropriate shafts, mops & compounds.
http://www.metalpolishingsupplies.co.uk/aluminium-...
Edited by paintman on Thursday 5th October 08:44
Buy a motor. Buy a pig tail to fit it. Buy a plug and length of wire. Job done.
Make sure its a 1500 rpm, or thereabouts. Too fast = too much friction, then you end up with streaks of polishing compound stuck on the surface.
Paul G
Owner of a car with a polished aluminium body.
This is my 1.5 kw polisher ( coke can for scale purposes )
Make sure its a 1500 rpm, or thereabouts. Too fast = too much friction, then you end up with streaks of polishing compound stuck on the surface.
Paul G
Owner of a car with a polished aluminium body.
This is my 1.5 kw polisher ( coke can for scale purposes )
Edited by finishing touch on Friday 6th October 13:15
finishing touch said:
Buy a motor. Buy a pig tail to fit it. Buy a plug and length of wire. Job done.
Make sure its a 1500 rpm, or thereabouts. Too fast = too much friction, then you end up with streaks of polishing compound stuck on the surface.
Paul G
Owner of a car with a polished aluminium body.
This is my 1.5 kw polisher ( coke can for scale purposes )
A fine example of ‘this is what we need’ engineering. Excellent!Make sure its a 1500 rpm, or thereabouts. Too fast = too much friction, then you end up with streaks of polishing compound stuck on the surface.
Paul G
Owner of a car with a polished aluminium body.
This is my 1.5 kw polisher ( coke can for scale purposes )
Edited by finishing touch on Friday 6th October 13:15
Love the bike. 
Following your email:-
There's a good guide to polishing on The Polishing Shop.co.uk
One of the bits of advice I would give is "don't buy cheap shat off eBay. Use a proper supplier".
Where you start will depend on the metal finish on the component but these are my preferred stages.
A sisal mop with grey will remove oxide. Aluminium forms a skin that you need to get through to reach metal.
For keeping a shine I (the wife) uses Purple Polish, with fluffy micro fibre, then towelling cloths.
Here you go. HTH Paul G
Following your email:-
There's a good guide to polishing on The Polishing Shop.co.uk
One of the bits of advice I would give is "don't buy cheap shat off eBay. Use a proper supplier".
Where you start will depend on the metal finish on the component but these are my preferred stages.
A sisal mop with grey will remove oxide. Aluminium forms a skin that you need to get through to reach metal.
For keeping a shine I (the wife) uses Purple Polish, with fluffy micro fibre, then towelling cloths.
Here you go. HTH Paul G
Edited by finishing touch on Friday 13th October 06:15
@rigga, sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I need to make a polisher with similar power to what you you did here.
I think this is the motor you bought : https://tecmotors.co.uk/products/motors/single-pha...
(But I can see they also do a 1.5kw version that looks to be the same size).
However - what/where did you get the mop adaptor please? I can't find anyone that has a spike that suits the 24mm shaft size of the motor. Or even 21mm, the next size down.
Thank you.
I think this is the motor you bought : https://tecmotors.co.uk/products/motors/single-pha...
(But I can see they also do a 1.5kw version that looks to be the same size).
However - what/where did you get the mop adaptor please? I can't find anyone that has a spike that suits the 24mm shaft size of the motor. Or even 21mm, the next size down.
Thank you.
Edited by Arnold Cunningham on Wednesday 10th May 21:25
Edited by Arnold Cunningham on Wednesday 10th May 21:28
Motor looks similar, the arbour came with the motor I purchased , can't find the listing in my eBay as it's so long ago.
Can't see from the spec of the motor you listed , the size of the shaft, pretty sure mines not 24mm , I can measure it tomorrow to be certain, but think it's smaller than that.
Some arbours up to 20mm listed here
https://www.thepolishingshop.co.uk/spindles-access...
Can't see from the spec of the motor you listed , the size of the shaft, pretty sure mines not 24mm , I can measure it tomorrow to be certain, but think it's smaller than that.
Some arbours up to 20mm listed here
https://www.thepolishingshop.co.uk/spindles-access...
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