Following a couple of requests on how I polished my rocker cover I thought I’d put it into a proper post. I know there are other ways that people have done this but this is the process that I used.
A few points to start:
1. You'll need plenty of patience. I did mine over a period of about 3 months because I just found it incredibly slow and tedious. I could have done it in considerably less but couldn't be bothered. I guess my point is that it takes time.
2. Make sure the rocker cover you start with is in good condition. Painted is ideal as it protects the metal but you'll need to remove it with Nitromors before you start. My cover wasn't painted and was heavily oxidised in places. Experience now shows that you won't be able to polish this out completely.
3. Have the right tools. I know people who have done this by hand but I can't imagine how tedious that would be. I'd recommend the following:
A Dremel or something similar with a flexible shaft (it makes it more manoeuvrable and less tiring to use). I bought a cheapy Clarke one from Argos and it more than did the job.
They don't seem to do that particular one anymore but they do this one
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/p ... 418774.htm. I promise you it's money well spent!
Grinding wheels. (Mine came with my multi tool)
A plain shaft which fits the Dremel. I used a small drill bit and fitted it the wrong way round.
A selection of grades of wet and dry sandpaper from about 180 to 800. The cheapest place I found was Screwfix.
Masking tape
A metal polishing kit. I got this from Screwfix too and again it saved a lot of time and effort. It comes with two bars of paste, one for grinding and one for polishing and two large felt polishing wheels which fit a normal electric drill. It really helps if you have a flexible shaft that fits one of these too.
Small felt polishing wheels which fit the Dremel. These are for the small, hard to reach areas
Ear defenders
Safety glasses
OK, once you’ve got all your stuff together this is how to polish the cover.
1. Clean the cover thoroughly. If it’s painted, then strip it with Nitromors. You then need to wash it and remove and oil/grease using something like Gunk. You’ll be handling it a lot and grease won’t help with the polishing.
2. Use the grinding wheels to remove any large casting marks. Be careful not to take too much metal off. Remember that any deep abrasions you put into the metal will require a lot of polishing to remove.
3. You can then start with the wet and dry sandpaper. Start with the coarsest grade (180?). Cut it into small squares about 2-3 cm.
4. Wrap the sandpaper tightly around the bit and secure at the base with masking tape. It’s a bit tricky to start with but you’ll get the hang of it with a little practice.
5. Set the speed to moderate – too slow and it’ll struggle, too fast and it’ll just grind through the metal. Play around with the adjustment and you’ll know when you’ve got it right. Try it out on a piece of spare metal or a piece of the cover that isn’t readily visible.
6. Hold the wet and dry parallel to the surface and work it over the cover a small section at a time first in one direction and then again at 90 degrees. You need to keep it moving and don’t press too hard. Remember that any deep abrasions you put in will be difficult to polish out with the next grade. You’ll need to change the paper quite often as it will disintegrate.
7. Work with progressively finer grades 240/400/600/800 until the cover is very smooth. At this point you can switch to using the metal polishing kit.
8. Use the cutting paste first. For the larger areas you can use a standard electric drill with the big polishing wheel but you’ll need to switch to the Dremel with the small felt wheels for the more intricate areas. You’ll definitely need the ear defenders and safety glasses for this bit. Be warned – bits of the paste fly off and cover everything and it’s really messy.
9. Once you’ve done the whole thing with the cutting paste it should be completely smooth and ready for final buffing. Switch to the polishing paste and repeat the process.
This is roughly what you should expect whilst working through the stages:
Before:
Casting marks before grinding:
After 240 grade
After 400 grade
After 600 grade
After 800 grade
After cutting paste and before final polish
The finished article