Advice for polishing alloy valve covers.

[71 Bee Man]

G'day all,

just wondering if anyone has some advice when it comes to restoring some old M/T Valve Covers I have on my Bee.

I have stripped all the old paint off them, and have begun the process of polishing the alloy, as I'd like a shiny alloy finish rather than painted. I've never had polished alloy covers before, and I'm wondering do you just leave them "polished", and maintain them by polishing in future - or do you coat them in clear lacquer ?

Any help is appreciated. I have got a pretty good shine o far, but wondering where to go next, and if that's how to leave them.

Thanks,

Peter.

[XH29N0G]

   That looks nice.

[Patronus]

I'd leave em. Clear always chips or flakes off.

[71 Bee Man]

I'd leave em. Clear always chips or flakes off.

I spoke to an auto place today and they basically said "personal choice".

I might just leave them and not risk the yellowing that can occur with lacquers.

Peter.

[bill440rt]

Eastwood used to sell a product called Diamond Clear Extreme. This was very different than their Diamond Clear in a rattle can.
Nasty, vile smelling stuff that you could spray or brush on. It came in 1/2 pint cans, wicked expensive. I used it on a bunch of polished and cast aluminum parts. So far, it's holding up excellent. It did not alter the polished finish either like many clear coats do. It's been since pulled from their catalog.

However, POR-15 has a product called Glisten PC.
http://www.por15.com/GLISTEN-PC_p_45.html

Might be similar stuff. This is not a lacquer based product. I would not use lacquer either on bare polished metal.
Worth a shot. 

[71 Bee Man]

After much thought ( that Glisten stuff looks pretty good ), I've decided to just leave them polished. After all, a guy needs something to clean when there's nothing else to do.
For anyone interested, below is a picture of what you can do in your shed with some polishing wheels, paint stripper and "wet & dry" paper.....

Before....



and after...

[PlainfieldCharger]

That is one hell of a transformation Great job