Polishing your parts

Polishing parts is a very good idea to save pieces that you might otherwise think are junk. This is especially helpful with internal engine components and hardware. I have been doing a few different techniques lately to restore the beauty in parts and I have found that nothing works better than a bench grinder that has dual wheels. One wheel is typically a graphite stone grinder (DON'T USE THIS SIDE! YOU WILL ACTUALLY TAKE METAL OFF AND THIN YOUR PARTS!) and the other wheel is a heavy duty wire polisher (the side we will be dealing with). This tool is an extremely expensive investment, so if you don't already have one, you might want to try and make friends with some one that does! Luckily, my step-father has one. I can't even begin to explain how well this method works. Last weekend I used it on my gear selector, my clutch cover, my piston, and my cylinder and some random hardware. These parts were rusty, grimy, and extremely dirty. Now they look like they just rolled off of the factory assembly line.

Today, I tried to use a dremel with wire grinding tips to polish some parts. I don't recommend this method at all except for maybe very mild use to get into crevasses that you can't reach with the bench grinder. It works pretty well, but little bits of wire fly off of the dremel bits until all of the wires are gone and you're left with nothing. And this isn't a slow process. I bought two bits this afternoon. Within an hour of usage, both bits were reduced to nothing. So, don't do this more than necessary. Because of little wire fragments flying everywhere, I would especially not use this method on internal engine components as an alternative to taking the parts out of the case and using a bench grinder. It is absolutely crucial that the inside of the engine is COMPLETELY free of debris when reassembling it. And this frankly can't be accomplished with all of those little bits of wire flying inside the case. Take the time to take out the individual pieces and use the bench grinder. Your engine will thank you.

You may be tempted to wire polish your casings. While this will look very nice, a lot of people don't recommend it. Jeremy's blog goes into detail about it, but simply put; the engine case will get dirty, and fast. If you don't want to clean your engine case every day of your life, don't set it up for these high standards. Media blasting or a good scrubbing with paint thinner is sufficient.

Ciao.

Rust Removal

While doing my weekly research on LCUSA (Lambretta Club of America) I came across this product, Quick Glo, that some use to remove rust from spots on parts that can not be soaked in Evaporust; such as a rusty floor board. This product removes the rust and brings back some of the original shine of the original paint.

This would be a great product for myvesparestoration.blogspot.com to use, because his paint job is in good shape and paint is not a necessary investment for that bike's restoration.

Evaporust, Lloyd's Polish, & Restoration blogs

I came across a new restoration blog. It's a P-Series 150 resto. Bike looks in good shape. I would not touch with paint -- won't recoup that money in value; therefore bad investment. It can be a mechanically sound bike fairly easily I expect. There is some body rust, but I read on a Lambretta USA forum there is some great solution that removes rust and leaves the paint and metal alone on body parts. It is called Evaporust. That's what I'd recommend and then sealing up the rust to prevent spread. For cleaning up the paint and making it all pretty again I recommend looking into Lloyds WolfsHead Polish Detailer & Waterless Wash -- I read about this product and saw photos at Scooter Scoop posted on Dec. 10th, 2007. This way the paint looks at its absolute best. Before and after photos are posted for you to compare the differences.

Hell, I admitted that if I bought my SS180 in one piece, we'd leave the dents and dings and clean up the rust and give it a good wash and let it be.

Does anyone know of detailed blogs that are out there? If so, please post a comment and I will link them to this blog.

I am really interested in blogs that go into great detail on the resto and don't just have a paragraph and ten photos for every major step in the process. I want a blog I can really learn from. I want to become good at restorations and I aim to do all work myself on my Lambretta TV175, including paint with my uncle (who restores vintage cars).

I want to be like this guy.

Vespa folks talk with Lammy folks. They are SUPER nice and many know their #$%t. I find them to be very helpful -- weird coming from a Vespa restorer?

Damn, I am fired up to get this SS180 done so I can start saving money to begin my TV175. I daydream about how great it will be to hear the VSC fired up for the first time.

I just want to learn!

How to polish chrome pieces

In speaking with mentors Christopher Markley and Tom G . . . I have learned how to preserve the beauty of my dinged-up kick start lever and more.

Tom G. says:

Try autosol for chrome.

For Aluminum, I do the sanding approach, using wet/dry
sandpaper (sometimes I use it wet, sometimes I use it
dry).  220 is a good starting point, but some bad
scratches require coarser grades first.  then 320,
then 400, then 600, then 1000, then 1500, and THEN I
rub out with mothers aluminum polish (although I think
autosol is ok too).