What is the best way to refinish lower fork legs

I'd rather not pull the legs apart as the seals are fairly new. Is the best way to sand and repaint or can they be polished or refinished? They look to be pretty oxidated. I'd rather not polish them as polished aluminum is a pain in the ass.

Post edited by: Muddy, at: 2007/04/18 13:03

I just re-did a set for my 750.

I sprayed the lowers with aircraft stipper, about 5 minutes later I sprayed them down with water and all of the plastic coating came off.


They were badly oxidized, but...

I started wet sanding with 320, then 400, 800, 1000, 2000, then hit it with rubbing compound and finished it off with Hoosier Metal Polish (my preference to Mother's).

I only spent about 1 hour per fork, and the shine like chrome.


I had thought about sanding them down and painting them. But it was too easy to make em shine.

Muddy wrote:

I'd rather not pull the legs apart as the seals are fairly new. Is the best way to sand and repaint or can they be polished or refinished? They look to be pretty oxidated. I'd rather not polish them as polished aluminum is a pain in the ass.

Pretty much anything you do is going to require A] some effort and B] a realization that you'll get out of it pretty much what you put into it.

Since fork lowers are right in the front line against road trash, etc., any kind of coating you apply is going to take a beating - and if it isn't prepped right and tough as nails, it's gonna look pretty crappy again in short order.

Probably the least maintenence-intensive finish to put on them is to go Mario's rout - take the front wheel off, strip 'em, sand 'em to the #1000 grit level - then take some fine steel wool and rub 'em good to get an even "brushed metal" effect. Hit 'em with your favorite metal polish, then give 'em a double wax job. Re-assemble and ride.

Every so often, wipe 'em down with some glass cleaner, hit 'em with polish and re-wax.

Post edited by: Pterosaur, at: 2007/04/18 13:20

Do you have to hit them with aircraft stripper first?

The reason I used air craft stripper is because of the plastic coating on the lower forks.
You could sand them off.
But spraying that stuff on and washing it off 5 minutes later just saves a little time and elbow grease.

Did you hand sand them or use a sander?

By hand.
If you have some deep gouges or scratches, you can use a sander with 220. But be careful not to make a flat spot on your fork.

BTW, it helps to have a dremel tool with the little sanding pads for the tight areas initally, like around where the calipers mount. That will also save a lot of time.
I use my Dremel all the time, you just have to be careful with it and not get carried away.



Also, here's a thread where Sandy has done the same thing, they looks awesome.

tinyurl.com/ytrzr6

Post edited by: mariozappa, at: 2007/04/18 15:49

Once you get the clear lacquer off, they will buff out pretty good. The more time you spend, the shinier they'll get. I like the look of 'brushed aluminum'... clean and bright, but not a mirror finish.

Here's a pic of my forks before:

Here's after.
The light was bad, but it'll give you an idea. I sanded off the lacquer, and used 600 grit, then 1500 grit wet sand. Then buffed with Mothers Aluminum Polish. They've stayed pretty shiny for a year, and don't need much work to keep them clean.

where can you get aircraft stripper from

Most Auto-Parts stores will carry it.