Benchgrinders and buff wheels? How do you use them?

[TR7]

So, I have one of those benchgrinders. If I was to give parts a good polish would it just burn right through the chrome? I was thinking of going over most all of the bike (engine parts, exhaust ect.) but never heard anything about this or done anything like it. Any advice? Good wheels, type of polish, technique ect? Dont do it?

[Big B]

if you see sparks and "poo poo" flying off, you're doing it wrong

seriously though, if you're looking at polishing chrome look into a product like flitz, and get a polishing ball. i think mother's makes them, they go on a drill and work real slick. using a bench grinder with a buffer on it works great for large surfaces (headlamps, ect) but it won't do any good on a small part.

hope that helped

[BuzZz]

If your going to polish with it, you need cloth buffing wheels and special polishing compounds and waxes to put on the wheels. A good auto parts or industrial supply house should be able to fix you up with the proper stuff.

[TR7]

Does polish have something like "grits" like sandpaper? I did this once before with another part a while ago. I put polish on the wheel turned it on and once I placed the piece on the wheel the paint instantly vansihed . Its something that Im trying to avoid happening again.

I was using regular meguiars car polish on the wheel, could that have been the problem?

[BuzZz]

Yes, polishing wheels require specilized compounds to buff correctly. And polishing paint requires different polishes and compounds than polishing metal, as well as a much lighter touch, paint burns easily. You really need the correct stuff to do the job, as you found out.

You are useing a cloth wheel and not a wire wheel, right?