just wondering if anyone has tried polishing fork tubes as opposed to buying chrome and what was the results? any info would be appreciated.

 

I polished mine. I used 600 grit sand paper WD40 and a polishing wheel on my drill. They look awesome I think only took me a few hours. If you use say 2000 grit as some people are gonna tell you it will take you for ever. If you know about polishing then you understand that the sanding marks will close us as you pull the metal. I also used a good polishing rouge. But mother or something like it would work ok. just check my photos dont have a really good pic but you can see the shine. When you do sand them make sure you only go up and down on the forks do not go the same way as the factory lines are. the hardest part is getting all the factory lines out and this is way you use 600 grit paper.

 

I have polished fork tubes on my custom chopper and I tell you what, buy chrome tubes if you can. Not only chrome looks better but keeping mirror polished aluminum parts is a PITA. The only benefit of polished alum over chrome, besides price, is that if you have a scratch or a nick, you can fix it but that's about it. My personal experience.

 

remember, if you polish them thats all you will have is "polished alum". they will never shine as bright as chrome and the upkeep of the alum is ungodly. they would have to be clearcoated or you gotta polish almost daily.

 

Depends on your level of maintenance. If you can't force yourself to buy the chrome kit, they definately will look far better then the stock stuff! Although you probably could pick a used set up fairly cheap as lot's of people are now going black.
I polished them on my old bike to save money over chrome. They looked professional when done and from a distance looked like chrome, but they aren't and they do require a bit of upkeep.
Polishing works by closing the pores of the aluminum and makes it tougher for it to oxidize (it still will though). The better the polish - the longer they'll last between polishings.

When I bought my Ultra I ordered the chrome front end kit at the same time. That should be enough testimony to go chrome!

 

thanks for all the input everyone i appreciate it.