I have polished most of the aluminum on my Ironhead and did my stock rotors on my RKC. For aluminum, I use a bench mounted buffer with 8 inch wheels and a variety of compounds. For the rotors, I used sandpaper in a drill attachment.

 

The engine covers and wheels on my 06 standard didn't have any clearcoat on them.I used Mothers Mag and alum polish.It kept them looking good.I just did them a couple times a year on a rainy day.

 

I really like to polish. I use SIMI-CHROME made in Germany. It does a great job for me.

 

I polished my IDS pulley with a polishing kit I bought at Harbor Frieght, it worked great and only took about a 1/2 hour to do.

 

I just did my lowers a week or so ago. Sanded them with various grits to get the clear off, then used Mothers polish. They aren't chrome looking, but they're a huge improvement over what they were. I also did my wheels. they were so nasty that you couldn't get them clean looking. Sanded the crap out of them and polished them too. Another huge improvement that only cost me a little time......

 

My 08 lowers did not have any clearcoat. Used sandpaper of 400 up to 1200 grit to sand the rough spots smooth. Started out with white polishing compound with a foam ball on a drill. Finished with Meguires pink Mag polish and the foam ball and drill. Looks good to me and have not required a lot of upkeep.

 

Do yourself a favor and just pick up a set of chromed forks off Ebay. My last bike, I polished the fork lowers and for the amount of time put into the initial polishing and then the up keep of them I went chrome on my next bike. If you have plenty of time and nothing else to do, then go for it but I won't do it again.

 

Once bare aluminum is polished,it will need to be clear coated,plated or constantly maintained to keep it shiny.
The best way to polish is how XXX did it.

 

Acid? any paint thinner works. i have used carb cleaner and a green scratchy pad on the three bikes that the clear has chipped/bubbled up on. works well enough. as for polishing, it just takes a lot of time, mothers and a green scratchy pad i f your doing it by hand. finish with rags to buff it out.

 

I just finished my lowers. I think it's worth doing. It would be easier to take them off the bike, but if you just pull the front wheel, you can turn the lowers so you can get to them all the way around.
It takes time, but I always like to have some kind of project going on when I'm not riding or working.
Randy