Is that Alooooooominum or Al u min ium? Ha ha

Yer could do that just that it's quite a soft (but strong) metal where as steel is hard cold and manly. I. Can also get 2m off twisted steel for £10. But we will see what happens

Smart ass ,but spell it anyway you want you know what i meant..............hp to weight is always a factor ,,,,,,,,,what you plan on hanging on it ,,, a truck.?.

2m of steel weighs alot compared to aloy,,,, cost might be more but by the time you add in chorming vs pollishing its cheaper

You mentioned how the bolts and bit put lauras hard work down ,IMO chrom paint will do the same for your bike,rattel can sh1t............ IS CHEAP AND LOOKS CHEAP zink,nickel or copper plating would look better and last longer,painted black would even look better than rattel chrome.

Not really going to hang any thing on it to be fair, at most will be a One man bivvy and a sleeping bag but mainly just going to be for looks.

Chrome in a can was just a thought really as I'd seen it in a shop didn't know if it was any good or not and as normal you great lot have shown me the light as to how hard it will be to get it to look good. Thinking the alloy way ain't for me tho mate, I see the hp the weight etc but I really do prefer the steel. Will just hunt down some one to chrome it or just black it out to match the frame.

I just buff it with a cloth, you may need to try different materials to get the best result, I generally use towelling rags that I get FOC from work.

Got any pics of the results at all bud?

Sorry no pics to hand, the last time I did it was using Plasticote Chrome paint on a set of mountain bike suspension fork lowers, but I have sold that bike.

The idea of the polishing came from using Alclad on my models, the Alclad comes up really nice, so I tried it with the Plasticote and got similar results although not up to the Alclad standard.

Link to Alclad for info http://alclad2.com/

Campaman that looks really good, are those models? Not really a problem just wondering, the finish is really bright and has that wet/oil look to it, make a great finish to mudguards and ali forks, might give that a try myself when the FJ is done.

Yer that does look smart mate! May give it a bash and see how it comes out as its only a tenner for a can.

Got some toys delivered today and re furbed the front caliper last night. Master cylinder needs painting now.

New controls consisting of indicators horn kill switch and lights

Brakes before

Front wheel with shiney black forks

More to do tonight, but it's getting there.

Yes they are models, as well as bikes I have carried on building models (airfix and the like) as well as model railways from when I was a wee lad, some of the examples on the Alclad site look so real.

Came across Alclad a few years back and used it on model jets and cars.

Not sure how it would stand up to real life applications, but if sealed with a decent gloss top coat would think it would be OK.

are you the master of suspense or what

Yes yes i am. ha ha, na just been recovering from all the whisky and sprouts mate, but i have been a very busy boy tho, here is what i have achieved over the Christmas break.

Frame painted,

Engine in,

Wire's in,

Battery, CDI, Fuses and cubby hole in

Carbs In,

Forks on

She is looking very nice and im proud to say she really dose look perfectly imperfect

lookin good ...but the yellow zip ties have to go and why didnt you paint/wire wheel the eng mounts and bolts/nuts or r u going for that rebuilt but not rebuilt look?.... if so why not just clear the tank light rust and all once cleared it will stop rusting

Glad to see you've been busy, thought when you went quiet something was up! lookin good!! so you'll have it ready for spring then ?

lookin good ...but the yellow zip ties have to go and why didnt you paint/wire wheel the eng mounts and bolts/nuts or r u going for that rebuilt but not rebuilt look?.... if so why not just clear the tank light rust and all once cleared it will stop rusting

Yep spot on really, yes there are bits I've done a nice job on but then there's the bits I've deliberately missed like the engine mounts, "perfectly imperfect" so nowi don't have to spend ages washing it polishing it etc etc before I ride her, and if I get caught in a rain storm then I'm still not going to worry ha ha. Tank is getting painted tho

Hydro diped with skulls would suit it nicely,,but them yellow zip ties have to go!!!!!!

Yer was going for the hydro dipped route but then the wife spotted the rising costs and she's pinning me down on my spending, even thought the hydro dipping just the tank was only £60! but nope she has spoken so i will just get it done after the next season.

Yellow zip ties where what ive got at the moment and will be getting some black ones from work this week, just waiting for them to be delivered to the production area

Well went out in the shed last night and done a tiny bit more to her, i would have had the throttle cables in and the throttle grip on the bars but for some strange reason the pull cable has grown an extra inch in length and the grip jams in the new little housing i got for it, the cable isn't fouwling up the the housing so not quite sure whats goings on there so will have to spend some time out there again to night.

Any ways, as ive done away with the old tank, the space that contains the fuel pump, ignition barrel and a load of wires and that is now fully exposed to the free world, so sat at my desk over Christmas i remember that at my father inlaws i still have some junk from my old shed in which i had a big bit of car grill mesh, so i nip off grab a good chunk of it a sprayed it black. And this is what it looks like.

That works! Need to see a shot a little further away though...

Yer i know but sadly i have no room to take decent pics at a distance. Most of my pics are taken close to my chest or with me crouched down on the floorc ha ha.

Ahhh I'll wait in suspense then until you can finally pull this beast out of the shed!