had a spare lockdown bar that was badly scratched up ,at the price the widebody ones go for I had to try this out

sanded down with 100 grit and a D/A sander ,followed dy 180,240 and finally 320 making shure the previous cut marks were taken out by the new grit.
A final hand sanding with 600 wet paper got it ready for my buffing machine. at this point the surface must be perfect,the buffer will only make it shine .

buffing with 2  vented buffs  stacked up  and black compound
then final color buffing using loose buffs and the green bar

Done, Mirror finish thats  better than new!!!

Nice.

Where'd you get the industrial tools, too!

Quoted from Tuborg

Nice.

Where'd you get the industrial tools, too!

the buffer was made using scrap parts,has a 3/4 hp motor
but one day I'll make a bigger and better one with a 1 hp motor I found (surplus)

buffing supplies can be mail order or local (Caswell plating has a big selection of supplies and free guide to buffing)

shiny..very nice... thanks for sharing

Very nice I will keep that in mind for later.

tks for the info

For those of you who don't have access to a buffer, I get very good results by hand.  Use the same graduated sanding principle as Magneto suggested, but just keep going into finer and finer grits.  

Depending on the initial condition of the lockdown bar, I start with 150 grit to get out the deeper cuts.  Go to 100 if need be.  I then move on to 220, 400, 600 ( or 800 ), 1000, and the final sanding is with 2000.  You will think after the 1000 grit, the bar is as shiney as it will get, but after 2000, it will look like a mirror.   Doing a wet sand with 2000 grit adds even a little extra shine.

The key to doing it by hand is to use some sort of sanding block  ( I use the orange, rubbery blocks made by Bondo ) and most important, use consistent, straight sanding strokes.  

I use this teechnique on siderails too.

WOW!!!

Non mais y en a tu des outils dans c'te garage là?!

Nice, pratique d'etre bien équipé !!  

I saw that yesterday,like miror,very nice,only thing,when you start with the lock down bar,you have to make the leg,side rail,door  

Quoted from powerslave

I saw that yesterday,like miror,very nice,only thing,when you start with the lock down bar,you have to make the leg,side rail,door  

YES, now I have to do the siderails and wear white cotton gloves to play  

there are many ways to buff ,after  sanding with 240 I would normally switch to a 320 Greaseless compound and buff rightaway or like mrniceguy  by hand or even sand to 600-800  and switch to 'Autosol' and polishing by hand or drill buffer

heres a starter guide link to buffing:http://www.caswellplating.com/buffs/buffman.htm

enjoy your new shine!

Quoted from MAGNETO

heres a starter guide link to buffing:http://www.caswellplating.com/buffs/buffman.htm

Lots of great information... I hope you put a copy in the new 'LINKS' section.

sounds good!! well do

FYI: I just bought a nice 6" Buffing kit from Princess Auto for $30.  Mind you, you need the actual machine, but if you have one this kit comes with various buffers, and various compounds.

good luck.

Never saw this thread before... very nice!!  So I guess the question is.. how much for your old lockdown bar?  

Mine works alright, but it must've been falling a part at some point as it has screws through the top to hold it together (doesn't look too bad mind you)

AMAZING!!!