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Duners tunnel polishing "how to"

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Dunatic

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I get alot of pms asking how I polish tunnels, so I thought I would put together this "how to" Some guys like to sand them smooth, this is just the way I polish them.

This is the kit I use The kit comes with a cutting pad (the sewn one), you use it with the tripoli (the brown bar). This is the first step, after I remove everything that gets in the way of running the polisher. This is the most important part and takes probably 80% of the time to do, It takes me 8-10 hours to polish a tunnel ( the polaris tunnels are the hardest ) This makes a mess, and you will covered in black, I always wear a 3m mask so I don't breathe it in.

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hold the bar to the pad with the buffer running @ around 2000 rpm for a few seconds to get some polish on the pad

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I work small sections at a time moving the pad around to keep it as smooth as possible, if you leave it in one spot to long it will make ripples.

_CLP2135.jpg


here is a shot with half of the tunnel done.

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this is after the first step is completely done, the aluminum has a haze to it from the cutting compound.

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next I go over it with the loose pad and the jewelers rouge, it takes the haze and and polish marks out of the tunnel from the cutting compound, The last step is to hand polish it with Mothers Billet polish and microfibers.

_CLP2182.jpg


The final product..... I charge $400 to polish a tunnel, sometimes I think it is not enough :)

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Dunatic

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A few more of the sleds I have done...

Before

CLP_7731.jpg


After,, I think I got kim another 30 horse out of this sled after he polish ;)

CLP_7745.jpg


CLP_7759.jpg


08 Dragon

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07 M1000 with a BDX tunnel kit

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It actually holds up really well, when you take it to this level of polish it is almost like chrome, it doesn't take alot to shine it back up, I think I went over mine twice last season, just a quick rubdown with the mothers billet and a microfiber.
 
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tudizzle

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Never really understood the whole polishing the tunnel thing....but those are works of art!

You may have just made me a believer?

Thanks for sharing the 411
 

Dunatic

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One small piece of advice I forgot to add.... DO NOT look directly at them when the sun reflects off of tunnel, IT WILL BLIND YOU!!!
 

Scott

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Dang, that looks nice. I had no idea it took THAT long to do one.
 
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SilverGriz

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Dunatic...doesn't get any better than that! I have polished my tunnel the last two years, but not to the results your are producing. I wished you lived in North Idaho...I would gladly pay you $400 to do mine.

Got any pics of XP's??
 
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boone

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Dunatic, I am one of those that PM'd you asking for help. Here are a few pics of my results. I still need some more practice but I think that it turned out pretty good. Sorry for the lousy pictures...yet another area that I need help in!! LOL

Thanks again,
Boone

DSCN1312.jpg


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Dunatic

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very nice job, now the million dollar question, how long does it stay like that???

It actually last longer than you think it would, plus the snow doesn't stick to it as much

WOW!those look awesome:D....how/what do you use for the running board surface that won't get totaled by the sharp edges etc? and how long "does" the shine last before repeating the process (in the "real" world- not sled shows etc)

most of the sleds I have done have inserts in the running boards, but for the ones that don't I use a air die grinder with a small polishing pad on it.

Any wet sanding?

http://www.swmetal.com/cart/item?itemID=12067

Where can a guy get a kit in Canada?

no wet sanding at all... call swmetal they might ship to canada.

Dunatic...doesn't get any better than that! I have polished my tunnel the last two years, but not to the results your are producing. I wished you lived in North Idaho...I would gladly pay you $400 to do mine.

Got any pics of XP's??

I haven't done any XPs yet... come down for some riding, your XP could be my first :)

Dunatic, I am one of those that PM'd you asking for help. Here are a few pics of my results. I still need some more practice but I think that it turned out pretty good. Sorry for the lousy pictures...yet another area that I need help in!! LOL

Thanks again,
Boone



Looking good bud!! how long did it take you?
 
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