About Reflections Polishing, LLC …

At Reflections Polishing, LLC we specialize in motorcycle and aluminum polishing and triple plated chrome finishes for the motorcycle enthusiast and the person that wants to stand out from the crowd.  From Sportbikes to Cruisers, we specialize in custom polishing aluminum, and triple plated chroming of motorcycle frames, swingarms, rims and any other bike part. 

Our state of the art, custom aluminum polishing, and chroming shop uses extremely fine abrasives to remove all imperfections from aluminum parts. This process leaves the aluminum part free of defects, adding character and dramatic color change.  

Our service and quality workmanship goes unrivaled in the polishing arena!

Our high ethical standards and honest business culture builds customer relationships that we are very proud of. With over 10 years experience, our quality and workmanship has not had an unsatisfied customer and never will. Our work is always 100% guaranteed!

Custom Polishing, What It Is & What It Isn’t…

Custom Polishing is the same thing as Show Quality Polishing…its all a matter of the polisher’s pride in their workmanship or, in some cases, a buzzword to increase the price.

Polishing is not a high tech procedure…it’s simply leveling or smoothing the surface of metal to reflect light better. A rough surface breaks up the light reflection, the smoother the surface the greater the reflection of light…which we call shine.

A simple example is polishing chrome…you aren’t making the chrome shine; you’re just removing the foreign substances (dirt, grease, oil, etc.) that cuts down the reflection of light. And all good chrome jobs start with polishing. The better the polish the better the chrome.

Of course polishing raw metal is a little more complicated than polishing chrome but the end result is the same…better light reflection. The degree of difficulty is determined by the type and structural grain of the metal. Steel polishes fairly easy due to the hardness of the surface…aluminum, being soft compared to steel are more difficult to smooth or custom polish properly.

We break aluminum into 4 categories:
[1] Billet: Easiest to polish, as the grain is finer and, depending on the type of aluminum, extremely consistent throughout the piece.

[2] Die Cast is a little more difficult than billet depending on the manufacturer’s standards…higher standards equal better and more consistent grain and a smoother surface to begin with.

[3] Injection Molding is a little better than sand casting, but not by much; the injection molding process is much less expensive than die casting and the piece having a courser grain and a lot of inconsistencies in the surface (hard and soft spots). There’s also the problem of “gassing” that leaves pits and sometimes pockets in the piece.

[4] Sand castings generally have a rough surface sometimes with surface impurities, and surface variations.

The major cost factor and/or problem with 2 thru 4 is the inconsistencies in the aluminum grain and, in the case of 3 and 4, the certainty that there will be pits and pockets (sometimes an air pocket and sometimes a pocket of slag or other foreign material). The inconsistencies cause the softer area to smear, cutting down on the shine and increasing the labor time to smooth it out. Pits and pockets cause major problems and labor. Some of you older timers well remember the hassles of getting parts polished and/or chromed and what was dynamite to us back then just don’t make the cut today.

To be frank the higher the number the higher the cost to polish properly. And the age of the part, especially for numbers 2 thru 4, is also a factor in pricing. Parts, especially from older bikes, that are injection molded or sand cast are not good candidates for polishing. We encourage customers with these to reconsider polishing and think more on the lines of Standard (Solid) or Textured Powder Coating.

We also will turn down a job that we feel, after inspecting it, cannot be done properly. We’ll do our best to advise you before you send us the parts…but your input as to the condition of the parts has to be factual. We take a lot of pride in our workmanship and feel our time is better spent is doing the type job you expect rather than blowing smoke and ripping you off.