To Polish or not to Polish??

[mcamzr]

Well I'm torn. I have been kinda thinking of polishing my tunnel but I'm afraid to open Pandora's box by doing it, you know one part leads to another and so on. What got me thinking of it again is when I was at the novi show my buddy bought some polish and sealer from a booth and the stuff looks like it works wonders. So you know I have a 09 Nytro with just under 1000 miles on it and always kept in the garage and always trailered in an inclosed trailer. What are your thoughts? Thanks Mike

 

[dutchie]

just do it ,

it takes some time , but you'll be more then happy you did , and the next time it will take half the time and effort

 

[LJ 452]

09' SE tunnel or 08' tunnel? With the the 08' style tunnel you will tear up just about any polishing device on the treads. The SE tunnel will do the same as well, but it has much larger gaps between the treads to allow you to work around them. If you only plan to do the sides of the tunnel it won't really matter which style. Remember if you want a highly polished result, wet sanding with 600,800,1000 grit is the only way to go, otherwise you will be polishing scratches. A polished up scratched tunnel looks far worse than a tunnel just left alone. Keep in mind that if you will want to access all visible areas otherwise it will look blotchy. As you mentioned, Pandora's box.

 

[Sevey]

When you pull up your sled along a line of machines with their weathered tunnels, that's when it's all worth it.

I use a product called flitz, got it at the Toronto snowmobile show. Works really well. Once the tunnel has that polish its comes up quick the following year. I use a buffing wheel on the drill so the process is mechanized.

It's too bad around where I ride, road riding eventually introduces some salt which takes away that high polish. It's not like the mountains where all you have is deep snow.

The nytro Has an easy tunnel, the aluminum is easy to get at.

Good luck
Ms

 

[sheetwright]

Like they said takes time but the pride you get, and the smile when everyone is looking at your next to a worn sled is priceless. I know everyone on here has different ideas on what to do to polish th etunnel, but i had several guys on here recommend California Custom aluminum annodizer remover, polish and wax. I tried this on my last two sleds and this stuff is amazing http://www.ebay.com/itm/CALIFORNIA-CUST ... b0&vxp=mtr

I got scared when I splashed the annodizer liquid on there when it turned kind of white eating the garbage off the tunnel, but then you use their purple haze after that process, and man does that stuff polish. It removes the imperfections, then polishes. I swear it works. Just another two cents from the bleachers LOL

 

[raginyamaha]

to much work for me, did my nytro and dads apex. Dad likes it, i dont. Im p/coating my tunnel next year instead....

 

[shadow44]

Polishing a tunnel is ALOT of work if you do it properly and wet sand....but once you get it to a mirror shine and put a sealer on it, it takes about 30 min at the beginning of each season to maintain it....and it looks so nice, pride of ownership I always say!

 

[mcamzr]

Not trying to short cut here but is wet sanding a must with a tunnel that is brand new?

 

[biffdotorg]

wet sand a portion, you will see a difference even on a new tunnel.

I polished the phazer, but not the Apex. The apex has a black tunnel, so no need. I did polish my riser today though on the Apex. that looked nice.

 

[YammyRX1]

Not trying to short cut here but is wet sanding a must with a tunnel that is brand new?

Mine came out good without sanding. If you are very patient, have lots of time and want a perfect mirror finish do the sanding but for finish that looks good from 4 feet away the buffing alone works fine.

 

[sorenson1610]

Plan on a full day of jacking around with it the first time! I did wet sanding, rouge to cut it, polished it and finally sealed it. This year was much easier but I would rather have a powder coated black tunnel. If you do polish it, make sure you seal it or all your hard work will be gone the first ride. I found this stuff at a snow show in wausau and it worked awesome. Very surprised and it was cheap too

 

[couch]

doesn't make it go faster, use less gas, jump higher or further, make it lighter or easier to handle so my vote is no

 

[Indy]

Mine has been polished for years. If I could go back I would have painted it.

 

[2BLUE4U]

You have to wet sand to get best results and using wheels, drills, etc. doesn't work...doing it by hand is the only way. Anyone at a trade show showing their "wonder polish" that just wipes on and wipes off, is full of crap...there's no such thing. If you want a mirror finish, plan on spending 10 hours plus.

 

[YammyRX1]

You have to wet sand to get best results and using wheels, drills, etc. doesn't work...doing it by hand is the only way. Anyone at a trade show showing their "wonder polish" that just wipes on and wipes off, is full of crap...there's no such thing. If you want a mirror finish, plan on spending 10 hours plus.

These surfaces were done in ten minutes with no sanding. It's not a perfect mirror finish but it's not a show sled either and a couple of hours on the tunnel with a buffing wheel makes a world of difference.