My winter projects this year have multiplied. I am trying to finish up the next build primarily. And I’m giving the F-bomb some spa treatments as well. First up, I’m polishing the fork lowers and painting the front brake caliper. I am not a fan of needlessly complicated, tedious, or boring shit. Aluminum polishing could easily fit into any of those categories, no lie. In general it is kinda like eating your vegetables. The results are awesome, but it can feel like a chore. And if the aluminum you are polishing is oxidized or pitted, you better sit back, pour a second cup of coffee or grab a second beer because you, my friend, are going to be eating some extra helpings of vegetables.

Soul polishing

In truth, I actually enjoy this kinda thing. I make a pot of coffee and turn on some music. Then I pull up my shop stool, get out the wet dry sandpaper, and start finding the shiny soul underneath the years and oxidation. Pits are just effigies to whatever drama I dealt with today. Hard to sand crevices are places where all of the other things I can’t fix (global warming, civil unrest, general batshit craziness, etc.) fall away, and I find a way to make them shine anyway. It is good for the soul. Like reading a book about growing your own vegetables while sitting in your garden, eating vegetables you have grown. Real centering stuff…

Best of all, the results are nice to look at, too.