Restoring Original Birmabrite Mudguards

[A_HRD]

I am trying to clean-up an original Birmabrite rear blade and flap to fit on a concours Shadow. There are no dents or deep gouges and no non-standard holes - so its a nice one. And anyway, I don't want to use a repro replacement one. But it has suffered the ravages of time over the decades and the surface is potmarked with what I assume is salt-corrosion (back when bikes were used as year-round transport I guess). I have spent all afternoon wearing-out my hands with 320 wet and dry, but there is no real improvement to the corrosion marks on the guard.

Am I missing something? Is there an easier way to do this? Any constructive tips gratefully received.

Peter B
Bristol, UK

 

[jellywrestler]

from memory the material is only 32 thou thick, its a patience game really, I started with 240 grade wet and dry, using soapy water and an orbital sander then progressed up to 2000 wet and dry and then autosol, took ages and often you may think you have all the marks out only to get them reappear as you get finer paper, the trick then is to know how far to go back to get them out.
Drawing lots of lines with a vivid marker will ensure you get an even coverage to
Hey you're lucky its only the flap and easy to remember which part you've done, I did all three and it was a long long task, worth it though...

 

[A_HRD]

Thanks for the advice, I'll be having another go when the weather improves and report back...

Peter B