L&M Cranks, stripped, polished.

jimihendrix

MacRetro Rider
Dont know much about these ?, were they expensive BITD ?

Seem nice anyhow :)

Bought this pair for my Orange E3 build, they are XC ones with hollowed out rears rather than the CNC'd rears.

They are sound but have a typically well used/scabby appearance.

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A few on here have different methods for stripping anodizing, acid or caustic is needed, i've got into the habit of using B&Q drain unblocker as it's easy to get and works well.

Needless to say realy it's advisable to use this stuff where there are no kids or animals about.

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Brush the first coat on, leave for a couple of minutes then brush the second coat on, as you brush the second coat you will find the anodizing rinsing off.

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Run the cranks under a tap to wash the drain unblocker off then get into them with wet and dry sandpaper, i used 600 grit then 1200 grit then a Brillo soap pad (steel wool could be used at this stage but i prefer the Brillo), the crank on the left has had this done and a quick rub with Brasso, crank on the right is still in it's post drain unblocker stage.

Crank on the left has some pitting visable, this would come out with more sandpaper time, maybe 800 grit returning to 600 then 1200, and of course more time could be spent on polishing, bike is a rider though so will probably run them as is.

This job so far was done in a short space of time, about 1/2 hour.

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Hope this thread will be usefull for anyone wanting to strip anodized parts ;)
 
Don't know much about these cranks apart they looks nice indeed. Thanks for hint about ano stripping ;) Now, you only need Automax tube and pair of a sunglasses after.
 
Yeah, logos are different, spotted that shortly after i bought them, not bothered though, cranks match otherwise and no one will see both logos together once the cranks are on the bike :LOL:

They are built up and ready to fit now :), flash makes the pitting look worse than in the flesh.

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