Tarting up scratched alloy bike bits

Hiya, I have a few Campagnolo bits (C Record, Athena, Centaur) that would benefit from a little TLC as they show evidence of a hard life with scratches ranging in depth from insignificant to Cheddar Gorge. I was wondering if anyone has any advice on what techniques and any products (abrasives, polishes, cloths, etc.) that work well. Are they finished with a clear lacquer to serve as protection against light knocks and corrosion?

Ideally I am aiming to have the finished article looking similar to the original item, I'm not keen on the highly polished finish but don't want to dull the finish either.

Cheers, Martin

Hi Martin,

First of all, I use Oven pride to strip the Anodising off. then I rub them down with something like 800 grit sand paper. Then i finish them off with 1200 grit wet and dry paper. Followed by autosol to shine up the dull finish after the 1200. This results in a finish which does not look to dissimilar to the original. Mainly because they are not over polished.

This is all done by hand. this also means that you can avoid engraved logos and such like when sanding, and try and keep them intact. I have attached a picture of my victory chainset that I did .Also some super record levers. These were really badly scratched down both sides of the campag logo. You know the kind of thing where the bike has taken a tumble etc....big heavy gouges etc

I sanded them down avoiding the Lettering. However the line around the letters was starting to disappear so I got a sharp knife and very slowly engraved it back again. Then sanded it out with a folded piece of sandpaper. Sanded the lever again to reduce the scratches, used the nive on the logo, sanded, knife etc etc. A slow process this but well worth it i think. Its a pity i didnt take a pic. of the before. Im really pleased with them. I couldnt get original hoods but am using Dia Compe replaement ones as they are a superb fit.

It just shows that you can do a job without ruining them.... (pics might not show it up so well though)

excellent job mate

Excellent advice, thank you.