Polishing cranks. What next?

[Sir Neil d'Menture]

I've just polished up a pair of Shimano cranks. They now have a mirror like finish as opposed being scratched and dirty.
New decals are available to complete the job.
My dilemma is what to do next? Do I leave them shiny and smooth and accept that with their probable limited use I will just have to clean them after every ride?
Or do I lacquer them? Even clear gloss lacquer will take the edge off the shine.

Any thoughts?

 

[zetecmk2]

i just keep polishing stuff......bloody 30 odd years later.....still polishing stuff.

 

[Mod-Master]

@Tootyred whats your secret? Laquer or polishing frenzy?

 

[Tootyred]

They won't need that much polishing....unless you want them to stay ultra shiny.

So option....

1. Leave them alone...just use them. They will dull a bit, but will actually look more like originals when they dull down. The dulling is them oxidising.....which is all anodising really is anyway...just very controlled corrosion .

2. Polish them every time you wash them, or when ever you feel like it. Auto sol or more modern snake oils will go fine. Soft cloth....2mins.

3. My preferred choice. Polish then give them very thin coat of acf50. Anti corrosion formula. I literally have soft cloth in a zip loc bag which gets a single spray on it errrrr once a year....ish. thats all you need. It will dry and form a coat. Will rub off....will wash off....won't be all goooooey like oil! Wash bike, wipe shiny bits over....done.

You can spray lacquer/ top coat them, but alluminium is a bitch to spray as it flash oxodises. Its why its pita to weld without the correct shield. Also if you then scratch the top coat, your back to square one.

The ultimate solution is to polish them, then send them for anodising....but its not cheap and where's the fun / money saving in that! You might just buy nos imho!

Enjoy. Polishing is quite addictive.

Photo below grey frame is of some cranks i did 4 years ago.....nothing other than a acf50 wipe on occasion.

The white frame is a set i did 2 years ish ago and today i buffed with autosol....1 coat, not really much effort....back to shiny.

 

[Sir Neil d'Menture]

Wow. Thank you.
I'll put some piccies up tomorrow, but they are similar to your examples.
I don't really want to anodise them. I'm quite proud of what I've done and want to show it off!
Acf50 sounds a good idea.
Alternatively I might sell them and find another pair to polish. As you say it gets addictive, and isn't really that hard once you have the buffing wheels. It's all in the preparation.

 

[Nob]