Polishing alloy

[RickTheUncivil]

So, progress on the RC200 build is gaining momentum now. Time to turn to getting the frame in tip-top order.Its a bit tarnished and dull...


... so I set to it with a cloth and some polish to see what happened...



Now its tarnished and shiny.

Looking for ideas / recommendations here folks. I have bumped around google and most solutions look to be quite serious, total strip down and refinish. How far does it need to go to get rid of the tarnishing without destroying the finish? Perhaps sending it for mechanical/chemical strip and re-finishing would be a better way?


Cheers

 

[unit3]

Re:

Real fine (2000) wet and dry Will work, as long as the frame Iis not clear anodised.
Fine wire wool may also work.

 

[tonedeaf101]

Re:

Wet and dry, wire wool, then Peek metal polish. Takes a while, but effort pays off.
Check out my build thread linked. Came up beautifully.

 

[enc]

Re:

im wondering if the polished aluminium is finished with lacquer and water ingress has caused the crazing.... just an idea im not certain !?

check out dares build thread... viewtopic.php?f=6&t=317786

he seems to know what hes doing with alloy polishing

 

[RickTheUncivil]

Thanks for the info. I was hoping to avoid having to abrade it but it looks like I need something more than a polish to get these marks out. I have some history with painted surfaces but never on bare metal, so fingers crossed.

The next question, once all my elbow grease has been used up getting it shiny, how do you keep it looking tip-top? wax? lacquer? I see some mention of using car wax or similar.

 

[unit3]

Re:

Good quality car wax will do a good job.
Alternatively, you can get some wax sealers designed for hand polished alloy wheels.
Look up poorboys and the like under car detailing, not always cheap, but do work

 

[02gf74]

Depending on how deep the marks go, you will need wet
n dry. Ending up with polishing compound on a woollen mit.

But it is summer now. Dont waste any more time on this, build it and ride it.
Save the polishing for the dark evenings in winter.