Shiny shiny stuff

great cheers man

Using water with wet&dry gets you a finer finish. So go from 800 dry -> 800 wet -> 1200 dry -> 1200 wet for instance to get the best finish.

• also stops the paper from 'loading' (basically clogging up).
  
  

Make sure your oven cleaner contains Sodium Hydroxide - no sodium hydroxide, no go. Not the easiest thing to find in the UK, Jeyes 'Kleen Off' works well.

To be honest you can do all the above without oven cleaner or wet and dry - just takes a bit more rubbing with the papers.

Well people, I fucked this up big time:

pics

Big pits which I can't sand away with 600 grit.. Guess I overdid on the caustic soda.. A lot.. The surface that remains get's polished up pretty nicely, so the anodise is gone.. That's a starter, now contemplating to polish it up and leave the black spots or get a meaner sanding tool and try to get it pretty again..

You need more elbow grease to get to the smooth surface. Nothing is impossible - it's just sanding down to get the even surface without any pitting.
Just go over it again and again like crazy. Use some wire wool.

I've done the same with chromed risers yesterday. They had some deep scratches around the mid section. As they're aluminium, I decided to remove the coating altogether with dremel (with the wire brush mounted). Dremel left some rough bits on the curves, but I got there with various grit sandpaper - it just takes longer. Autosol and a cloth - looks shiny as dog's bollocks.

Also, to get a nice looking surface is better to sand it in two directions and not in circular motion.
Up and down and then side to side. Repeat.

Well sure, but was pretty discouraged by the difference in sight between the above stem and my crank.. It also came out black, which wasn't noticed in earlier posts.. Thought of arranging a Dremel to do the pitted bits and then finish with sand paper.. Thanks for the heads up on the two way sanding, didn't know that.. I've got my work cut out for me tommorow.. ;) Cheers!

If you get dremel, be gentle with it. You only want to go over those pitted bits slightly - don't make bigger holes in the cranks.

I cleaned a stem with the above method and it came out black after the oven cleaner too. I sanded it like buggery, gradually working through the paper grades, and it eventually came out really shiny. Hard work but worth it in the end.

rodolfo: check the tapers of those cranks for pitting.

You need more elbow grease to get to the smooth surface. Nothing is impossible - it's just sanding down to get the even surface without any pitting.
Just go over it again and again like crazy. Use some wire wool.

I've done the same with chromed risers yesterday. They had some deep scratches around the mid section. As they're aluminium, I decided to remove the coating altogether with dremel (with the wire brush mounted). Dremel left some rough bits on the curves, but I got there with various grit sandpaper - it just takes longer. Autosol and a cloth - looks shiny as dog's bollocks.

I think you mean polished aluminium, not chromed.

I'm not sure. There's definitely a coat of something and it's not aluminium, doesn't look like your regular satin finished anodised alu either.

There is bound to be a good cheap metal polisher in your neighbourhood!! I'm in NZ and there are heaps of places, I go to a dude that has bug thumbs like toes from polishing all day long!
He did a set of rims, cranks, chainring, stem and post for a measily $80NZ, which is fuck all. Saves time, hassle, and fuck ups fall back on him :) but he never fucks up! heres a pic of the bike when first finished all parts polished by him. Front rim looks white but just angle, everything is still like a mirror, just needs a clean now and then with some window cleaner...

I did once do the above method and changed an Ano Gold nitto technomic to polisshed silver, but for all the time would choose a polisher anyday!

Nice one for the tutorial Jol.

This will look lovely on the Moser.

Thanks!

](http://www.flickr.com/photos/danmather/4916234400/)
5 by DAN MATHER, on Flickr[/IMG]

As will the cranks.

Before:

](http://www.flickr.com/photos/danmather/4917156003/)
Before by DAN MATHER, on Flickr[/IMG]

After:

](http://www.flickr.com/photos/danmather/4917757968/)
After by DAN MATHER, on Flickr[/IMG]

Cheers! That's my Sunday over.

As will the cranks.

Before:

by DAN MATHER, on Flickr)

After:

by DAN MATHER, on Flickr)

Cheers! That's my Sunday over.

Result!

Inspired!

I used the jol method on my ax stem and crank set. Only difference being for the crank set I had to use nitromors first.
Both came up a treat!
Thanks Jol

Just a tip for anyone who is polishing small circular items such as a headset or hub or seatpost:

If you have a pedestal drill grip the item in the chuck then turn on at reasonably low speed. Then you can polish without all the rubbing effort. CAUTION - make sure your polishing rag doesn't get wound round the chuck as things could get ugly! This might also work with a hand-held power drill but would only be suitable for the smaller stuff because of the smaller chuck, although if you managed to attach your item to a piece of studding with bolts, washers etc it could work

I just polished 50 brass doorknobs using this method and it only took me about 20 mins with great results

^^ that sounds massively dangerous. Would never advice bolting an item in teh chuck of a machine unless you intend to turn it! For exactly the reason of soft cloth getting inwound in it and taking arm off.

Instead just use a bench grinder/mop wheel, polishing/grinding is exactly what they are designed for! Worst that can happen is you get covered in grit, and the item gets ripped out of your hand into your shin, you might get bruised, but you'll survive!

sorry for bringing up an old thread
i have a campa chorus crankset with the axle integrated, ultra torque system, it has a lot of heel rub, i want to use the method above to make them shiny, would this hurt the axle? i would probably have to remove the bearings first right?

This thread is a goldmine. Bought a Colnago Nuovo Mexico 83 in April, Gonna give it a 100% Overhaul over Christmas.

Few Questions:

Can you clean Aero Spokes, Hubs & the Headset using this method?

It's not going to hurt the structural integrity but it will remove a few micrometers of the surface.
The thing to remember is that old alloys tend to weaken due to hot/cold expansion/contraction so the newer the part the tougher it will be.