nlerner

I recently wanted to strip anodizing from a crankset, but could not find oven cleaner at any of the hardware or grocery stores I searched at here in MA. Maybe it’s been deemed carcigenic or some such? Ended up sanding it off, which was a lot of work, and of course then found an old but full can of oven cleaner in a cabinet after I was done.

WGB 

I used sodium hydroxide to strip the black coating from chainrings but I tied a wire to them and pulled them out every few minutes to check.That stripped off the coating nicely.

tiger1964 

That's an OUCH as I have a couple of sets of wheels that I think are in good shape and tire -- need to check that -- and unlacing adds a lot of $$$ and my wheel skills are mediocre.

That looks like a beast of a machine, probably not available in the US.

Looks very nice, but I presume difficult/impossible on wheels still laced. And that looks like removal of anodizing?

That would have looked great on the MASI, Brian!

I feel your pain, similar areas on my cranks I am having trouble reaching.

tiger1964 

Wow, that's a lot of reading, and part of it has to do with cooking turkeys... I am partway though.

And I think I have a can downstairs, thanks! Stinks, however.

I ordered one of those wheels arriving tomorrow; thanks. Plus I ordered one of those "abrasive balls" from the other thread, indeed I bought a multi-piece set of various sizes and shapes that might be handy on the cordless drill driver where using the bench top unit is awkward. Plus I ordered a pack of Scotch-Brite pads, picking some at random due to not knowing which grade is best. Plus I bought a bottle of that post-polishing treatment to see if I can keep the finish staying nice.

plonz 

This has to be the most I’ve ever posted to one thread!

Speaking of sealant, you earlier asked about Wolfgang’s. I bought some based on recommendations from fellow BFers. IMO, works best as a top coat for a deep luster on freshly polished and painted parts. Perfect for the post-build photo shoot. I don’t think it does much in the way of preventing polished aluminum from oxidizing. Not to say you can’t prevent oxidation. Store bikes inside and wipe down after every ride keeps the polish very shiny for me. I’ll usually give the polished bits a Blue Magic brush up once a year as well.

tiger1964 

I guess it would have helped to read carefully first. My various "buffing" supplies have been trickling in, that disc arrived... and I clearly now need a bushing to fit this to my 5/8" shaft on the buffing machine.

Meanwhile, a box of 3M Scotch-Brite Professianal" pads arrived and they helped getting stubborn debris off odd corners and crannies on the Stonglight 49 DS crank in the vicinity of the chainring mounting surface. Happier now with that. The idea of using mineral spirits to clean buffing compound residue off seems to work well enough.

Yeah, a mess everywhere in my shop, I could see a need to rig some kind of large shield behind the machine if I was doing a lot of buffing.

I think I want to try a wheel next, using the "abrasive ball" product, actually I got a set of assorted shapes to fit a drill/whatever. I have at least one wheel that I won't be using and I think I'll practice on that one first, so I don't ruin any of the wheels I really want to use.

tiger1964 

Well, the bushing that I forgot to order the first time just showed up; NOW it all works. Afraid to test on something valuable, I started on a Birmalux straight seat post I had laying around. Works nice, not as aggressive not he metal as I feared - although that also means it won't be removing deep scratches. Then I moved on to an "Allez!" aluminum water bottle whose age I cannot determine; again the deep scratches and dents remain but I got a nice luster with the 3M wheel, then Tripoli, then red rouge (Uh, unless I figure a way to get the inside clean, It might be for display use only which is a shame).

Mine just arrived, have not tried it yet - I'll let you know. Finishing up some outdoor non-bike stuff before winter sets in (leaf collection, wash/wax/detail the car for the winter, etc), then I have four months or so stuck in the house so I'll have plenty of time to polish stuff!

shdwfx

It's time to ask for a buffing wheel for Christmas! Nice work on this thread and inspires me to clean up alot of old parts.

viperocco

Damn legit results there

tiger1964 

UPDATE: Further along, today I am playing with some wheels while I wait for some parts shipments. Right now, a set of 700c rims (mismatched brands but close in appearance, I am OK with that) on 36H Campagnolo Record high-flange hubs. Wow, took a long tome to buff up the spokes to get off decades of storage-crud in the rear wheel alone, but they are shiny now just using Scotch-Brite pads... and a magnet won't stick, so I'm guessing stainless steel?

Anyway, the hubs and rims look to be in fine shape but cruddy. Now, I have a tub of Blue Magic here, but won't that remove anodizing? On these wheels, not really planning on going there. What would clean & "polish" without removing the finish? Of course, once cleaned up if they look terrible underneath, removing anodizing and going for a lustrous glow is an option.

mechanicmatt

Clean vs shiny is two different things. I use 0000 steel wool or brass wool plus either a degrease or a light amount of lube to clean and polish rims and hubs and you can get a pretty nice look.

Anodize is a different thing. People have to sand anodize because it is a chemical process that embeds itself into the pores of the aluminum. It isn't a coating like paint. So to remove it, you are removing metal to make it go away. I really don't suggest messing with anodize because it is more trouble than what it is worth. That's my opinion though.

clubman 

Yup Khatfull, walked a path, 'all shiny and chrome" Detailed techniques.

repechage

About Polishing Aluminum

tiger1964 

Thanks. Actually, I have the Khatfull topic bookmarked, read all 52 posts again including the turkey posts. 99.44% of that topic is on polishing after removing anodizing, which I've been doing on other parts. On these wheels the hubs look like they will clean up nice, and perhaps the rims too. Sounds like a trip to the auto parts store for Turtle Wax polishing compound per the one mention, in post#1, about retaining anodizing.

jnbrown

I do not have any experience with polishing but would like to polish a handlebar and stem that I just removed the anodizing from.
I have an 8 inch bench grinder but no polishing wheel.
Not sure what polishing wheel to buy or where to order, I see a bunch on Amazon and Eastwood has been mentioned.
My biggest concern is safety, I don't want to have the part thrown at me by the grinder.
The stem has edges that could catch on the wheel and that is my biggest concern, but it also makes it harder to polish by hand.
I am not going to be doing this again so maybe I should try it by hand instead of spending the money on a polishing wheel and compound.
Also sounds like Blue Magic is a good option.



Thanks for any advise.

OTS 

@jnbrown
Polishing wheels ( cotton rag wheels etc) can be purchased at a Harbor Freight near you for not much $$
They also carry polishing compounds.
It would be an inexpensive way for you to give it a try and see how you like it.
Just a quick easy down and dirty way to try it.

SwimmerMike 

I'd just polish it by hand with Mothers or Blue Magic and if needed hit it with some fine grit wet sand paper first . If you think you are going to do a lot more, then a polishing set-up might be worth it.

jnbrown

I ended up polishing it by hand. Starting with 200 grit sandpaper followed by 320, 600 then wet sanding 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500, 4000 then Blue Magic.
Totally happy with how it turned and do not regret not using a machine polisher.

viperocco

Looks legit