Boydsta

I have stripped and polished most of the parts from my Nishiki. Just wondering how fellow riders maintain that gloss finish and stop the alloy from tarnishing or going dull? And for anyone contemplating this take note the brake calliper are a right pain to put back together

Still have some more polishing to do but so far so good considering how they looked before. The bakes were factory grey metalic paint which I stripped off.

Velocivixen

Nu Finish Auto wax is what some use. I use Carnauba based auto wax. They will oxidize eventually, but the wax seems to slow it down.

ryansu

Thanks for the Tip Velovixen I have some carnuba wax and will have to see how it works compared to Mothers Mag & Aluminum polish I have been using.

Lazyass

I just repolish everything every few weeks. Only takes a couple of minutes, no big deal.

Velocivixen

@ryansu - I use Mother's Mag with a Dremel polishing/buffing attatchment to shine parts up, then wax to polish.
My local bike shop uses Lemon Pledge furniture polish spray on new bikes to keep shiny. Spraying polished parts with that, then wiping off would be a "quick & dirty" way too.

repechage

Decades ago we used Jubilee kitchen wax, still around but hard to locate.

Boydsta

Thanks for the tips. Carnauba wax might be the easiest to get a hold of but will keep an eye out for the other suggestion as well.

Cheers

plonz 

On a "toodle around" bike, a coat of wax works fine.

On a bike you ride hard and sweat all over each ride, more effort is needed. I clean the polished bits with Windex after each ride and then spray with a finish protector like Finish Line Showroom Polish. Some say it's simply overpriced lemon Pledge which may be but it sure keeps the polished bits shiny. If the polished bits start to dull, I touch up with a polishing compound like Blue Magic and they come back to life.

It's also worth mentioning I keep these bikes inside when I'm not riding.

Adhering to this routine, I've had no issues with oxidation even after years of riding.

malcala622 

I believe Wal-Mart sells jubilee kitchen wax?...or was it made better decades ago?

Grand Bois

You apply the wax after the polish, not instead of. I have used both Nu Finish and carnuba wax. Both slow down oxidation.

easyupbug 

I use a product made to protect an aluminum polished finish: Wolfgang MetallWerk Concours Metal Sealant 8 oz. There are other similar products out there for keeping the aluminum shine that friends say work well also.

fietsbob

You just keep re polishing it..

Anodizing is how you keep from needing to do more polishing, but some people love the shiny look and remove anodizing ..

A folly, I think.

ryansu

Thanks @Grand Bois! the learning continues

Grand Bois

This is classic and vintage. A lot of vintage parts, especially French parts were never anodized.

Otis

If you have a good racing bike you should take good care of it. If you take good care of it the parts will look good whether they are anodized or polished.

Anodized parts can oxidize as well. Sometimes worse as the pitting bores in away from the anodizing.

Anyway, as somebody who polishes and re-anodizes a lot of parts it's really not a big deal. Wipe your bikes clean with a soft cloth every half dozen rides. If it gets really wet, then dry and clean it. When you want to spend some quality time, break out the Simichrome or Wenol.

It's not a big deal...

repechage

Good question, the brand was sold off at some point.

Kevindale

Here it is.

unworthy1

Some people like an acrylic liquid like Future Floor Finish (It's NOT a wax), takes more effort to apply as you don't buff it after it dries, more of a top-coat but if you brush on with care and a really smooth brush it can look very smooth, also very glossy. Some people don't care for the high-gloss look, but it will last longer than waxes.

72fuji

25+ years ago I was polishing my Lotus 7 sports car... and I use to go to the EAA aircraft convention in Oshkosh Wi. I managed to sit down and have a talk with a gentleman that was cleaning his grand champion contemporary Cessna. His advice to me was wet sandpaper down to 1000 or so depending... pick any compound...rubbing to polishing to get the mirror... then purple sparkle glass cleaner, as he put it terrible glass cleaner great aluminum cleaner! DO NOT USE ANY CLEANER WITH AMONIA IN IT!!! this cleaner took the grey out... then a sealer, some areas he used Never Dull or Flitz type product (might lift the oxidation).. to seal the main areas Glass Wax nothing with a compound or grit in it... then he had no halos around all the rivets on the wings, cowl and fuselage. As he said windex=bad and it's not good on plastics... and the Warbird guys did a text on raw aluminum... simple green wasn't all that great for aluminum that was drilled and lapping over each other. Lemon sent even more so... sorry if it sounds like a lecture.. their big $ vs my little $ I will listen to the path they take before inventing my own.