tenrec

Any idea what's going on with my brake levers? These are not scratches or scrapes -- they are some sort of curlicue lines in the aluminum of the levers. They remind me of worm damage to wooden ships at sea. These are the original brake levers that came with my bike. Thay are 2009 Shimano Ultegra and they're mounted on a 2009 Trek Madone 4.7. The deterioration began a number of years ago and had been getting gradually worse.

mdarnton

Do you wear a wedding ring? This looks like something cut through the surface as a small scratch, and then given an opening the decay spread. Looks worst under your ring finger.

Unca_Sam

Those parts are anodized, or they should be. While the oxide layer created by anodizing is tough, it's not invincible. Besides sanding, one of the only ways to get through anodizing is a strong basic solution, or enough time with a weaker solution.

To be perfectly honest, it looks like someone took a fine grinding stone in a Dremel and let it skip across the surface of your levers. Usually when anodizing wears through it has an obvious cause.

cxwrench

Corrosion, nothing more, nothing less.

jimc101

That's common on older anodized Shimano shifter levers, often seen on the levers from the early 90 onwards, unfortunately

tenrec

Is there anything that con be done about it? Can the levers be refinished?

tenrec

Corrosion, certainly, but in such an odd linear pattern.

tenrec

I do wear a wedding ring. I'm not sure it's exposed by my gloves, although that's possible. I see what you mean about the problem being worse in that area.

sweeks

Has the bike been ridden in the winter, when there might be salt residue on the roads? It certainly does look like corrosion.

SJX426 

@tenrec - you can remove the levers from the base as an individual part.
Spray with Oven Cleaner and let it sit for no more than 15 min and rinse. The anodizing will be removed.
Polish with Mothers AL polish and it will be fine. The downside is needing to polish periodically.

MudPie

I assume this is on both R and L levers? Pictures suggest L and R levers.
If true, a ring may not be the only cause, unless you wear rings on both hands.

Iride01 

If the bike isn't for show or about to be an art exhibit, just don't worry about it. Or buy new if it bothers you that much.

FBinNY 

+1,

You sweat too much. Aluminum and salt don't get on very well, especially with a bit of acidity to help things along. Once your caustic mix gets through the protective surface it's free to attack the base metal with impunity.

Clean them up If you care) with something like Scotchbrite, then apply some kind of clear lacquer to protect them. You don't have to be obsessive, but a periodic wipe with a damp rag can prevent a recurrence.

tenrec

Yes, it's on both levers. I only wear a ring on one hand.

bblair

I'm thinking abrasion from a car rack or something like that.

bboy314

This is normal corrosion, probably from sweat. I’ve seen hundreds of levers that look just like it.

cxwrench

Not that...we already figured it out a few days ago.

rickpaulos

The aluminum wheels on my van looked like that, before they got really bad. From cat urine and road salt. i'd say cat urine does more damage than road salt. And both cause far more damage than human sweat. I've seen plenty of bikes that are relegated to indoor trainer status that were destroyed by sweat. Living in the rust belt, all cars and bikes (and snowblowers) used in winter get destroyed so there isn't much hope in fighting it. Titanium is best at resisting corrosion but I haven't see ti sti levers.

Aluminum forms aluminum oxide on the surface as it cools to a solid. Any minor scratch can expose the underlying aluminum to corrosion. That factory finish is hard to replicate unless you have a lot of patience. A bit of clear spray paint can help protect the finish. There are aluminum colored spray paints but they are a tough color to work with.