Steiner74

Hey just pulled a k2 attack out of the ditch(be a hero rescue a bike) and i have stripped it and polished it but am having the toughest time getting in to the little crevices. Besides steel wool and sand paper ( 80,150,225,400,600,800,1000,1200) what is the best way and the best tools to get a nice mirror polish on the frame. Also any lessons you can teach me before learning the hard way?

Jeff Wills

Truth be told, it takes a lot of elbow grease no matter what you do. For the nooks & crannies, chuck a small polishing wheel in a hand drill and go for it. Go to a real hardware store - not Home Depot - and see what you can find. My local store has 3", 4" and 6" diameter cloth wheels and appropriate arbors. Start out with some red rubbing compound, then white polishing compound, then Mother's Mag Polish to finish. Remember: you've removed any protection against oxidation. You'll have to re-polish every few months to keep it shiny.

I have a Easy Racers Gold Rush aluminum recumbent that I bought used. It was bare aluminum originally and looked like it had spent a couple years outside in Arizona... very dull and beat up. I removed all the parts, then spent a couple weeks of evenings restoring the polish with the above method. It now shines like a mirror.

Retro Grouch 

Oh man! Now look what you've done.

Now I'm going to have to try that. Lucky for me, I'don't have any aluminum frames at the moment.

dwmckee

I am thinking you will want to clear coat it after to keep it shiny.

cradom

Get a Dremel type tool with a cloth polishing wheel for the really small stuff.

dsbrantjr

+1 They offer conical tools for getting into really small crevices:
https://www.dremel.com/en-us/Accessor...l.aspx?pid=422 felt polishing
https://www.dremel.com/en-us/Accessor...l.aspx?pid=462 rubber abrasive

Steiner74

ya thats kinda what i was figuring. i did a nice quick job on it but lesson learned stick with the steel wool and aircraft stripper. i hit it with a steel cuf trying to get the last bits of powder coat off and lets just say i have alot of sanding to do once i get a dremel in the nooks but not so terrible for the first time on a free bike. heres some pics

as you can see my tools are limited and not specific. i actually ended up hand polishing it but ill redo it once i get the proper tools and post some more pics. thanks for the advice

Steiner74

do it get a cheapy or something and learn your lessons there lol

Steiner74

is it possible? i was thinking that but me and my neighbor didnt know if would interact in a negative way or something else unforseen.

Jeff Wills

Sort of. IMO, clear coat won't stick really well to the polished surface and will be prone to scratches and wear. It's better to figure on polishing it a couple times a year to take off the layer of oxidation. Once the frame is polished, it's not too tough to keep it that way.