Classic & Vintage - Restoring Aluminium

Hey Guys...

Is there a simple way to restore the shine to aluminium parts.
I have found that an extra cut car polish works ok on some parts but it has a serious problem if you want to use it on aluminium rims.... ie the brakes don't like it one little bit.

Nevr-Dul? There are other things. Ask some trucker that has shiny tanks on his rig about what he uses. Brands over in NZ are probably different than here.

:) Thanx.... I'll get lookin

Simichrome is by FAR the best for aluminum polishing...

I use Mother's Mag Polish (http://www.autogeek.net/motmagalpol.html)with great results.

If you want the best shine possible you have to diminish surface scratches. If the part is in fine shape you can go over it with 1000 grit wet/dry sandpaper and/or rubbing compound and then some 0000 wool. Then buff with polishing compounds using a drill/grinder/Dremel and follow with Simichrome/other.
Simichrome works very well but will not remove scratches.
I had actually bought Mothers Billet for an eye-popping $13 and then decided to take it back and wait a week for the Simichrome -which I purchased off of ebay for like $8.
If you do the whole sanding/compound/wool/polishing compound buffing routine
you won't need the metal polishes at all ..especially if making the braking surface slippery.

I use Mother's Mag Polish (http://www.autogeek.net/motmagalpol.html)with great results.

+1

Mothers will produce a mirror shine on aluminum. If the parts have a lot of deep scratches, the scratches will have to be sanded out before using the mag polish.

I have a Q regarding the polishing of stuff

OK to strip off anodization and polish old Campagnolo Record cranks or should leave alone? One area already has been rubbed by previous owners heels to he point where the anodized layer came off .

Do any of you guys do it or do you just like the look of them as is?
Any practical reason for it in the first place? It protects the aluminum underneath?

The crank and seatpost have been stripped and polished. The crank was so beat up that at one point I threw it in the trash. I use a quarter-sheet pad sander, emery paper, steel wool and a cotton wheel mounted in a drill press and jewler's rouge. Sometimes I sand the anodizing off sometimes I use oven cleaner to remove most of it first.

http://community.webshots.com/photo/550315581/2236509890068014369jHohCP

I've read many stories of stripping the anodization and polishing for that like-new finish
Just not sure whether the stripping of old vintage parts takes away from the look
or if that layer truly does something to protect a crank from cracking. I don't know enough about aluminum.
I've read that the old -like 20 yr old and older cranks were already pretty prone to fatigue and other things
My 40 yr cranks are/seem fine besides a little bit of this heel wear above the pedals. They are not too shiny, though. I'm very anal about having stuff perfec.. nice. I don't mind having to buff every so often to keep it looking nice. I just don't want to weaken the crank in some way or ruin the vintage appeal of it.

Your bike looks nice. Good work. The crank looks new from this vantage point.

not quite sure

yeah ask a trucker

I haven't had good luck with mother's mag polish. Sometimes it works, sometimes it does nothing, scratches or no. Nevr-Dull has worked good and as a quick, first application I got this stuff... I don't recall the name right now, but you brush it on, let it sit for a few minutes and then rinse it off. I'm still experimenting but I'm usually dealing with heavily oxidized parts, sometimes with some of that crusty stuff on them. The rear pair of brakes off of my old schwinn were all oxidized and covered in crusty blotches, I used nevr-dull first, then scraped off the crusty stuff it couldn't get, used nevr-dull one more time and they look great. An old pletzcher (pletzger?) rack was all oxidized, I used the brush on stuff twice and it looked pretty good. The color is a little splotchy but the oxidation is gone.

I found this government document last week all about cleaning aluminum and I'll see if I can find it again. It said something about once you get the oxidation off of aluminum you should rub it down or rinse it in a, like ivory soap solution. That treats the aluminum before oxygen can penetrate and will keep it bright. SOmething like that. I'll see if I can find it.