Originally Posted by
markk900
Remember as well, once you remove the anodization and polish them, they will be shiny like chrome and not silky like original. I have not yet found a reliable and straightforward way to get back a silvery finish (on bicycles or motorcycles), so if you like the original look (but cleaner) think twice about removing the coating and polishing.
As for upkeep - I find a regular wipedown with WD40 and an annual (or bi-annual) polish with NEV-R-DULL (easiest), Autosol (harder), or ALUM-I-NEW (hardest) keeps things looking good....
You can get a satin type look if you go over the polished part lightly with some fine Scothbrite, although you will have fine directional "grain" to the finish as you might find on older motorcycle lower front suspension tubes. Alternate the scotchbrite application with polishing again to get to the desired effect. You might be lucky too if the original finsh does have the find directional "grain" to it as I found some components do have so it might actually look as if you never took the anodizing off. all you can do is experiment and find out what you can come up with to most closely match the original anodized finish.
If you really want to, you can also have the part re-anodized. Many metal finishing places have opened up to doing very small projects as the car and motorcycle modders have increased the demand. It will stil cost quite a bit though.
Chombi