Originally Posted by
eshew
Most shimano cranks are clear anodized... So you'll have to strip off that if you actually want to polish anything. Otherwise it's just a lot of polishing clear coat, which I've tried a few times with less than amazing results.
Just as a test, I rubbed some fine steel wool over some of the ugly areas of the crank arm and it made a difference pretty quickly. Perhaps Shimano didn't clear coat their crank arms in the 1980s?
Originally Posted by
clubman
If you're not restoring the whole bike, why bother with the polishing? A total bike cleaning and light polish gets you on the road in style...shabby chic is how I describe most of my bikes.
I do intend to restore the whole bike and then hang it on the wall and just stare at it every once in a while (literally)
The paint on the frame is pretty bad so I intend to do a repaint. Other than the cranks and frame, the rest of the bike and components are in really good shape.