What do you use to polish painted frames? Wax? thx nt
 

nt

yes wax is good

Yup, wax. The same one I use on my cars.

Either of these work fine for me. They apply easily, and they do NOT leave white wax residue on things like headbadges or components. The automotive stuff is good for chrome and plastic too.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2323/...9dd3db26_o.jpg

3M Finesse it II polish. You will not get a better gloss from any wax, believe me. That's why it usually sells for $25 or more for a quart bottle. Follow up with wax for a nice shine. On vintage bikes I have found wax alone fades, and you end up with a dull finish over time. A polish will shine the paint instead of putting a shiny oil coating on it. Most waxes are all kerosene these days, that what it smells like anyway. It says machine, but by hand is fine on bicycles. This is the 16oz of course.:D No residue either, a terry cloth towel with take it right out of lug lines, etc.,,,,BD

http://www.properautocare.com/3mfiniimacpo.html

For a high shine that does not remove any finish and hides swirl marks 100% carnuba wax is great. If you need to restore the shine then a poish is the ticket. Be carfull with using a polish all the time to clean up the pant as it will eventually wear through the clear or topcoat. I use 3M perfect it III on all of my jobs to polish by machine and hand.

i used to have a black volkswagen that had been repainted. the finish was VERY smooth and shiny. i had to use a good wax to keep it that way. i used the same on my bob jackson when it was new. some kind of meguiar's wax. NXT or something. a few coats of that and then i left it alone. a worn finish is fine by me.

Thanks all.

RFC

Lemon Pledge furniture was works great and has a refreshing citrusy smell.

I've used Lemon Pledge before, since so many bike people say it's good ... but I once emailed Pledge customer service (on the SC Johnson website) and they said they don't recommend it for bikes. Pledge is tested and recommended for use on wood, vinyl, and leather, but not bare or painted metal.

I use an inexpensive dept store liquid car wax.

I completely agree that polish is a one time thing for bringing back dead paint. My main thought was that
wax more or less just revives the paint for a short while. Polish restores the finish to a nice shine, that
will not "wash off" the next time you clean the bike.,,,,BD

Clean the bike?

I'd be more interested in really good protection rather than looking good. Any suggestions?

Meguiars Car Polish by far the best thing I've used.

Moots recommends pledge for use on their Ti Bikes and, in fact, the factory finish is liquid pledge. works great on all bare metal, Ti, SS whatever. in my old shop we'd dress all new ti and ss rhygin bikes with pledge, it gives them a beautiful satin finish

Protection? Spray the bike down with WD-40 before leaving the house on salty days, haha.:D Otherwise, wax works. I had a VERY old parking garage drip old dying concrete residue on my truck. It was bad enough to corrode the fancy racing style gas door I had on it. The truck had Meguiars gold class wax on it. Not so much as a smudge. That's good enough for me? Most waxes these days are similar in quality.,,,,BD

+1, I Started using Turtle brand polish on my road bikes because it removes some of the small scratches and leaves a really nice shine. I tried Pedros Bike Lust, leaves a nice shine if the paint is in good shape to begin with, but doesn't do much to remove scratches.

For my MTB's I like to use DIRT. It covers up all the scratches and you can't tell when you add more dirt:D

Hehehehe. I only have a couple of bikes I'll do that with.,,,,BD

there's polish, and there's "polish", and wax...polish is something with an abrasive (fine or coarse) that will make scratches in paint. Make the scratches even and finer than the human eye can see and the surface shines...go too far and the paint's all gone. "Polish" with quotations is a new-fangled bunch of products (intended for car finishes) that do not contain wax, but provide something else for shine...often this is silicone...but not always. I warn you away from silicone since it's a short-lived shine, but a permanent "teflon" when it comes to re-spraying: paint will not stick and silicone penetrates all the way into the base metal. Just think about it before you use it. Lemon pledge contains silicone, or at least it used to...I never use it on furniture finishes. Wax is a protector: it leaves a thin coating on top of the paint that serves as a "sacrificial barrier", the wax takes the abuse instead of the paint. It can be easily renewed (and has to be renewed) and causes no harm to most surfaces. It will not prevent scratching or crash damage (duh) or any real UV protection, unless you use a wax with UV inhibitors in it. Wax sold as "cleaner wax" contains an abrasive as well as a wax, a 2-for-1 idea that usually means inferior cleaner and inferior wax, but the convenience of one application. Just my big 2 cents, YRMV...