How to get old components to shine
 

Me again.

Converting my Fuji Special Road Racer to a SS and I want to get the old Dia-comp brakes and the crank to shine. Any recommendations on what to polish them with?

http://velobase.com/Resource_Tools/A...2-af9dbf6c7634

http://www.raydobbins.com/polishing/

Mothers, Simichrome, Hagerty 100, elbow grease.

The Mothers polish in that article works great. I also use Nevr-Dull wadding by Eagle One. $3.50 or so for the Nevr-Dull at Wal-Mart. The Mothers polish is there too for a little more coin. Look in the automotive area.

A 40 dollar grinder from Home Depot with the wheels changed to buffing pads and some rouge.

I got mine on sale for $20:). I bought the kit from Caswell.com, and have been very pleased with the results. Here are some DA cranks that looked like a POS when I got them, I've since filled in the black paint.

http://lh4.google.com/jhollosy/RwZzF...0/PA050320.JPG

Excellent job on the D-A Cranks OFG- Beautiful!

I too favor a simple bench grinder and buffing pads whenever there is serious pitting or abrasion, and of course if anodizing has just been removed. On the other hand, I recently renewed a pair of badly oxidized Weinmann 999 centerpulls (much like the Dia-Compes on asellars bike) with just a bit of metal polishing cream - which returned everything to looking as bright and fresh as new.

Mothers is expensive, so I usually keep this stuff handy. Only $5 to $8 at most automotive stores. Just wipe on a small amount with a terry rag and buff right off with a clean section of the rag. Seems to retain a decent shine for quite a while. It has a polymer to coat the metal and seal the microscopic pores, but it does NOT leave a hazy look which some of the fancy more expensive metal polishes with any sort of wax additives sometimes can do.

OFG, do you take in side work in your retirement? I'd like my Campy Cranks to look like your DA. I'd gladly pay you for your time. :o

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p...Scratches2.jpg

3M Marine "One Step" Metal Restorer and Polish

Pastorbob, some EZ-off and a few minutes is all it takes. Yours don't look so bad that I would remove the anodizing. Mine were really bad, embarrassing, actually.

And what's with the 'Made in France' chain rings on a Campy crank?

Well, you are encouraging. Maybe I'll take the EZ-Off plunge and give it a try.

They read "Made In France" because I'm using the TA tripilizer on this bike, the Super Sport Dr. D is working his magic on. By the time the thing is built it will be a real mutt with U.S., Italian, French, Japan, and Great Britian components. :o Oh well. I do believe it will look sharp, however. Let's hope for the best. :)

Bob, just don't leave the EZ-off on too long, and remember to use proper safety gear. Gloves and goggles are a must, and a well ventilated area.

Ray Dobbins has more info on his site.
http://www.raydobbins.com/polishing/

Mothers with buffing wheel on a high speed drill


http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...s/DSC01429.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...s/DSC01423.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...s/DSC01426.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...s/DSC01256.jpg

In reading this (and other threads) it seems that the act of buffing won't remove the anodizing. It would sure seem like a less toxic way of doing it to just buff it off... even if it takes a while. Will a buffer and rouge/polishing compound remove anodizing?

Yes and no. On something like the Dura Ace cranks, or a Cinelli stem, for example, you need some sort of lye based solution. On the below 105 cranks, I used some fine emery cloth to remove the anodizing. Wear a dust mask, you don't want that crap in your lungs.

I guess I'm in the distinct minority, but I think that a (consistent) matte finish is preferable to one that's Scary Shiny. I do realize that a high finish is more corrosion-resistant.

Charles, I agree with you. I only do it if the finish is trashed. I've picked up a few bikes cheap because of fugly cranks, and then polished them. On my daily driver De Rosa, the cranks are original, same with all my Campy cranks. I would only do it if the piece was so far gone that there was no other choice.

I agree somewhat. I haven't done any polishing yet, but de-anodizing and polishing means that there will be some additional maintenance done in the form of occasional polishing to remove oxidation... I actually do like the highly polished look, but I don't think I would do the work of keeping it that way. :o

Speaking of highly polished... I think I heard on a car commercial (Cadillac?) about the wheels being chrome plated aluminum. I think that would be cool for anything without a braking surface... the ultimate shine without possible rusting underneath, and low maintenance.

I can see situations where it would look really cool. I'm thinking of putting buffed pieces on my chrome 12.2 when I get back to MI in the Spring, making it a bling bling bike.

I saw a picture of a Colnago that had all polished Campy on it, but I can't find it. It was on the RBR forum. It looked good, but not as nice as caterham's pantographed De Rosa. They were both in the same thread. I'll keep looking for it.

What if you were to polish the part to a super high shine and then have it re-anodized clear? I have been pondering that for a while now.

I might be wrong, but my guess is that anodizing is like chroming: the physical finish of the substrate is pretty much what you get in the product. I think that's one of the great things about Campagnolo components -- they knew just when to stop, to give it that deluxe sheen, slightly matte.

Thats what I was thinking. I have a DA seat post that could stand to be refinnished. I would polish it but I have also have a DA stem and want to keep it all matching. I wonder how well this could go... or bad.

You would essentially have the original finish...."clear" anodizing.
It won't be "chrome" shiny anymore, it'll have that stock, semi-matte silver look to it.

As a note, the Campy parts on the Rock Lobster that I gray anodized, were done with "hard" anodizing. This is the same non-stick finish & color as our Calfalon pots & pans.
I mention this because you can shine it up with a Scotchbrite kitchen sponge and it doesn't come off!!
Which finally explained why it was nearly impossible to polish the center section & dot border on the shift levers. :rolleyes:
And hopefully, it will also means that the cranks won't develop "shiny" spots where the shoes rub through.

Another thought...polish the parts really well and then have them powdercoated in like candy red or blue! :D

How does hard anodizing work Dr.D? School me.

Chrome plated aluminum:

http://inlinethumb26.webshots.com/28...600x600Q85.jpg

You don't see cars with chrome plated aluminum rims in PA? Sometimes it seems like every other car has them here, especially SUV's.