Ok, so assume I want to nicely polish the RX100 groupset I have on this Bianchi I picked up. Something like this:



How do I polish the alloy nicely without affecting the RX100 panto? I know Mother's won't do a lot to it but I don't want to dull it in any way. Polish lightly over it then mask it with tape and go to town on the rest?

Is there a trick?

It looks like a stamped on logo to me. No pantographing involved.

The parts are anodized. You must remove the anodizing to polish the metal and that means losing the logos. If you don't want to do that, clean them and wax them.

RX100 supposedly isn't anodized or painted, which is the one thing which distinguished it from 105 of the day. I've read two different sources that stated that and that some folks like the RX100 for just that reason, easy to clean, no ano.

EDIT: and of course, check a couple other sources and they negate that...love those internetz.

EDIT 2: And, just looked again and the logos appear to be silk screened on for lack of a better way to describe it, I definitely feel them above the metal, not stamped in.

The Logos are stamped on, not in. The part is rubber stamped with paint.

You can tell if a part is anodized using a multimeter or test light.

I assume ano isn't conductive?

Grand Bois is correct.

Panto would be engraved IN.



anodizing has gotta be conductive right?...its put on via electroplating

I haven't tried it, but I read it on the internet, so it must be true. I'm staying home today, so I'll give it a try.

I just tried it with a multimeter set on 10 volts DC and a AA battery. No needle movement on any anodized surface I tried. The needle jumps to 1 1/2 volts on bare aluminum.

I don't think anodizing is an electroplating process.

I know about stamped on paint logos because I watch How It's Made.

quickest/easiest first step test way to see if something's anodized or not is to grab the mother's polish and to a test spot on the part somewhere non-conspicuous. If the results of a little polish is that it looks slightly cleaner - it's likely anodized. If you make the part shine, it's not. Giving the part a good polish while conserving the logo may be difficult depending on how "on there" it is. Suppose you could mask off the lettering, do the majority of the polish, then very gently polish around the lettering to prevent too much removal of the paint/whatever it is they used.

No quicker or easier than my method, provided that you have a multimeter or test light.

Anodizing is an electro process, but it is not plating. Basically the anodizing creates an oxide which IS NOT CONDUCTIVE. To remove anodizing you can submerge the part in Caustic Soda (ie Lye). This will also eat away at the screened/stamped logo.

I think most of us use oven cleaner spray to remove anodizing. In my experience, it's not an effective paint remover.

There is lye in oven spray, so it would do the trick. Surprised it wont remove paint.

ie....oven cleaner.....
If there is no anodizing, you can only try and cover up the tampoed on letters on the caliper arm with some type of tape and polish around it. IMO, if the part isn't too ravaged with corrosion/pitting, as Grand Bois suggested, you might just consider cleaning it up as good as you can and forget the polishing job. Save the effort and expense for your next project that might have more unobtanium/more expensive components.

Chombi

Why do you care about the logo anyway? I say just polish it right off of there.

The oven spray is convenient and avoids the dangerous step of mixing with water. It's fairly dilute, so several applications are sometimes required. I've had it damage paint, but not remove it.

You have to be careful not to leave it on too long, or it will begin to eat the aluminum.



I fell asleep.

Hmm....no alcohol was involved?

Anodizing should be obvious to the eye, but if not just try polishing a bit with some Simichrome or other alloy polishing paste. If the section of the rag with the Simichrome on it turns black, then the part is NOT anodized and you may proceed to polish it. If the rag stay clean (mostly) then the part is anodized.

I would assume the RX 100 stuff does have some type of top coat on the alloy and will need to be stripped to properly polish.

RX-100 definitely has some sort of coating over the bare aluminum. The components don't tarnish. Possibly clear anodized? Or is there such a thing as high polish anodized?

They do use a type of clear coat paint on aluminum as they do on motorcycle engines and suspension components. Maybe the RX-100 is finshed with a type of clear coat laquer, which I suspect is a cheaper finish than anodizing. Try some paint stripper on it and see if it comes off.
BTW, you's be surprised how tough it is to just to try and polish off anodizing, so if there is anodizing on the aluminum, it will be best to take it off first before you start polishing the part.

Chombi

I've removed the RX100 logos with 0000 steel wool, so if there is a coating, it isn't bulletproof.

That's because the logo is on top of the coating. It says nothing about the toughness of the coating.