I am a sucker for highly polished hubs, rims, cranksets, brakes, and other aluminum bits on classic steel lugged bikes. Once I have polished up the rims, hubs, cranksets, etc. how do I maintain the shiny finish? Is there a good wax or something to maintain the shine?

Also, do any of you restoration folks have any rules of thumb for restoring the polished finish on older aluminum parts?

Many thanks for your suggestions.

Mothers mag and aluminum polish is great for maintaining the shine.

Here's a good thread on polishing aluminum.

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...ng-thread.html

When I was single I used to joke that I would clean my apartment.... vacuum the carpet and drapes, change the bedding, wash the dishes, and scrub the kitchen and bathroom. But then just six months later.... I'd just have to do it all over again. Of course the humor was that people didn't think of single guys having to devote time house keeping.

Even our vintage "wall queens" get dusty... and the metals will always want to oxidize. They just need a little periodic dusting, cleaning, and polishing. Even if they are rarely... or never ridden.

I am a soap and water guy myself... but I know many cyclist avoid that kind of maintenance.

Simichrome or MAAS metal polish both do a great job on un-anodized aluminum. My local Ace Hardware carries MAAS, and Velo-orange sells Simichrome. They are the same stuff as far as I can tell. If you really want the shine to last, finish with a coat of Renaissance Wax. Google it - incredible stuff!

I don't know why, but polishing metal to a high gloss is SOOO rewarding.

Thanks for providing the link, it's now bookmarked.

The effort required to keep aluminum polished is the reason many of us Campagnolo fans like that brand. Much is anodized and does not need constant attention.

Car wax does help a bit after polishing, but the protection is short lived.

When I was young I would keep all my race wheels very bright and reflective.
Marriage, houses and kids change those priorities.
I now wipe off the road grime when I can.
Thank goodness for anodized rims.

I second the recommendation for micro-crystaline wax of some sort, such as the Renaissance Wax mentioned above.
But as Repechage says, wax doesn't last forever.