Eddy Gordo Posted February 26, 2014 Share What about anodizing the frame? I think you get a clear anodize Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pipsqueak Posted April 4, 2014 Share Thanks to a photo posted by divernick I ended up deciding not to send the frame off to be spray painted at this point but to polish the entire thing. Back to the local Builders warehouse and I get myself a polishing attachment that fits on any electric drill.So how do you use this thing? Do you "grind" that polishing soap onto the pad? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erroli8a8 Posted April 4, 2014 Share rub "soap" onto pad while the disc is spinning then take the disc to the bike. the soap is the cutting compound, sand paper like but finer. be careful and don't go to course or it cuts down to much. Pipsqueak 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cas247 Posted January 8, 2015 Share And so the polishing begins Make no mistake it's a seriously dirty business and it didn't take long for me to put on a long sleeve dust coat, safety glasses, and a pair of gloves; even with wearing all this I ended up looking like a coal miner when I finished. At first I tried doing large sections of frame at a time but pretty quickly worked out that concentrating on a small piece and getting that polished up nicely before moving on to the next section was actually faster. Patience is the key though. I also thought I'd be clever and fit the polisher to my big Makita drill - wrong move, it's too fast and it's also to big and clumsy to work with - my smaller drill worked much better.Tx for the inspiration I'm in the polishing phase, how long did it take to do the polishing? Which compound did you use to get the shiny finish? I bought the same attachment as you did, however it's gone black and depositing a fine dust on the frame and it requires hard rubbing to remove it, did this happen to you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
venom1 Posted January 8, 2015 Share Tx for the inspiration I'm in the polishing phase, how long did it take to do the polishing? Which compound did you use to get the shiny finish? I bought the same attachment as you did, however it's gone black and depositing a fine dust on the frame and it requires hard rubbing to remove it, did this happen to you? Compound is too remove contaminates and marks from paint. Polish will bring out the natural shine. Wax is to protect your paint and also provide a shine. Edited January 8, 2015 by venom1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cas247 Posted June 1, 2015 Share Thanks for the inspiration fellow hubbers, my ride looks really schweet. zabalad 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ampandy Posted June 1, 2015 Share Anodized the frame in a natural finish, the polished look remains and gives a deep lustre. If possible go for a 20 to 25 micron depth as that will also add strength. Called hard anodizing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cas247 Posted June 1, 2015 Share Anodized the frame in a natural finish, the polished look remains and gives a deep lustre. If possible go for a 20 to 25 micron depth as that will also add strength. Called hard anodizing.Where can I get this done? How much should I expect to pay? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankieKnuckles Posted June 1, 2015 Share Thanks for the inspiration fellow hubbers, my ride looks really schweet.Nice!I'm on my second naked alu frame project.Slow going, but worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Sanchez Posted June 1, 2015 Share Thinking of trying this with my cheapie road bike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbo_SA Posted June 1, 2015 Share Where can I get this done? How much should I expect to pay? http://www.astroholdings.co.za/astro-anodising-aluminium-finishing.html They are in Sebenza, had some cranks and some small bits done in March, very happy with the results, although the Sq taper cranks have finally been retired so the anodising was wasted on them. They now have a minimum charge of around R400, so make sure you have enough to make it worth while, I know in the past my bits would have only been around R150 max. If i had asked, :-) I probably would have added quite a few more parts to be done at the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V12man Posted June 1, 2015 Share http://www.astroholdings.co.za/astro-anodising-aluminium-finishing.html They are in Sebenza, had some cranks and some small bits done in March, very happy with the results, although the Sq taper cranks have finally been retired so the anodising was wasted on them. They now have a minimum charge of around R400, so make sure you have enough to make it worth while, I know in the past my bits would have only been around R150 max. If i had asked, :-) I probably would have added quite a few more parts to be done at the same time.You can also try splash anodising in Pretoria - he can do fancy patterns and colours too... Edit - just a contact for Splash - https://www.facebook.com/SplashAnodizing?fref=ts Edited June 1, 2015 by V12man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Ruinaard Posted June 1, 2015 Share Take it to a place that does metal polishing and get them to do it... lots of work to do it yourself without machine tools.Yes +1 V12 - you are a man of infinite wisdom and a source of useless information. You can buff that ally till it is brighter than chrome then seal it in a layer of clear. You will have the machine around. Seriously. I have wanted to do this in the past but have never got around to it. Thing is metal polishing is a dirty and tedious process - I have done it with smaller pieces and it really is painful. Check here what can be achieved - this isn't chromed - this is buffed ally. zabalad 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V12man Posted June 1, 2015 Share Yes +1 V12 - you are a man of infinite wisdom and a source of useless information. You can buff that ally till it is brighter than chrome then seal it in a layer of clear. You will have the machine around. Seriously. I have wanted to do this in the past but have never got around to it. Thing is metal polishing is a dirty and tedious process - I have done it with smaller pieces and it really is painful. Check here what can be achieved - this isn't chromed - this is buffed ally. Buffed Frame.jpegPolishing metal is a long, dirty and thankless task... I have done a few pieces myself (and I have a few power tools to help) and it's not one I reccomend to anyone... especially when it's stainless steel..... Fortunately I am not a huge fan of aluminium framed bikes (thanks to an old cannondale road bike) .... but mirror polished stainless espresso machines I have a minor fetish for.... polishing scratched panels I outsource as far as possible.... hard won experience.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ampandy Posted June 1, 2015 Share Have a chat to Mark from astro holdings. Last one I did was about 350 bucks and that was two months ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ampandy Posted June 1, 2015 Share Polishing metal is a long, dirty and thankless task... I have done a few pieces myself (and I have a few power tools to help) and it's not one I reccomend to anyone... especially when it's stainless steel..... Fortunately I am not a huge fan of aluminium framed bikes (thanks to an old cannondale road bike) .... but mirror polished stainless espresso machines I have a minor fetish for.... polishing scratched panels I outsource as far as possible.... hard won experience.... Could not agree more about the polishing process but i am sure I can change your mind about the ally though. How about a nice set of polished ally hats for some 380mm disc brakes??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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