Technical & Reference Section > Tech and Restoration

ripper clean up bare alloy any tips ?

(1/6) > >>

Moza:
Anyone got any good tips on how to clean a ripper up but not so it's polished ???

SteveG:
It's tricky if you plan on doing it yourself.
I've just finished stripping and polishing a Specialized mountain bike frame for my daughter. Getting the paint off was OK but it left a grit blasted finish ! Much wet n dry and no fingertips later it was pretty good and then I attacked it with a tube of Peek metal polish.

I experimented a bit with the finish. When you get to the stage of using 1200 grit paper it's pretty shiny already but has scratches still. Grey Scotchbrite with oil on it will give a grey by slightly lined finish. I tried polishing it with Cif as well which has a similar effect but slightly more shiny.

If you are going to get someone to do it then media blasting of some sort is going to be the easiest option. A place I worked at had a wet grit blaster that gave a nice even matt finish.

Are you trying to replicate the original ball burnished finish or just don't like highly polished frames ?

My Ripper has got gradually more polished over the years. Getting a bare one all those years ago was a good plan as any damage was reasonably easy to sort out.

hotdog:
Here you go:

http://1800deburring.com/Home.html

glenboy:
hiya lee
you can use raw alloy wheel cleaner , its alloy wheel cleaner for raw alloy wheels not lacquered , i haven't been able to find anyone who sells it but it exists , also lemon juice is ok for the scaling

theRuler:
If the frame is already bare, use scotchbrite then autosol to give it a shine.

If not, strip it with the inspector, then do above.

If you want it shinier, give it some brasso.

If you want to make it even shinier, spend ages with cutting compounds and a polisher.

If you would rather dissolve it completely, fill a wheelie bin with water, add a big sack of caustic soda and leave the frame in overnight.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page