Technical & Reference Section > Tech and Restoration

Polished Alu frame weatherproofing

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duncan:
Thanks for the info,

Will give it a try with the wax (any car wax/polish?) but as the bike often has to sit out in the rain I may go for a clearcoat if the price is reasonable.

sawzall:
i wouldnt clear coat it,alloy oxidises and will lift it after a period of time like it does to chrome plate on alloy :daumenhoch:

duncan:
I did spot a few areas of bubbling where there was no external paint damage,
No idea how this happens, maybe the paint's thinner, or not stuck to the frame properly.
As you say, it oxidises from underneath and pushes the paint up.

There's always anodising, but for a frame that size.. Might cost more than the frame's worth?

theRuler:
any wax or polish will do.

brasso it!

duncan:
Ah, Brasso! Not used that in decades, but I can still remember the smell :)

I've spent most of today (and most of my spare time over the past week) sanding and polishing the frame.
Never again. Ever. I'd no idea how much time & effort would be involved. Hands so sore I can barely hold a beercan.

The frame had paint keying scratches on all the tubes, they took an age to remove. I had to use 80 grit aluminium oxide paper (no power tools here I'm afraid..)
Then it was onto 120 grit to start smoothing off the tubes. There was a fair bit of white powdering (oxidation) and some minor pitting.
I didn't seem to be making good progress, and decided to concentrate on one area at a time, going through the grits.
Strangely I found the 240 was taking off more surface metal than the 120, I could see smooth metal underneath now!

Best purchase by far was foam rubber aluminium oxide sanding blocks, ideal for sanding & polishing round the tube junctions, also great for rubbing away scratches round awkward points like brake mounts where you haven't got the access to apply any pressure using normal wet & dry. They worked so well I almost won't need to use the finer grit papers.

Will sand the frame wet tomorrow using 800 then 1200 paper, and if I've time I might get it polished too. I got some stickers to put on from Ebay - 'brushed aluminium' stickers on a polished alu frame, I'm hoping for the same effect as one of the bikes in the museum.

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