Technical & Reference Section > Tech and Restoration
Adventures in Anodising
griff:
Great work :daumenhoch:
Possibly a daft question, but I thought with anodising that the polishing was done beforehand, won't polishing them now rub the finish off?
Avro:
Rubbing down to p2500 is very like polishing by a different name. P2500, and of course even finer papers, is polishing.
You rather prempt my next experiment! I have a set of MX900 calipers that I need to be black (used in earlier experiments) that I have re-finished in the same way as the pedal cages. However, the brake arms are much more complex in shape.
The brake arms were my second victims for experiment, and initially my first success. They looked good but the black finish was superficial on the shape edges. I rubbed down the brake arms through the same process as the pedal cages, coarse with the palm sander and then by hand. However, the contours of the brake arms meant I had to be careful not to soften them. Having rubbed down to p2500 it was still clear that areas immediately after high spots, that is the low spots, where left differently texturally; like when you sand guide coat a car wing or door. I had noticed that when I first anodised the brake arms that the underlying finish had effected the lustre of the anodising. With is in mind I have gone beyond p2500 and polishehed the brake arms starting with Autosol and finshing with Finesse It: the later being what I have used before on car body work.
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This is a picture of the brake arms after p2500 paper and paste polishing. The finish is not only finer but more consistent as the paste polish is far easier to get to reach the complex contours of the brake arms. With the pedal cages, a consistent finish was achieved with p2500 alone and I felt that any brushed finish effect, if one should remain, would be wholly consistent and therefore acceptable even desirable. As it has turned out the finish to p2500 on the cages is excellent and, yes, a polish will only enhance the finish and give a shine. Hope that helps. I am still learning myself and loving it.
griff:
I only asked because Jay (the lady who used to do a lot of radsters' ano stuff) told me that she had stuff polished before going in the tank. No idea if there was any post-ano polishing done, but just assumed that anything abrasive might fetch it off
Your stuff looks good though, keep it up fistblump
Avro:
Polishing beforehand will give a better result no doubt, but polishing is only the abrasive action to a given surface it just depends on the degree of polish. I felt that the pedal cage finish was perfect, a final polish with a 'finishing polish' will only enhance this. The brake arms required a paste polish due to the contours demanding it. I am sure that if I had used a paste polish on the cages they would have been better out of the box as it were, but that was not the deal with those (there were deep scratches that I could not remove as too much metal would be consumed and detail lost).
I have polished the brake arms to a near mirror without loss of detail and expect the results to be good without loss of detail. I am still learning and experimenting.
I read the anodising thread in the stickies and very early on messaged the poster for a price for some anodising but received no reply. I have subsequently read on the forum a little as to the circumstances why this may have been the case. I hasten to add I am no professional, I do this in my kitchen! I am experimenting that is all. The brake arms have been 'polished' and I hope to anodise them in the next few days *crosses fingers*. I am sure it is all about the preparation as you say, same with any finishing work.
Super questions just bear with me, I am having fun and experimenting and improving with every experiment.
MartyC:
Great work, those cages have come up great. I love stuff like this but have never tried it myself, good on ya for giving it a go :4_17_5:
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