Preserving polished aluminum
I've got quite a few aluminum bits and pieces from older bikes that are pretty shoddy looking with nicks and dents and corrosion. I can clean them up with a "flap" wheel and then polish then with the usually buffing wheels and decreasing compound grits until they have a high polish but once back on a bicycle again they seem to corrode rather rapidly and in a few months end up looking sort of "splotched" and dull, which of course is exactly what bare aluminum does in contact with air. I've tried a number of schemes to preserve the polish such as heavy paste wax and even a coat of clear lacquer or in one case thinned epoxy resin. This wasn't exactly successful as the wax disappears quickly and the lacquer tends to chip and even the thinned epoxy tends to flaked off in places. Shimano seems to coat much of their aluminum bits with some sort of "silver paint" which obviously isn't just that as it seems to last for years. I would prefer the look of highly polished aluminum (without the corrosion) but that obviously will take considerable and continued labour the way I am doing it at present. Does anyone have any suggestions on how, or with what, to coat highly polished aluminum to, at least, reduce the corrosion to a reasonable level? Say a once a year polish? -- Cheers, John B. |
Preserving polished aluminum
who looks?
http://www.bing.com/search?q=auto%20...CCBD291E9FDF7E I have one. magic taped Reynolds over the van's rear cargo door windows reflect sun as then is parked on a w-e grid.....a whitish water born dried flow is on glass |
Preserving polished aluminum
On Sunday, July 30, 2017 at 2:00:23 AM UTC-7, John B. wrote:
I've got quite a few aluminum bits and pieces from older bikes that are pretty shoddy looking with nicks and dents and corrosion. I can clean them up with a "flap" wheel and then polish then with the usually buffing wheels and decreasing compound grits until they have a high polish but once back on a bicycle again they seem to corrode rather rapidly and in a few months end up looking sort of "splotched" and dull, which of course is exactly what bare aluminum does in contact with air. I've tried a number of schemes to preserve the polish such as heavy paste wax and even a coat of clear lacquer or in one case thinned epoxy resin. This wasn't exactly successful as the wax disappears quickly and the lacquer tends to chip and even the thinned epoxy tends to flaked off in places. Shimano seems to coat much of their aluminum bits with some sort of "silver paint" which obviously isn't just that as it seems to last for years. I would prefer the look of highly polished aluminum (without the corrosion) but that obviously will take considerable and continued labour the way I am doing it at present. Does anyone have any suggestions on how, or with what, to coat highly polished aluminum to, at least, reduce the corrosion to a reasonable level? Say a once a year polish? http://www.wikihow.com/Anodize-Aluminum Long term polished aluminum usually has a finished layer of some wear resistant material such as two part urethane clear coat. |
Preserving polished aluminum
On 7/30/2017 4:00 AM, John B. wrote:
I've got quite a few aluminum bits and pieces from older bikes that are pretty shoddy looking with nicks and dents and corrosion. I can clean them up with a "flap" wheel and then polish then with the usually buffing wheels and decreasing compound grits until they have a high polish but once back on a bicycle again they seem to corrode rather rapidly and in a few months end up looking sort of "splotched" and dull, which of course is exactly what bare aluminum does in contact with air. I've tried a number of schemes to preserve the polish such as heavy paste wax and even a coat of clear lacquer or in one case thinned epoxy resin. This wasn't exactly successful as the wax disappears quickly and the lacquer tends to chip and even the thinned epoxy tends to flaked off in places. Shimano seems to coat much of their aluminum bits with some sort of "silver paint" which obviously isn't just that as it seems to last for years. I would prefer the look of highly polished aluminum (without the corrosion) but that obviously will take considerable and continued labour the way I am doing it at present. Does anyone have any suggestions on how, or with what, to coat highly polished aluminum to, at least, reduce the corrosion to a reasonable level? Say a once a year polish? Classic French equipment in bare aluminum looks fantastic with Simichrome or any similar metal polish on a cotton cloth. Trouble is, as we both found, regular cleaning and polishing is required to maintain that finish. http://www.yellowjersey.org/photosfr...st/mikipv9.jpg Campagnolo classic cranks had a deep clear anodize which is more durable but an absolute pain once nicked through. Filing out the damage followed up with wet sand and then rouge on a cotton wheel leaves a 'hole' in the finish and so you're back to the prior paragraph. If you can accept painted rather than metal aesthetically, consult your local auto paint supplier - the guy who sells to body shops. Metal etch and two-part primer for aluminum are standard items, after which a silver[1] metallic catalyzed paint could roughly duplicate the modern Alivio type finish. [1] or pink, whatever. -- Andrew Muzi www.yellowjersey.org/ Open every day since 1 April, 1971 |
Preserving polished aluminum
On Sun, 30 Jul 2017 16:00:18 +0700, John B.
wrote: Does anyone have any suggestions on how, or with what, to coat highly polished aluminum to, at least, reduce the corrosion to a reasonable level? Say a once a year polish? If you spray or dip on a relatively soft coating, further polishing will remove the coating. One of the locals demonstrated the principle by polishing his fairly new clear coated vehicle with "light" abrasive wax, which successfully made the paint look great, until the coating flaked off. It now looks like a terminal case of automotive leprosy. You didn't mention if you were planning to do this at home, or send the parts out to a plating shop. If you want to do it thyself, try Alodine 1200, Iridite, or various mutations: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromate_conversion_coating All our aluminum marine radio parts and panels were dip treated with 1200, whether painted or exposed. Same with some painted aircraft parts: http://www.skygeek.com/henkel-alodine-1201-gallon.html http://www.skygeek.com/henkel-alodine-1001-gallon.html You might want to start with a patch kit: http://www.skygeek.com/henkel-592726-brush-alodine-120-kit.html Depending on concentration, it will produce a gold to brown color. Also available in clear, yellow and green. Alodine vs Anodize: https://www.finishing.com/448/95.shtml Oddly, I've never tried Alodyne 1200 on a polished surface. Therefore, I don't know which concoction to recommend for polished parts. I think you can get a better answer by asking on: https://www.finishing.com You might look into nickel plating on aluminum. It sounds expensive, but would look really cool: http://techmetals.com/aluminumelectroless-nickel%E2%80%A2%E2%80%A2%E2%80%A2-a-choice-finish/ https://www.finishing.com/80/41.shtml A thin coating of some kind of clear coat paint should work, at least until it wears off. Since it's rather messy trying to clean up such a worn coating, I suspect a hard auto wax might be a better choice. A friend asked me how to protect his shiney new aluminum automobile wheels. It turned out that the wheels are clear coated with some kind of In the astronomical circles, there are silicon monoxide (SiO) protected aluminum coated mirrors: https://www.edmundoptics.com/resources/application-notes/optics/metallic-mirror-coatings/ I know absolutely nothing about such protected coatings. You're on your own here. Also, check on what aircraft owners use on their shiney aluminum aircraft: https://www.brightworkpolish.com I would guess(tm) that it's some form of wax or polymer sealer, but I'm too lazy to check. Airstream trailers also have a shiny aluminum polish: http://vintageairstream.com/polishing/ See the comments on aluminum metalurgy and "maintaining the shine". Better cycling through chemistry. -- Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558 |
Preserving polished aluminum
"John B." wrote in message ... I've got quite a few aluminum bits and pieces from older bikes that are pretty shoddy looking with nicks and dents and corrosion. I can clean them up with a "flap" wheel and then polish then with the usually buffing wheels and decreasing compound grits until they have a high polish but once back on a bicycle again they seem to corrode rather rapidly and in a few months end up looking sort of "splotched" and dull, which of course is exactly what bare aluminum does in contact with air. I've tried a number of schemes to preserve the polish such as heavy paste wax and even a coat of clear lacquer or in one case thinned epoxy resin. This wasn't exactly successful as the wax disappears quickly and the lacquer tends to chip and even the thinned epoxy tends to flaked off in places. Shimano seems to coat much of their aluminum bits with some sort of "silver paint" which obviously isn't just that as it seems to last for years. I would prefer the look of highly polished aluminum (without the corrosion) but that obviously will take considerable and continued labour the way I am doing it at present. Does anyone have any suggestions on how, or with what, to coat highly polished aluminum to, at least, reduce the corrosion to a reasonable level? Say a once a year polish? Polished aluminium forms an oxide layer instantly, you need a polish that leaves a film in place of what it takes off. Plating is good if you can find a process that doesn't etch the aluminium away. A lot of manufactured items have a durable laquer - but I've never found its equal in any shops. If you're really serious about it - go for anodizing. |
Preserving polished aluminum
On Sun, 30 Jul 2017 13:14:42 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote: I remember when the pre-Rodale _Bicycling!_ magazine had an article by Fred DeLong on how to anodize bike parts at home. IIRC, he used a 12V car battery as a power source. Not that I ever did it. "Anodizing Aluminum Bicycle Components" http://www.nonlintec.com/anodizing/ There are some additional interesting links near the bottom of the page. Mo http://www.bryanpryor.com/anodizing/ http://astro.neutral.org/anodise.shtml "Tutorial: Polishing Bicycle Parts" http://theradavist.com/2009/10/tutorial-polishing-bicycle-parts/ Those were the days a person could frequently learn something from a bike magazine. Now it's mostly which bike you MUST buy this month, or which shorts make your legs look sexiest. Hmmm... I should read some of that. After a triple bypass operation, where the surgeons borrowed a vein from my leg, I could use some advice on sexy leg fashions and camouflage. Riding with one leg in shorts, and the other in full length pants, doesn't seem to attract the ladies. Drivel: The same thing happened with Home Power Magazine: https://www.homepower.com Originally (1987), it was full of do-it-thyself articles. However, as grid tied solar became more popular, it's now mostly product reviews, code compliance, and politics. I still subscribe, but I sometimes wonder why I bother. The price of success is pollution. -- Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558 |
Preserving polished aluminum
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Preserving polished aluminum
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