The real brushed finish of a Merlin ti-bike

On Tuesday, November 22, 2016 at 4:44:48 PM UTC-8, Phil Lee wrote:
Frank Krygowski considered Mon, 21 Nov 2016
16:56:02 -0500 the perfect time to write:

On 11/21/2016 3:20 PM, Jon Gustafson wrote:
Hi there,

I´m currently refurbishing my Merlin Extralight and I want to get that real brushed finish they have. I´ve tried everything such as a steel brush with medium tension steelwires.

I´ve tried the scotchbrite and a very fine steelwool which it´s definately not.

So, what on earth is it they´re using to achieve that finish, I´ve tried to contact them, but they don´t return my mails.

I don't know what they use. But have you tried a brass wire wheel?

The range of tooling used for such finishes is almost unlimited.
DeLorien used a special "flapper" wheel with some abrasive flaps among
mostly cotton for the brushed finish on their stainless steel cars.
Apparently, achieving the correct balance of "brush" and "polish" in
the finish is almost impossible without access to identical wheels,
and the skills to use the right speed and pressure to match the
original.

It would help if the OP said what the results of the scotchbrite and steel wool were and how they differed from what is desired/already present

On Tuesday, November 22, 2016 at 1:29:12 PM UTC-6, Tosspot wrote:

Why would you not stat with a very fine grit, 100*, and work down? It
isn't like emery paper is expensive.

In the wood working world, 100 grit is a very medium grit. Not fine and definitely not very fine. 600 is very fine. 320-400 is fine. 220 is a little less than fine.

I'm surprised Andy uses 60 grit on metal. Seems way too coarse for metal work. Its very coarse for much softer wood. Let alone hard metal.

On Tue, 22 Nov 2016 14:53:11 -0600, AMuzi wrote:

On 11/22/2016 1:29 PM, Tosspot wrote:
On 22/11/16 18:43, AMuzi wrote:
On 11/22/2016 11:32 AM, wrote:
On Monday, November 21, 2016 at 5:25:50 PM UTC-6, AMuzi
wrote:
On 11/21/2016 5:12 PM, wrote:
Try sandpaper. All auto parts stores sell various
grits of
sandpaper made for metal. Not sure if sandpaper meant
for wood
works on metal or not. But maybe go to a woodworking
store and see
if their sandpaper works.


+1
Start with a relatively fine emery. The usual 60 grit will
leave deep scratches in your tubes. I'd try 300 cloth on
the
bottom of the chainstays first to see what it looks like.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

I might be assuming too much. But I assumed the guy
would start with
320 or 400 grit paper. 600 or 800 even. 220 if he
wanted a "rough"
finish. 60 grit is for very rough sawn wood. I don't
think even the
roughest and most rusted metal would need 60 grit. The
wheels on 6
inch stationary grinders are 60 grit.


400 may well be better. I frankly don't know but we're
generally on the
same path here. 60 grit emery is a commodity, ubiquitous
& cheap,
because it's popular for steel prep like this:
http://www.yellowjersey.org/photosfr...st/mikipv2.jpg

The 60 grit texture works very well with common
primer/sealers but as we
both noted it's too coarse for a Ti finish.

Why would you not stat with a very fine grit, 100*, and work
down? It isn't like emery paper is expensive.



Yes I think we all agree on the concept but I for one think
100 grit on titanium will leave some deep and ugly sand
scratches. Mr Seaton's approach (start with 400) made more
sense to me.

I think if you are trying to achieve the so called "brushed finish" I
would start with something in the 6 - 800 grit range, or even finer,
and work toward the larger grits if necessary.

The theory being that it is much easier to put scratches in, rather
than taking them out :-)

On Tue, 22 Nov 2016 18:41:03 -0800 (PST), "
wrote:

On Tuesday, November 22, 2016 at 1:29:12 PM UTC-6, Tosspot wrote:

Why would you not stat with a very fine grit, 100*, and work down? It
isn't like emery paper is expensive.

In the wood working world, 100 grit is a very medium grit. Not fine and definitely not very fine. 600 is very fine. 320-400 is fine. 220 is a little less than fine.

I'm surprised Andy uses 60 grit on metal. Seems way too coarse
for metal work. Its very coarse for much softer wood. Let alone hard
metal.

(:-) I habitually use 40 grit "flap wheels" to clean up rusty of just
grotty looking metals. Works just fine.

On 11/22/2016 8:41 PM, wrote:
On Tuesday, November 22, 2016 at 1:29:12 PM UTC-6, Tosspot wrote:

Why would you not stat with a very fine grit, 100*, and work down? It
isn't like emery paper is expensive.

In the wood working world, 100 grit is a very medium grit. Not fine and definitely not very fine. 600 is very fine. 320-400 is fine. 220 is a little less than fine.

I'm surprised Andy uses 60 grit on metal. Seems way too coarse for metal work. Its very coarse for much softer wood. Let alone hard metal.


It's the standard material, and for good reason. Start he
http://www.yellowjersey.org/kelly4.jpg

Try to get here before acid wash and primer:
http://www.yellowjersey.org/end13l.jpg
http://www.yellowjersey.org/den13l.jpg
http://www.yellowjersey.org/chs16b.jpg

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Scotch Brite...

On Wed, 23 Nov 2016 07:01:27 -0600, AMuzi wrote:

On 11/22/2016 8:41 PM, wrote:
On Tuesday, November 22, 2016 at 1:29:12 PM UTC-6, Tosspot wrote:

Why would you not stat with a very fine grit, 100*, and work down? It
isn't like emery paper is expensive.

In the wood working world, 100 grit is a very medium grit. Not fine and definitely not very fine. 600 is very fine. 320-400 is fine. 220 is a little less than fine.

I'm surprised Andy uses 60 grit on metal. Seems way too coarse for metal work. Its very coarse for much softer wood. Let alone hard metal.


It's the standard material, and for good reason. Start he
http://www.yellowjersey.org/kelly4.jpg

Try to get here before acid wash and primer:
http://www.yellowjersey.org/end13l.jpg
http://www.yellowjersey.org/den13l.jpg
http://www.yellowjersey.org/chs16b.jpg

---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus

On Monday, November 21, 2016 at 12:20:50 PM UTC-8, Jon Gustafson wrote:
Hi there,

I´m currently refurbishing my Merlin Extralight and I want to get that real brushed finish they have. I´ve tried everything such as a steel brush with medium tension steelwires.

I´ve tried the scotchbrite and a very fine steelwool which it´s definately not.

So, what on earth is it they´re using to achieve that finish, I´ve tried to contact them, but they don´t return my mails.

It doesn't seem to strike people that the Extralight is pretty thin and you absolutely must use the finest abrasive you can get away with. John B. was closest with his idea of starting with 600 grit and working your way down. It is always easier to make it rougher than to take out the scratches you cause by starting too coarse.

On Wednesday, November 23, 2016 at 12:49:37 PM UTC-8, wrote:
On Monday, November 21, 2016 at 12:20:50 PM UTC-8, Jon Gustafson wrote:
Hi there,

I´m currently refurbishing my Merlin Extralight and I want to get that real brushed finish they have. I´ve tried everything such as a steel brush with medium tension steelwires.

I´ve tried the scotchbrite and a very fine steelwool which it´s definately not.

So, what on earth is it they´re using to achieve that finish, I´ve tried to contact them, but they don´t return my mails.

It doesn't seem to strike people that the Extralight is pretty thin and you absolutely must use the finest abrasive you can get away with. John B. was closest with his idea of starting with 600 grit and working your way down. It is always easier to make it rougher than to take out the scratches you cause by starting too coarse.

Start with 600 and work your way UP not down.

Better yet start with a wet rag covered with rubbing compound, and work your way up to polish.

On 2016-11-23, Bob Flumere wrote:

Scotch Brite...

Right. Too bad Mark Hickey doesn't post here anymore. From his site:
http://www.habcycles.com/techstuf.html

"Brushed. This is the finish used on all Habanero frames. Once you
own a brushed frame, you'll never want anything else. The brushed
finish produces a soft, smooth silver finish (which I find much
more attractive than bead blasted or polished, but chalk that up as
personal opinion). It's very scratch-resistant, and minor abrasions
are virtually invisible on the surface. If you do manage to scratch
or otherwise mar the surface, a few passes with a ScotchBrite pad or
400 grit sandpaper restores the finish perfectly. This means that
you should be able to keep your frame looking brand new literally
forever!"

--
Gregory S. Sutter Mostly Harmless

http://zer0.org/~gsutter/

On 2016-11-25, Gregory Sutter wrote:
On 2016-11-23, Bob Flumere wrote:

Scotch Brite...

Right. Too bad Mark Hickey doesn't post here anymore. From his site:
http://www.habcycles.com/techstuf.html

Also these:

http://forums.mtbr.com/vintage-retro...ml#post4103310

http://forums.mtbr.com/frame-buildin...ml#post5825870

--
Gregory S. Sutter Mostly Harmless

http://zer0.org/~gsutter/