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.

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

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.

On 7/30/2017 10:07 AM, wrote:
On Sunday, July 30, 2017 at 2:00:23 AM UTC-7, 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?

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.

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.

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.


--
- Frank Krygowski

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

A KNOCKOUT

https://media.defense.gov/2007/Oct/2...-1234S-008.JPG

http://www.collingsfoundation.org/ai...f-51d-mustang/

On Sun, 30 Jul 2017 17:52:34 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

A KNOCKOUT
https://media.defense.gov/2007/Oct/2...-1234S-008.JPG

I'll raise you 3 more engines:
https://www.eaa.org/~/media/images/news/2015-briefing/2015-04-docrollout2-960px.jpg
http://www.warbirdsnews.com/wp-content/uploads/Screen-Shot-2016-05-11-at-9.02.33-PM.jpg
http://www.warbirdsnews.com/wp-content/uploads/Docs-Rollout-06.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XU0f4VUDGR0

"Doc" also flew at Oshkosh this week:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgdEI3-GaAg
(Mostly at beginning and again at end of video).

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On Sunday, July 30, 2017 at 8:52:38 PM UTC-4, wrote:
A KNOCKOUT

https://media.defense.gov/2007/Oct/2...-1234S-008.JPG

The shine lasts for the airshow, then begins to turn dull. I have seen polished aluminum planes fly into Oshkosh already splotched from moisture and bugs. The owners get out and expend tremendous elbow grease with cornstarch to remove some of the splotching. By the end of the airshow, the aircraft, in this case a P-51, will have already begun to turn.

On Sun, 30 Jul 2017 12:17:55 -0700, Jeff Liebermann
wrote:

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/

Not to be snooty but I've been polishing things for a lot of years
now, with the proper equipment :-)


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.

In some societies scars were a compliment to male beauty.


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.

A friend recently recommended "Popular Mechanics" magazine. A
publication that once printed articles about building your own 60 HP
Ford powered midget racer and how to build an arc welder out of an
aircraft alternator, and now publishes articles entitled "does it hurt
to pee on your lawn".

But I do believe that the "modern" (would one say?) type of articles
reflect the interests of the readers. How many people would leave the
comfort of the air conditioned Television Room and the 60 inch TV to
actually get their hands dirty building a midget racer.... or an arc
welder? (Or even know what an arc welder is?)

But the thought comes to mind, are Modern Americans actually intent on
discovering whether one should "pee on the lawn", or not? Sufficiently
so that a national magazine would publish an article concerning what
dirty little boys used to do, with no lessons whatsoever?
--
Cheers,

John B.