Well, went in and polished it. It's not perfect, and it doesn't need to be. started with wet sanding, 220 grit, 400, 1000 and final stage with 5000 grit. After that polishing is really easy with a rotary wheel on my drill press. I don't know what I'm going to do in the spider's grooves, probably remove the rattle can paint chemically, and leave the silver anodizing, or maybe paint it, but painting aluminium is a pita. I'm happy with the results, gave new life to horribly disfigured crankset, with some scars for patina and character.
by carlov_sky
5 Comments
Looks awesome!
Rewarding right? It looks awesome! You did a good job. I’ve done it in the past, and still keep a few aluminum things on my bike buffed.
Tip for others. Some cranks are anodized. Strip it off with oven cleaner, or a ‘D’ battery hooked into two bare ended wires, and put it all into a bath of vinegar, but not both! It makes it far easier to sand out the imperfections, but you’ll still get cramps in your thumbs. 🤣
I’d get into those grooves with some color matched fingernail polish
You’d be an excellent knob polisher
🥵