Polished Mavic Reflex Pt. I

[Jaq]

So I've been stripping the anodizing off a set of Mavic Tubulars and polishing it. I'd done one so far; the first pass is pretty promising. This is for the front wheel; lacing it with 14/15 Wheelsmiths to a 2000 Record 36 hole in a 3-leading, 3-trailing pattern.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7091/7025951263_1aacdcf7df.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52794509@N07/7025951263/)
Detail IV (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52794509@N07/7025951263/) by Jaq Hammer (http://www.flickr.com/people/52794509@N07/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7084/7025950799_c536e79281.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52794509@N07/7025950799/)
Detail II (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52794509@N07/7025950799/) by Jaq Hammer (http://www.flickr.com/people/52794509@N07/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7269/7025949585_71ff86f98b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52794509@N07/7025949585/)
Side by side (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52794509@N07/7025949585/) by Jaq Hammer (http://www.flickr.com/people/52794509@N07/), on Flickr

[giverdada]

wow. that's pretty sweet. how you do that?

[phcollard]

Very nice. That must be a massive job! (I've polished a crankset once... never again. And I do have a buffer)

[merckx]

When you strip the protective anodizing surface don't you risk oxidation?

[Liv2RideHard]

This is why I am considering the H Plus Son TB14's for my build. I want polished rims to go with my polished gruppo and lugs. Nice work but I too worry about oxidation. Good job.

[phcollard]

This is why I am considering the H Plus Son TB14's for my build.

Velo Orange also sells very nice polished rims if that's what you're after.

[Jaq]

Thanks, all.

What I'm after is a set of high-polished, modern tubulars with machined side-walls. When I originally got the rims (for 30 bucks from a frustrated racer who tried tubies once and swore he'd never go back) I thought I needed eyelets as well; that's what kept me from buying a set of Heds, Velocitys, etc. If I were to do this again, I'd probably go with some Velocity Escapes.

To strip it, I used Easy-Off oven cleaner. A google search ("how to deanodize aluminum) will show others doing the same thing with aluminum parts - mostly RC cars and such. One guy was stripping parts in his kitchen sink - while filthy dishes were piled up everywhere, etc. Sometimes youtube is very depressing....

Anyway, it's the lye in Easy-Off (with the yellow cap) that reacts with the aluminum and eats the anodizing. Drain cleaner works as well (though it's slower). Or you can just buy a can of lye and mix up a solution.

I should add that lye is caustic. Rubber gloves and eye protection is a must. Ventilation is highly, highly, highly recommended. Small, enclosed spaces are right out. Oh, and don't eat or drink whilst working with chemicals.

I used a hair-dryer to peel the decal, and then a little Goof-Off to clean the glue residue. I built a small jig to hold the rim and serve as a kind of container. The wheel stands in the jig and I spray it full of oven cleaner - about 1/8th of the rim at a time. Wait a half-hour and the anodizing has turned black. Flush the jig with water, pull the rim, hose it down (and run water inside, through the valve hole) and wipe it down. Repeat eight times, then start polishing.

I use a polishing wheel attached to a high-speed drill. I've got a grinder, but I lost my damned cable. Actually, I loaned it to a friend and he never gave it back. The irony there is that I borrowed his Dremel tool and so far, he hasn't missed it.... ;).

So far, I haven't used any sandpaper/emory cloth. Ordinarily I might, but I got lazy this time. Plus the eyelets can make hand-sanding tricky. Still, if I don't the the finish I'm after, I might go back to it. I did use the Dremel tool to smooth out the weld (which Mavic hid under the sticker). It's not perfect yet, so I'll have to go back with a fine file or emory paper.

I stand the wheel in another crude little jig I made, then use a "cutting" compound on the first pass. I've done similar polishing (and had good results) with Rubbing Compound (commonly sold in little red tubs). From there I move up to a finer polishing compound, then finish with Semichrome or Hagerty's. I've also occasionally used Crest toothpaste - it works wonders and is water-soluble. It also leaves your rim smelling minty-fresh. ;)

It sounds like a lot of work - but it really wasn't. The jig was probably the trickiest part; everything else is just tedious. It takes about 4 hours to strip the rim, another couple hours for the first polishing pass.

I'll post a few pics of the jigs in a bit.

[54ny77]

yes, as anyone who had polished mavic or wolber rims in years past will attest to.

but, a half hour, a clean cloth, some simichrome and a quick pass in between the spokes and along rim edges every month or so is all that's needed to keep 'em nice.

When you strip the protective anodizing surface don't you risk oxidation?