Stripping Campy logos from UT alloy crank...

[FlashUNC]

So I have one of the early Campy Centaur Ultra Torque cranks. Great crank, but the guy I bought it from years ago put some pretty dramatic heel rub straight through both logos on each crank arm.

And while they're functionally fine, I think I've finally had enough with the mucked up aesthetics.

Any suggestions on how to remove it gently? I'm not too keen on the idea of stripping it completely and polishing it up -- mainly because I am extraordinarily lazy -- but I'd at least like to get the mucked up logos off. So is Scotch Brite, a Magic Eraser, or some fine steel wool the way to go?

Should I just rub my heel along both arms until it accomplishes the goal?

[R2D2]

I think Scotch Brite and elbow grease will remove it. Then buff with Semichrome.

[Lewis Moon]

You might try Googling oven cleaner and aluminum together...but I will NOT be responsible if your cranks end up as a puddle of toxic goo.

Really, there is no "easy" way to polish your cranks. I did my 10sp Records starting w/ 320 grit sandpaper and moved up through the grits to 2000. Then I used chrome polish.

A polished aluminum crank has it's own special problems...the metal is pretty soft and you continuously have to repolish. I'm thinking of powder coating mine.

[one60]

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2769/4239868624_061884325e_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/43980522@N05/4239868624/) campagnolo compact crankset (http://www.flickr.com/photos/43980522@N05/4239868624/) by one60seattle (http://www.flickr.com/people/43980522@N05/), on Flickrhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/43980522@N05/4239868624/http://http://www.flickr.com/photos/43980522@N05/4239868624/

Not so challenging to do nor maintain...PM for details

[malcolm]

I hate logos and acetone will remove most of them, a few require other methods. Black bits with painted on logos are the worst. Polished aluminum is usually easy, if acetone doesn't work as mentioned scotch brite and then some sort of polish will do, semichrome mentioned has been around forever and works, dremel with a buffing attachment helps.

[ultraman6970]

How did you polish that w/o taking the logos out??? impressive.

[cekte]

How did you polish that w/o taking the logos out??? impressive.

This ^ !?

[FlashUNC]

You might try Googling oven cleaner and aluminum together...but I will NOT be responsible if your cranks end up as a puddle of toxic goo.

Really, there is no "easy" way to polish your cranks. I did my 10sp Records starting w/ 320 grit sandpaper and moved up through the grits to 2000. Then I used chrome polish.

A polished aluminum crank has it's own special problems...the metal is pretty soft and you continuously have to repolish. I'm thinking of powder coating mine.

Yeah, that's one big reason I'm trying to avoid the polishing route. I'd just like to strip the logos off and be done with it. Again....extremely lazy...

[keevon]

I tried doing the same thing with a used Centaur UT crank that I picked up in the classifieds. If you try to sand off the logos, you have to be very careful not to take off the anodizing in the process. Although chances are, if your crank already has significant heel rub, the ano is probably worn off in those spots anyway.

When you polish the cranks, the areas without ano will be much more shiny than those with the ano. For that reason, I ended up sanding down and polishing the entire crank. Looks nice, but it's a lot of work.

[jds108]

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2769/4239868624_061884325e_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/43980522@N05/4239868624/) campagnolo compact crankset (http://www.flickr.com/photos/43980522@N05/4239868624/) by one60seattle (http://www.flickr.com/people/43980522@N05/), on Flickrhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/43980522@N05/4239868624/http://http://www.flickr.com/photos/43980522@N05/4239868624/

Not so challenging to do nor maintain...PM for details

I think many of us are interested as to how to get that high-polish look and still have logos. Care to post to this thread? Thanks.

[wallymann]

i've done this.

acetone and other solvents like OMS or paint thinner are too weak and take too long.

just get some industrial-strengh paint stripper, the gel-style stuff works well.

wipe on liberally, let sit for a while, then wipe & rinse off with warm water. it may take a couple applications to get everything off.

do NOT use oven cleaner, as that will eat the aluminum! do NOT use any sort of scotch-brite, as you'll really tear into the anodizing and they'll look like hell.

http://majortaylorcycling.org/bikes/walter_colnago_master-rabobank.jpg
http://majortaylorcycling.org/bikes/walter_colnago_c40hp-navigators.jpg

[choke]

I've had good lucking removing logos using very fine steel wool (#000 IIRC). It doesn't harm the anodizing that I can detect.

[Grant McLean]

i've done this.

acetone and other solvents like OMS or paint thinner are too weak and take too long.

just get some industrial-strengh paint stripper, the gel-style stuff works well.

wipe on liberally, let sit for a while, then wipe & rinse off with warm water. it may take a couple applications to get everything off.

do NOT use oven cleaner, as that will eat the aluminum! do NOT use any sort of scotch-brite, as you'll really tear into the anodizing and they'll look like hell.


So it's actually possible the stripper will remove the black logos
without damaging the anodizing? I've always assumed the logo itself
was some kind of anodizing, or at the very least there was a layer that
prevented the ink or paint or whatever the logo stuff is made of from being
removed.

If it's possible to do this on the cranks, I suppose all the campagnolo alloy
parts with the same treatment, like ergo levers, brake arches, derailleurs
and seat posts can have the same result. ?

-g

[wallymann]

for current campy production it's just some sort of resin-based coating. i.e., paint. campy uses a very durable paint, but paint just the same. in older versions of campy, many times the logos were laser-etched so this would not work.

yes, you can remove from other alloy components...i've done it to campag rear-mechs and brake calipers too.


So it's actually possible the stripper will remove the black logos
without damaging the anodizing? I've always assumed the logo itself
was some kind of anodizing, or at the very least there was a layer that
prevented the ink or paint or whatever the logo stuff is made of from being
removed.

If it's possible to do this on the cranks, I suppose all the campagnolo alloy
parts with the same treatment, like ergo levers, brake arches, derailleurs
and seat posts can have the same result. ?

-g

[one60]

the logos on the centaur UT cranks were laser etched. That likely contributed to their being retained during the polishing process.

I would suggest it best to assume the logos will be lost rather than retained before considering whether to attempt. The logos on brake caliper arms, for instance, were not etched & were lost in the process.

If there is sufficient interest I could start a thread detailing the process I used to polish aluminum. While time intensive, it is not technically challenging & once polished the pieces don't require a huge amount of maintenance to keep looking nice.

http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4141/4775452662_95fda1da83_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/43980522@N05/4775452662/) front end (http://www.flickr.com/photos/43980522@N05/4775452662/) by one60seattle (http://www.flickr.com/people/43980522@N05/), on Flickr

[lovebird]

I'd love to see a thread detailing your polishing process. I've got circa 2006 Centaur on two bikes, and would love to get my shifters to look like those!

[Birddog]

Go for it one60!

[one60]

I'd love to see a thread detailing your polishing process. I've got circa 2006 Centaur on two bikes, and would love to get my shifters to look like those!

just to clarify, the shifters in the photo are NOT polished. The photo was intended to illustrate the loss of the logo from the brake caliper. IMO,the logo on the shifters is unlikely to remain after polishing. Heck, its wearing off just from regular use.

If the mods will allow it, I can post my process/experience BUT with the caveat that YMMV.

[AngryScientist]

If the mods will allow it, I can post my process/experience BUT with the caveat that YMMV.

of course we will allow it. always like to see how people do things, and there is a lot of interest in this thread alone. I too would like to see the process you used for polishing.

by all means, consider this your moderator blessing to show us!