54ny77
08-16-2015, 05:24 PM
Summer crank polishing project...
This was a Shimano compact crank (forget which model, anyone know?) purchased from a forum member quite awhile back. It was anodized black. Stripped that off with Easy Off oven cleaner and a soft wire (brass) brush.
From there it was 320 grit wet sand by hand, then 400, then 600, then 1000. Then off to the buffing wheel with aluminum cutting compound, then an aluminum rouge. A final power buffing with a Dremel polishing pad and Simichrome was done, and a hand polish/touch up with soft cloth and Simichrome to finish it up.
Along the way (after all the polishing) I taped and painted the back of the arms Rustoleum titanium silver, because I didn't want to sand and polish the whole thing (my hands/forearms were a wreck by the time I was done). Baked in an oven for about 15 min. at 200 or so (to harden it), and the silver turned a slight golden hue which I wasn't crazy about at first but I kinda like it now. It's been a long time since I baked enamel and I forgot about the potential for color change on lighter colors. Oh well. The taped edges came out really clean, which I'm very happy about (and I trimmed the edges with a straight razor blade to get it as perfect as I could, no paint burrs or blemishes).
The interior lighting and macro setting picks up even the faintest detail, so I took a photo outside to show what they'll look like in general. Pretty much a mirror finish, for the slightest imperfections you'd have to look really close.
Chainrings will likely be some FSA silver rings which I have handy. Will post up pics of the completed set up, I need to order some charinring hardware and crank bolt hardware still.
Am pleased with the results, but man...this kinda thing takes a lotta time (and is why it took me around 2-3 years to finally get around to it)!
Interior photo at macro lens setting:
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z113/jpmz06/Bike/DSCN5123_zps18pucfzs.jpg (http://s191.photobucket.com/user/jpmz06/media/Bike/DSCN5123_zps18pucfzs.jpg.html)
Painted back of cranks arms/spider:
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z113/jpmz06/Bike/DSCN5126_zpssyvvqqmr.jpg (http://s191.photobucket.com/user/jpmz06/media/Bike/DSCN5126_zpssyvvqqmr.jpg.html)
Exterior, and how they'll look in general:
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z113/jpmz06/Bike/DSCN5127_zpspf3wnltr.jpg (http://s191.photobucket.com/user/jpmz06/media/Bike/DSCN5127_zpspf3wnltr.jpg.html)
This was a Shimano compact crank (forget which model, anyone know?) purchased from a forum member quite awhile back. It was anodized black. Stripped that off with Easy Off oven cleaner and a soft wire (brass) brush.
From there it was 320 grit wet sand by hand, then 400, then 600, then 1000. Then off to the buffing wheel with aluminum cutting compound, then an aluminum rouge. A final power buffing with a Dremel polishing pad and Simichrome was done, and a hand polish/touch up with soft cloth and Simichrome to finish it up.
Along the way (after all the polishing) I taped and painted the back of the arms Rustoleum titanium silver, because I didn't want to sand and polish the whole thing (my hands/forearms were a wreck by the time I was done). Baked in an oven for about 15 min. at 200 or so (to harden it), and the silver turned a slight golden hue which I wasn't crazy about at first but I kinda like it now. It's been a long time since I baked enamel and I forgot about the potential for color change on lighter colors. Oh well. The taped edges came out really clean, which I'm very happy about (and I trimmed the edges with a straight razor blade to get it as perfect as I could, no paint burrs or blemishes).
The interior lighting and macro setting picks up even the faintest detail, so I took a photo outside to show what they'll look like in general. Pretty much a mirror finish, for the slightest imperfections you'd have to look really close.
Chainrings will likely be some FSA silver rings which I have handy. Will post up pics of the completed set up, I need to order some charinring hardware and crank bolt hardware still.
Am pleased with the results, but man...this kinda thing takes a lotta time (and is why it took me around 2-3 years to finally get around to it)!
Interior photo at macro lens setting:
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z113/jpmz06/Bike/DSCN5123_zps18pucfzs.jpg (http://s191.photobucket.com/user/jpmz06/media/Bike/DSCN5123_zps18pucfzs.jpg.html)
Painted back of cranks arms/spider:
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z113/jpmz06/Bike/DSCN5126_zpssyvvqqmr.jpg (http://s191.photobucket.com/user/jpmz06/media/Bike/DSCN5126_zpssyvvqqmr.jpg.html)
Exterior, and how they'll look in general:
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z113/jpmz06/Bike/DSCN5127_zpspf3wnltr.jpg (http://s191.photobucket.com/user/jpmz06/media/Bike/DSCN5127_zpspf3wnltr.jpg.html)