Crank tinkering - polishing project

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jz4nyc
Posts: 666
Joined: Sat Aug 30, 2008 7:07 am

by jz4nyc

Started out looking like this (not actual picture, but it was an anodized black Shimano spider).

Image

Then stripped the finish with oven cleaner, tons of hand sanding up to 1k grit, then a lot of machine and hand polishing. Painted the back of spider/arms with rattlecan finish and baked in oven for a little bit. The color changed from metallic silver to a light metallic gold, which is growing on me.

For the weight-inclined, it's 789 grams. Not a tank, but reasonable for its intended use.

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by Weenie


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oreoboreo
Posts: 510
Joined: Tue Aug 09, 2011 2:25 pm
Location: Aloha, Oregon/ Poipu, Kauai Hawaii

by oreoboreo

Those are super clean looking, kind of retro. Everything currently seems to be black
Let's finish the ride with a 20% grade.

2011 Scott Addict R1 DA 7900 Matt black
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shimmeD
Posts: 544
Joined: Thu Jun 28, 2012 10:52 pm
Location: eNZed

by shimmeD

great job :thumbup:

I didn't go as far on my Shimano CX, leaving it raw. It doesn't look anywhere as pro as yours but suits me because I like a low Q factor moving my shoes in as close as poss to the cranks so I tend to rub on the crank arms.
Less is more.

sanrensho
Posts: 433
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2011 5:54 pm

by sanrensho

Very very nice, although not a big fan of the gold finish.

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boysa
Posts: 1430
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Location: Too far from my bike.

by boysa

Great work! These look fantastic.
"Deserve's got nothing to do with it." William Munny

jz4nyc
Posts: 666
Joined: Sat Aug 30, 2008 7:07 am

by jz4nyc

i'm not either, but i have zero desire to re-do it. maybe in a few years i'll get back to it.... :lol:

what happened was i painted it "titanium silver" (rustoleum) and it looked terrific. then i had it in the oven just a tad too long and it turned light gold. looks more gold in photo than in person, but it's still noticeable. oh well.

sanrensho wrote:Very very nice, although not a big fan of the gold finish.

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F45
Posts: 1077
Joined: Wed Jun 08, 2011 6:08 am

by F45

Looks good. Did you clear coat to prevent tarnish?

5DII
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Joined: Sat Aug 09, 2014 7:52 pm

by 5DII

Looks badass. If I knew how to do that I probably would do it too.

jz4nyc
Posts: 666
Joined: Sat Aug 30, 2008 7:07 am

by jz4nyc

no, i will polish every once in awhile with simichrome and a soft cloth. much easier. and no finish to scratch.

F45 wrote:Looks good. Did you clear coat to prevent tarnish?

steventran
Posts: 176
Joined: Sat Mar 19, 2011 7:31 pm

by steventran

Wow, that's amazing!


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pdlpsher1
Posts: 4013
Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2012 6:09 pm
Location: CO

by pdlpsher1

It looks very nice. It reminds me of the polished Litespeed titanium frames. That frame was an object to die for in those days...

Image

Marin
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Joined: Wed Jan 22, 2014 11:48 am
Location: Vienna Austria

by Marin

Very nice!

NiFTY
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Joined: Sat May 26, 2012 11:26 pm

by NiFTY

Dude. Awesome.
Evo 4.9kg SL3 6.64kg Slice RS 8.89kg viewtopic.php?f=10&t=110579" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

AJS914
Posts: 5392
Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2014 6:52 pm

by AJS914

How many hours did you spend on the sanding and polishing? I've never been able to get through polishing project.

Looks great!

by Weenie


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jz4nyc
Posts: 666
Joined: Sat Aug 30, 2008 7:07 am

by jz4nyc

Too long.

One of the trickier parts was getting rid of the Shimano logo. I think it's silkscreened with serious industrial perma-something, because it was a bear to remove.

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