Metal polishing

[Superkav]

For those of us who are too lazy, or who just can't get the right result with the fiddly little bits, I've been looking into sourcing the metal polishing services of some of the companies that deal with classic car and motorbike parts in the UK.

I've sent the same email to all of them asking for prices for stripping and polishing pedals, chainrings, levers and calipers, headsets, hubs and rims. It's early days yet but once I've has some positive responses I'll start listing them in this thread.

I'll be sending a piece to each company to gauge price and performance (as long as the quote is reasonable) so I'm hoping this will help us mail down a few good polishers now that we've lost (albeit temporarily) our in house services from CCA.

To give you an idea I'll be using the following items.

A pair of mashed up Hutch pedals
PPP power disc and chainring
NOS MX1000's in pink (Had a quick go at stripping the paint myself o no longer NOS)
A pair of bare metal ACS Stokers
A pair of SR 36h high flange hubs that I stripped myself but couldn't polish properly

A pair of UKAI rims
Tange LP125 headset

I'll edit this with pics so at least we'll have a before shot for the time being.

*Update* Sending both sets of pedals off in the morning.

*Update* 31/01 Posted the Hutch pedals off to A&D.

The pedals came back and they're lovely. If you look at the original pic the one on the right had been really harshly treated by god knows what. The guys at A&D were able to polish them back up to a good standard without removing the Hutch embossing. They're by no means show standard pedals due to the long and productive life they'd had before I got them but here they are now. £20 incl postage both ways is a good price I think.

[sid1972]

sounds like a plan - but don't strip the pink nos mx 1000's 

[Superkav]

1st response from ADWebMetalPolishers

Hopefully we are able to help. We should cope with stripping the paint & anodising ourselves, otherwise we will have to send them away to be chemically stripped. Below is a rough estimate of cost, including the stripping of the paint & anodise ourselves.

The pedals (approx) £5 each - wheels £20 - £25 - hubs £5 - chainrings £10 - brake levers & calipers (approx) £5 per item.

Regards

Travis Noblet

Good prices so far, I'll be choosing a part to send and posting the results soon. Me thinks I'll go with the Hutch pedals

[ED209]

'Travis Noblet'

... is this a wind up   

[Superkav]

I was wondering who'd be the first to comment   but it's definitely not a wind up, or a typo. I did chuckle when I saw it though  
Good prices ..

[russ j]

sounds like a plan - but don't strip the pink nos mx 1000's  

my thoughts as well....been wanting a minty set of pink 1000's for a while now  

i no about the ones on ebay (coffeemilk)  but ballax to paying that price  

[sid1972]

do them yourself - I do...
http://s549.photobucket.com/albums/ii368/sid1972/?action=view&current=Picture012-1.jpg

[HARORIDER]

should have asked me 

[rooski]

Be careful with those Stokers

[animal]

B careful here  In my experience u need 2 find somebody who is very aware of the value of this stuff . Because polishers will just take all the edges off stuff and the original finish and name stamps destroying what u want 2 achieve . Just a word of warning before u end up with parts u could cry over . I talk from experience believe me  I polished a pair of ACS stokers last year with a dremel and it took about 6 hours per pedal 2 get the finish I wanted , even then u could still c all the original cast marks and scratches 

[Superkav]

I should have made it clear that I've targeted polishers who do parts for classic cars and motorbikes. Not just engine blocks but interior parts. Cast aluminium indicator levers, motorcycle foot PGA and gear shifters, brake levers etc.
I've made it very clear that these parts are old, rare and expensive. I've told them about the stamps and detailing that needs to be kept and I'm sending the pedals to Travis on the understanding that he will check them in the flesh and let me know what he thinks he can achieve before any work commences. 

Some of my parts (such as my Ukai rims) have a very feint stamp but I'm taking them to an old boy in a local engravers to see if he can make the stamp clearer before they even go to be polished. If that works out I'm gonna see about gett him to go over a Tuf Neck stamp and see what he can do with that.

I'll update this thread with all my results.

[welsh denny]

i sandblasted a pivotal post and some ad 990's from their black colour. was hoping to try to polish em up. any tips or should i go down the chrome spray route? for a retro rider bike so dont have to be showpony.

[sid1972]

i sandblasted a pivotal post and some ad 990's from their black colour. was hoping to try to polish em up. any tips or should i go down the chrome spray route? for a retro rider bike so dont have to be showpony.

no, no, no, sandblasting is a bitch..... send em to me mate. 

[oldtired]

Great idea    looking forward to seeing the results


send a few bits to rad members see what sort of results you could get at home as a comparison ,   Sid looks pretty keen to do a few bits      i'll do some something too if ya like 

[sid1972]

Bring it on fella.. 

[oldtired]

    had a look through the photo's Sid think you gone a bit wrong with the gimp gear ..........  

[welsh denny]

a polish off is it then?  

no soggy biscuit for 2nd place though.  

i'll post a couple of pics i have of the blasted parts- its a fine grain blaster i had it done with so not real rough.

for some unknown reason i cant paste the pics from my photobucket account. will copy em but rad wont let me paste. bizarre.

[welsh denny]

 2x dia compe ad 990's. 2x odyssey ratchet levers. light grain blasted.



pivotal blasted.

[nosepickben]

Great thread, be nice to get a trustworthy firm on board for that aspect of our dirty habit. I'm polishing a few bits up myslf at the moment, most of it has gone really well (i.e. easy) but i've been getting the face on over some cantilever brake arms. They were a pain to get the paint off, had caustic dip & 24hrs submerged in nitromors. Finally got 99% of it off. I've been searching for some "felt bobs", small ones to get into the nooks and crannies, I live in the most well-known steel & cutlery producing city in the country and can I bollocks find anywhere with some in stock!! Fortunately i've got time on my side.
Anyway, enough waffle from me, looking forward to seeing how things progress.
Thanks for being arsed-enough to research and report. 10 points. 

[oldtired]

i think maplin do or did some mini felts,   dremmel type fitting     dont ask for fuzzy felt though i came out with a alphabet and a bob the builder set       

[sid1972]

no worries on that stuff mate - pm me and i will give you my address... 

[welsh denny]

pm'ed you sid.  just remembered i got an odyssey elementary stem i blasted a few months back too. would that be a good item to polish up and showpiece the finished polish photos due to the awkward nooks and corners on it. i'll leave that up to you but defo interested in getting the other bits polished.

[Superkav]

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