Polishing

[rodriguez]

Why do people have so called show (mirror) polishing done? 

It seems to be an obsession in OSbmx that has lasted for years, it was the same in motorcyles a few years ago when the Street Figher style was in vogue but it has largely died out.

I stripped some gold stuff after following a how to in BMX Action Bike IIRC and polished it with some Brasso to a shine after a week or two it dulled down and that's the way it stayed.

Was show polishing done BITD if it was I can't remember it.

[griff]

I think it's always been a big thing in Cannock
Although there it's used to turn old parts into NOS ones

[Funkyworm]

I think it's always been a big thing in Cannock
Although there it's used to turn old parts into NOS ones

 

[rodriguez]

I think it's always been a big thing in Cannock
Although there it's used to turn old parts into NOS ones

 

That's alchemy   

[griff]

Cannock is a mystical place where magic like that really happens, all to do with an ancient ley line that passes right through the town and grants anyone with a polishing mop the ability to literally 'turn back time'. Cher even wrote a song about it after she was disappointedly gazumped on a three bed semi near Heath Hayes and missed out.

Interestingly, the same ley line continues through all the way to Derbyshire where the same magic powers are freely available
However due to differences in geology the polishing mop needs to be replaced with a can of spray paint

[deeman]

Usually it is a good way of restoring a knackered part without painting or anno...people love shiny things...always have, always will!
I can remember stripping and polishing a stem and a seatclamp bitd but only because they didn't match the bike...but as the OP said, it was only with a bit of brasso or autosol to take the dullness away, they were not polished to a mirror finish! I was too busy throwing it around and slamming it on the ground to be polishing parts!
I think the term 'show polished' has only appeared recently as there were no 'shows' apart from contests bitd! 

[rodriguez]

I agree with you Deeman people like shiney which is the crux of problem.

IMO polishing is not restoration it is customisation, restoring something means bringing it back to or as close to how it once looked, if it ends up looking completely different then it is customised.

Show polished is a bollox made up term made up to legitimise mirror polishing and is NOT restoration end of.

If you have a stem that is has loads of hammer marks the correct way to restore it is to get the dents filled with aluminium then finished to replicate the original finish as close as possible, for example, the casting marks on Pro Necks and Tuf Necks tops.

The wrong way is to file the marks out then polish it to a mirror finish and then call it restored.

[MartyC]

Bitd the late Warren King and I would strip worn ansd scratched parts and polish them to a mirror finish with autosol but we both got bored keeping them super polished too!

[pat-a-lar]

Or just leave them tatty as fcuk


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[rodriguez]

Or just leave them tatty as fcuk


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That's the way it should be left   

Looks cool as fook to me 

You'd have to be insane to take a polish mop that but unfortunately a hell of a lot of people do. 

[Picklez]

IMO polishing is not restoration it is customisation, restoring something means bringing it back to or as close to how it once looked, if it ends up looking completely different then it is customised.

IMHO Rod's right here. I polish a lot of stuff, but only when I'm after a 'chrome' part and can't find it, a good example was some DC's, looked for silver or chrome for ages, couldn't find any that weren't extortionate so ended up stripping painted ones and polishing. I always put trade ad's up before polishing but they never get any responses.

On the other hand I purchased a polished Profile spider that I can't live with so I'm now looking for a local company to re-apply the original brushed finish - that's resto, the rest is alteration.

 

[kalex]

IMO polishing is not restoration it is customisation, restoring something means bringing it back to or as close to how it once looked, if it ends up looking completely different then it is customised.

IMHO Rod's right here. I polish a lot of stuff, but only when I'm after a 'chrome' part and can't find it, a good example was some DC's, looked for silver or chrome for ages, couldn't find any that weren't extortionate so ended up stripping painted ones and polishing. I always put trade ad's up before polishing but they never get any responses.

On the other hand I purchased a polished Profile spider that I can't live with so I'm now looking for a local company to re-apply the original brushed finish - that's resto, the rest is alteration.

 

You can get the the brushed look with a green scouring pad after some work with wet and dry

[Jaymz]

Polishing is a noob error, everyone eventually sees the light

[pat-a-lar]

We've all been there


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[Mikku]

The only polishing I do is with Peek!