THIS I may have to try!!! I have an aluminum-framed Ocean Pacific "roadster" cruiser frame that needs some work. It's currently black, but if its that easy to strip/sand/buff by hand, I may have to give it a whirl!!!
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Thank you Fellas!!
Chromoly will be a little tougher to sand but the 600 grit discs work nice and they work great for wetsanding afterwords since the middle of them still has a lot of grit left. They didn't seem to wear at all with the wet sanding.
Stripping painted aluminum is pretty easy since paint doesn't stick that well to alum. Anodized is another story.
Couple pics outside in the light. I like to put a coat of wax on after polishing for protection. This also gives the aluminum a more natural look..(less chromey).
Chromoly will be a little tougher to sand but the 600 grit discs work nice and they work great for wetsanding afterwords since the middle of them still has a lot of grit left. They didn't seem to wear at all with the wet sanding.
Stripping painted aluminum is pretty easy since paint doesn't stick that well to alum. Anodized is another story.
Couple pics outside in the light. I like to put a coat of wax on after polishing for protection. This also gives the aluminum a more natural look..(less chromey).
Looks fantastic, those of us with a walmart bike or two, myself included, might be doing this in the near future
Not all aluminum is easy to strip—the paint on my 2000 Specialized Allez was brutal. Stripper did almost nothing and I had to start with 220 (wet and by hand). Once the metal started showing, I went up in value to 1500, then I used the same Mother's polish. The good news is that the polish leaves a protective coat that works well to prevent oxidation—this fork is still shiny after almost a year (headtube is protected by 3M film):
Thank you. One if the reasons I wanted to do this is I thought the bike looked a little walmarty with the all black.
That might have been powder coated. Powder coat is a nightmare to sand through. Nice looking bike..
Great work on that frame Chad! Man, it went from looking like a wal-mart bike to looking like some highend BMX frame!! 
Polished aluminum and nickel are such beautiful finishes. There's a nice soft shine that I think looks much better than chrome. Of course, it's also some work!
awesome work polishing this ! it looks expensive now !
Not sure what type of vibe this thing will have at this point. I just hope I can make it cool enough for the derailleur and shifter I've got for it.
Yeah it's got a warmer glow to it...More organic.
Great work on that frame Chad! Man, it went from looking like a wal-mart bike to looking like some highend BMX frame!!
awesome work polishing this ! it looks expensive now !
Thank you fellas! This was an expensive bike actually so I'm glad it looks the part now.
Wow, that frame polished beautifully!
This is going to be a killer bike!!!! really like all the cool components. 
Thank you fellas!
Well I just got done polishing the frame and fork with my Makita Buffer and was going to install the fork in the frame when I noticed a crack at the base of the steerer where it attaches to the fork.
I'm assuming this is no good? It has another tube inside it and the steerer is steel. I don't know if I'd ever feel comfortable riding on this. Looks like I've come to a fork in my road here. Time to look at some forks I guess.
Well I just got done polishing the frame and fork with my Makita Buffer and was going to install the fork in the frame when I noticed a crack at the base of the steerer where it attaches to the fork.
I'm assuming this is no good? It has another tube inside it and the steerer is steel. I don't know if I'd ever feel comfortable riding on this. Looks like I've come to a fork in my road here. Time to look at some forks I guess.
Well my first pick would be carbon fiber with canti bosses but I don't know that there is such a thing in a 1 inch threaded. Thinking maybe a cool vintage mtb fork of some kind. Maybe a suspension fork. Will have to see what's out there. Already browsing. If you know of something cool lemme see it.
Yeah, that crack is a bad sign! That is the reason I don't like aluminium...
Luke.
Luke.
Well I wasn't that bummed about the fork until I saw the one inch threaded fork selection out there. Slim pickin's indeed.
Think I got it figured out though. I ordered this suspension fork. Suspension fork is something I wanted to ad to this but never saw anything I liked for it. I think this will work. Might help balance the mass of those big bars.
Hope it comes with different writing. I've seen a few different versions. I may try to remove some of it.
Looks like v-brake only on this fork but since it has a disc mount I might as well switch the front to disc I have to make it 203mm rotors now to match the back.
Went to that larger size so I could move the caliper back to the chain stay.
These bikes look kinda mean jacked up. Will have the gasser stance like this one. Not sure who's bike this is. It was on the mtb forums. Couldn't find it finished anywhere just this cool mock up.
I don't think mine will be that jacked up. It will be more like this one.
Lots of noodled up SS Panthers out there. I think this will be the first polished 11 speed though.
Hit it with the buffer then some Mothers on a sock shoe shine style, then steel wool again. More Mothers and some more wax. That should be shiny enough.
Think I got it figured out though. I ordered this suspension fork. Suspension fork is something I wanted to ad to this but never saw anything I liked for it. I think this will work. Might help balance the mass of those big bars.
Hope it comes with different writing. I've seen a few different versions. I may try to remove some of it.
Looks like v-brake only on this fork but since it has a disc mount I might as well switch the front to disc I have to make it 203mm rotors now to match the back.
Went to that larger size so I could move the caliper back to the chain stay.
These bikes look kinda mean jacked up. Will have the gasser stance like this one. Not sure who's bike this is. It was on the mtb forums. Couldn't find it finished anywhere just this cool mock up.
I don't think mine will be that jacked up. It will be more like this one.
Lots of noodled up SS Panthers out there. I think this will be the first polished 11 speed though.
Hit it with the buffer then some Mothers on a sock shoe shine style, then steel wool again. More Mothers and some more wax. That should be shiny enough.
Shiny is good!
Luke.
Luke.
When i put the suspension fork on my Bomber, i thought, "I sure hope this will fit in" new part, olde frame and the like.
That fork has taken a lot of the brunt of a lot of shaking fatigue from bouncing down thru some pretty hairy terrain.
Every time i ride it, i thankful it is there. My arms are less jello on the all day ride as a result..
Should look good!
That fork has taken a lot of the brunt of a lot of shaking fatigue from bouncing down thru some pretty hairy terrain.
Every time i ride it, i thankful it is there. My arms are less jello on the all day ride as a result..
Should look good!
That RST fork will fit your more 'retro' style better than most current forks. And the 'Capa' sticker should come off pretty easily. I liked your idea of a carbon fork with canti mounts, Bontrager made the Switchblade, straight legs, carbon back in the day. This was one of my first sus forks in the early '90s....it's on ebay atm, in 1" threadless....
Thank you MC. I've been wanting to try a suspension fork for years. It's not a serious off road fork by any stretch but should soak up some of those cracks in the sidewalk. If it makes me want to ride it that makes it look good to me.
Thank you OJ. Those switchblades are super cool but I think it would take a long time to find a nice set and they go for big money. I love the Manitous too but I've had one of those apart and they can be a real nightmare with the old elastomer. +I've never seen one with a steerer over 5 1/2 inches and I need 7 1/2. 1 inch threaded with a long steerer is rare indeed.
The RST is not a great fork but decent looking and should work well for my sidewalk cruising and occasional curb jumping. Seemed like a great bargain at $75 too.
Now for the next little snag this thing has in store for me. Remember these cool carbon cranks?
They don't fit. Modern road cranks hit the chain stays on a MTB type frame apparently.
Time to start the crank search....I'm actually starting to get tired of the shopping which is usually fun for me.
