How to Mirror Polish Bike Frame
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.ย. 2024
- Visual story, taking you through the journey you can expect to go through if you choose to polish your aluminum bicycle frame.
www.calbikeandboard.com
californiabikeandsnowboard
californiabikeands nowboard
Very nice work!
One of the coolest bike video's I've seen in a long time. * Starting a 1994 GT Zaskar Urban Machine 4.0 next week. Every decal is brand new and using 2 coats premium gloss clear coat over the polished frame... Last sand will be 2400 grit. You rock... good video.
Done a 96 GT Zaskar a couple of years ago and it looked great, never bothered with the clearcoat, it needs it now;( , just got a merlin frame, gona do the same but clearcoat this time
Good video, man. Keep going with these and try your hand at steel.
Does the bike come with a bike lock or any other necessary accessories
If I sprayed a clear coat on top will I have to polish again
Interesting music
oo shiny and nice
Couldn't finish due to the stupid ass music.
😆
Try watching again with the sound off. Might be be a better experience. Thanks for trying though.
You have no taste. Wasted. Top music. Am straight over to shazam
@@andygarwood6712
😆 😆 😆
Rough welds
I thought the welds looked pretty good.
Evenly spaced beads. Something I struggle with.
Ally is like honey when you weld it so you always get fairly thick beads.
Just done mine, using mini wire brushes for the welds so you don't rub the welds away!
Good video but wow, that music is annoying AF.
The hype cuts were pretty obnoxious too, honestly...
How do you protect the finish. Just with wax? Would clear coating it also work.
Recommend a good clear coat if you don’t want to keep on repolishing.
@@californiabikeandsnowboard1925
That bike looks gold after that effort.
is rustoleum a good claer coat brand? or would a different process be needed instead of canisters
After a series failed repainting project and after watching what you did you inspired me to do the same with my mtb frame, you did an amazing job sir👍
Now with all that heavy paint off, you oughta be able to go real fast. 😄 How much to you think the paint weighed. Nice work, but alot of work.
Holy shit this soundtrack is aweful. Cool build though. Planning on doing this to my beat up paint job.
Well done mate - any work of art always involves a slow, cautious and patient approach. It paid off in your case. Looks great. thanks for posting.
Big John Glad you like it.
Read the disclaimer on the Aircraft Paint Remover. 8t straight up says, "Not for use on aircraft." Lol.
I've used it on many of my bikes when I first buy them, its good stuff. I also use it again after I recover them from the asshat stupid enough to steal my bikes. It happens all the time, too, and they always paint my bike and screw it up. My 2008 Superstar New Deal has been stolen 9 times and I've stripped it 10 times on the bike. I don't think it'll be stolen again, though. I duct taped the last dude to a chair and I painted, "steal my bike again, bitches,..." on this chest and abdomin, and finished it off with "and I'll take your hands"" and it wasn't paint i used, it was painted on in Aircraft Paint Remover and left on his bare chest and back and set him on a busy street corner. I came back...nearly four hours later wipeded off the Ai 8srcraft Paint Remover and was thoroughly impressed with my penmanship in elevated red welp. I loled and started to leave him there until he talked about how I better never see him again and what he was going to do to me when he does seem. He got to his second threat when i cut the duct tape and started at him. He shut up and i back handed him, called him a bitch, and walked off. Never saw him again, so i guess I got lucky just like he ssid
What the fuck did I just read
@@GhostRiderSpiritOfVengeance same😂, "called him a bitch."
Awesome video! Do you find that you need to re-polish the frame, or was it a one time thing?
I’ll need to re-polish.
Good big metal brush saves A TON of time in my experience. More important than good paint remover even
Always get a jet wash on the frame after you apply the paint stripper blasts the sticky messy old paint right off
I don't usually comment on YT videos but.....sir you are a LEGEND
I don't think you can clear coat the polished frame....as my friend mirror polished his car wheels and clear coated...but the clear coat peeled...as the surface was too smooth for paint to key too....awesome build was thinking about doing my bike....but clear coat ...not viable
Primer transparent coat, this not peel.🥹
can you apply a clear coat after the polish? or is the finish too smooth for the clear to stick? How do you prevent oxidisation?
@mtmxbl In my case, I didn’t use clear coat. The polish will dull in time in which I would re-polish to bring back the shine. You can apply a clear coat as some bike frame manufacturers do, but it takes away some of the effect of the mirror polished shine.
i freakin love it and im about to strip my 29r single speed. great video man
ROBinJVILLE how’d your project go?
Just a question any layer u apply to protect the frame from rust
Aluminum won’t rust like
Metal
@@abrahammartinez5628it doesnt rust but it does tarnish, and goes dull without protection, waxing is a good way, im unsure if you can paint such a polished metal
A mechanic friend would always wipe over bare metal bodywork with a bit of oil on a cloth. Wasn't selling anything just worked out the truth with what worked best.
@@abrahammartinez5628 aluminium will start oxidizing in contact with air less than 20 minutes after polishing it to a mirror finish. A few coats of clear lacquer can preserve this finish longer but not indefinitely.
The background music and the bikes are amazing. Great cool video. You've have great taste my friend. Love it all.....Please please post a playlist. Cant find on shazam
Great video. Just one question though, do I have to put on some sort of lacquer or metal varnish after the polishing to prevent oxidation ?? What method did you use??
vinu vinesh you can use a good clear coat spray, but I left mine raw. I will have to eventually re-polish.
Nice job, would have been better if actually showed you doing the work during the sanding process not showing you putting the bike back together
That looks fantastic.Great video. You have inspired me to get to work on. an old Diamond back in the shed and do a 1980s project
I'm just curious, how do you protect the finish? Do you spray some clear coat or apply some bike skins? Hope you could respond.
Very clean I’m going to do that to my Cannondale 900 V
Bloody hell that must be the best polished frame out there
it looks nice , but when you move it , the scratches are noticeable, how do you get a true mirror finish ?
I liked it more before... Just kidding. Nice work man! And nice tunes
Fantastic build! I recently picked up an Aluminum frame and I'm trying to figure out what direction I'd like to go with the finish. How many hours of sanding and polishing was involved in the frame?
I didn’t track the time I took since I worked on it on my Time off throughout a month. It did take a lot of time. Once you start you got to commit.
Hi, the build was amazing. Would like to know more about building the rims?
wtf soundtrack ? :D pls :D
Dafné_ Soundtrack, love it or hate it?
Is still shiny after all this time ?
Great tunes on this video.
Glad you think so!
@@californiabikeandsnowboard1925 any links to them as they had me hip hopping all the way through the video and dusting off my Cypress Hill CDs.
Doing this to my lowrider
yk how to do the gold chrome?
How often do you find yourself re-polishing to keep up that shine?
Hi Joseph. Since I recently completed this project in the summer of 2018 and have kept the bike indoors, I have not needed to re-polish yet. I would imagine that you’d re-polish as you see fit when you find the shine dulling.
@@californiabikeandsnowboard1925 Nice. in retrospect, would you have considered using a drill with a 3M pad attachment to remove the old paint? I'm going to experiment with this very soon. I will use 2000grit paper after using the drill.
Joseph Fasulo you could, but I wanted to do it in the fastest possible way. Sanding with a drill will be difficult in certain angles between the frame tubes. Plus you’d have to get through 3 layers of paint to get to bare metal. Clear coat, paint, then primer.
How many times do you sand each grit with once the entire frame?
Not the answer you’re expecting, but I’d say as many times as needed to get the consistency smoothness you desire with the specific grit your working with before moving on to the next finer grit.
Great music, great video! Thank you!
Fantastic work!
I’m in the midst of doing one myself - a gravel frame. However, mine will have a variation with part paint, part polish. I also plan to apply paint lettering with vinyl masks under the painted front. Not branding, just my own GFX.
I also have one of those mirror finish bikes you mention early in the video - a 1994 Cannondale R900. Fantastic road bike it has been. Still ride it. Impeccable Ultegra tricolor components work same as 30 years ago.
The one thing that bothers me on the current frame is the typical “ugly” welds on May Alu frames that are not smooth like Cannondale used to do with their double welds. Because of this, I’m considering cheating and cleaning up the welds with plastic metal (Bondo) and shooting the entire bike. The rear would still have the polished look if I shot silver but was considering a variation and making it look like Titanium with its typical “smoky” darker hue. Front triangle (almost), carbon fork and seatpost would get the paint treatment.
But… I’m still stripping and sanding. It’s a good workout! :-)
Aaah these bars and breaks
Did the frame last ? With having no paint on it
Can i apply clear spray paint to restore shine?
Great sounds to go with the build.
What are the products and tool that you used?
Sir did you put a top coat paint or not
For complete contrast, I would polish the steering wheel and cap on the bridge. The bracket itself left black as it is.
im lucky to find an old mongoose alta sx bike with polished fininsh. i think it has a clear coat that makes the shine like permanent. only got it for $75
Brilliant video. Thanks for sharing.
How does this hold up to corrosion? Do you not need clear coat?
I can imagine that in certain conditions, corrosion can start to take affect and you’ll see some dulling in the shine. I do recommend a nice clear coat to protect and seal unless You don’t mind re-polishing.
How did you sand it? - By hand? With a electrical tool? What tool to use to get in the corners?
Asger Rosendal I sanded all that I can by hand. In the tight spots and especially on the welded spots, I used a rotary tool (dremel) with an abrasive polishing/buffing wheel.
@@californiabikeandsnowboard1925 This takes too much effort and time. Cheers to you Bro💯
Did you apply a clear coat after the polish procedure?
Giuseppe Cimadoro, I did not apply clear coat after polishing. I do recommend it if you’re able to.
@@californiabikeandsnowboard1925 ok thanks mate, because I was wondering how long would that beauty last without some kind of protection layer on top. Probably it should be polished again every so often? What's your experience in time with that frame?
Giuseppe Cimadoro been stored in a dry and cool environment. Still looks good. Just a bit dusty now. Lol.
Ideally, you'd apply the clear coat before the polish. You'd also have to sand no higher than 800 grit for the clear to hold on to.
that's some sick looking shit you got there but how do you protect it from the rust?
The good thing about aluminum frames is that they don’t rust like steel. Only thing you’ll see is that the shine will dull in time in which you would need to repolish.
silicon lubricant will do it for steel
Thanks CBS Amazing
I like it however the one thing bugging me is that ugly green hanger if you had put a red anodized one it would match better but cool build anyway
Asome work, i think you can paint with a transparent primer for protect from the white rust on aluminium.
could i do that with my columbus steel dropouts . currently black . wheel connection aready look mirror like. do you need to lacquer it after?
Flap wheel strip disc on a grinder to remove the bulk of paint. Chemical stripper for corners joins welds ect. Felt disc or ball to finish polish
Nice👍
Lovely bike
You can coat it with something like Evabrite to stop having to repolish it constantly, great job!
It came out great. Would clear coating the bike make any difference?
So you don’t clear code it
I didn’t clear coat it, but you can if you want.
how many pcs of sandpaper per grit do you consume?
Outstanding job!!
How can I keep it from rusting after polishing
Aluminum doesn't rust, genius.
@@skynetlabs it oxidizes super fast just in air, or with hand prints, a bit of moisture etc. It turns sort of white/ opaque actually quite fast. So yes, you DO need to protect it somehow. Methods include clear coat, some people wax it, or in my case I have another coating I am experimenting with... secret for now.
@@mjhoover now can you tell us the secret?
Great video! I'm about to do this on an old Cannondale Killer V frame. I'm abit worried about the welds though as don¨t have a dremel. Will a steel/copper brush do the same thing to remove the old paint? And will a clear coat after polishing stop the frame from losing it's shine. I live in Norway where it rains alot and am planning to use the bike when i¨m finished, not hide it away in my garage :-)
I know this is not what you asked, but I bought a cheap ass off-brand dremel for £26 and it's fantastic. Would recommend that as it will be really useful sanding an polishing in there too. That said, before I got it, I used an ordinary steel scourer to get paint out the joints (I had lugs not welds) and that did the job (slowly).
What a nice bike. Congratulations for all that hard work.
cool;)
How do you maintain the frame clean? Do you continue using the aluminum polish? How often?
Love the build! I want to try doing my own.
The shine will dull in time. Re polish as needed and to your liking. Best wishes on your project.
Cool. I am about to do this on a 2010 Giant Defy. Quick question. What did you use to strip the forks? Or did you just get an new carbon fork?
Michael Albany I got a new carbon fork.
So is polishing it a one time thing or will you have to repeat the process after washing the bike? I am planning on doing this to an old mountain bike that I am rebuilding.
You will need to re-polish once the shine dulls.
Nice! I'm doing this to my MTB 🤘
Let me know how it goes man. I'd like to do the same
@@J-bt5jw it went pretty well I think! I've got a video on my channel if you're interested 😊
@@thesupercrashbrothers8459 haha it looks sick !
@@J-bt5jw thanks 😁
Amazing build. Any rust stains over the time?
The frame is made of aluminum, so you don’t have to worry about rust.
Did you use some kind of laquer or wax to keep the frame from oxidizing? Nice work, I'm doing one currently as well and would appreciate the input :)
Ric Hard I did not use anything else to protect the frame.
@@californiabikeandsnowboard1925 Thanks a lot, so no oxidazation occured on your frame? Perhaps the Polish you used has some conserving properties?
Can I use metal polish on aluminum frame?
Fantastic!!!!!
Gheorghe Falcaru hey thanks!
Do you guys have se bikes
Yes, we do sell SE bikes.
Hey dude, Nice video, thanks! After polishing to your finishing shine, would manufacturers or sponsors transfers/logos go back on with all that polish? Good to note that a clear coat would be ok. I live in Scotland where its always cold and raining! Cheers, mark
You’ll first need to find replacement logo/graphic decals that you want to place on the frame since the originals were destroyed with the painting stripping process. Then you can seal in the new logos with a good clear coating.
@@californiabikeandsnowboard1925 Ah cool, thanks for replying. ok sound, so the transfers will stick. As i say, id need to clear coat even though itll cost a few grams. Brilliant Sir, thanks.
Is this possible on every frame? I would like to do it on my cowboy 4 (ebike)
You frame would need to be made of aluminum.
I have a ti frame. I'm pretty sure you can mirror polish titanium. So, does not have to be aluminum. Great job, anyways. Looks nice.
Can I spray clear coat on top of my polished mirror finish frame sir?
Yes you can.
good work man
Thanks man! Thanks for watching.
Hi, I have a question, after I achieved the mirror polish on the frame can I put sticker in there and put clear coat on in? that would work?
Yes, that should work.
@@californiabikeandsnowboard1925How a shiny bike. Great. Maybe we should pollish again with Mothers product àfter a month or several month, right? if I apply clearcoat paint in full frame, can U sure the durability of shiny and mirror polish get in a long time?
Did you just do a dry sanding or wet sanding
no clear coat? you'll be polishing it a lot
It will tarnish the chrome if you clear coat
Seen a grown man cry after doing it
Would 2k clear lacquer do the job?
@@smokemeakipper1076 I’ve just done this to my mtb. I had it on pretty good authority that 2k wouldn’t go well. I was in my friends paint shop and we spoke to the paint rep on the phone together. He was like “nope, don’t do it”.
@@mattjns Yeah, my issue is that the surface is so polished and not 'keyed' enough for the paint to stick to and hence peal off in time. How did it work out for you? Plus you usually apply the lacquer 30 min after last coat of basecoat with 2k.
@@smokemeakipper1076 Yeah and it’s also that the primer really bites into the surface. That’s not what top coats do.
I have a metal work friend also and we enquired about clear powder coating it, but they couldn’t really guarantee that either. The last thing I wanted is to be $500bucks down and back to hand polishing it again when the clear failed. 😂
Is this kind of finish water resistant?
Does this work for chromoly bike frames?
You can polish chromoly, but it probably won’t come out as good. You won’t be able to get a mirror shine. I don’t recommend because of potential rusting.
Yes, it does work on chromoly. I have a few 30+ year old bmx bikes that look like a mirror. Polishing aluminum to a chrome finish looks awesome initially, but without sealing the aluminium immediately after polishing, it will begin to dull back to a hazy grey again. Mothers is ok, but I have found better at a car show years ago, and have been using it ever since.
"Master Fornula" metal gloss and sealer.
2005 Baymer Ave. Unit Q
Fullerton, CA 92833
(714) 238-1129
www.masterformulapolish.com
This stuff is awesome!
Far less elbow grease needed, and brings metals to a shine quickly!
Billy Cousins, Thanks for the info and input. Good to know.
Actually steel can be polished but it takes more steps since steel is much harder. It would require sanding with progressivly finer sandpaper and compounding before polish. Cromoly steel will still rust but somewhat slower than regular steel because it contains some chromium.
James Keaton if I sand blasted my chromoly fork should I still sand it before polishing?
What is the chainline of your triple chainring sir? #9:33
Sorry, I absolutely have no idea.
@@californiabikeandsnowboard1925 if fine my friend🥰❤️
Simply Beautiful!!!
after you buff the frame did you put a clear coat paint?
No, I did not put a clear coat on.
That is a mission I know! MO
after polish did u apply clear coat ?
No, I didn’t apply clear coat. I intend to re-polish the frame periodically.
Why didn’t you polish the forks brah?
The fork was carbon.
Hi been watching your video about making your bike chrome I got a giant fx2 frame I won't to make chrome just wondering how do you protect your chrome from the weather do I spay it with clear coat varnish?
Mimo 87 I didn’t do anything to protect the frame, but you can spray with a good clear coat.
@@californiabikeandsnowboard1925 Ok thanks
California Bike and Snowboard CBS but do you spray it after or before polishing the frame?
Francisco Muñoz Balaresque after polishing.
If sand blasted my frame do I still need to sand it?
Yes, you'll still have to follow the sanding process dropping down from rough to fine papers
Lovely ❤