Why no polished aluminum frames?

Gooserider said:

When I bought my first quality MTB, I bought a Mongoose Rockadile SX,
which had a polished aluminum frame. The shops were full of shiny
polished frames, both road and MTB. My head tube cracked, due to my
neglect, so I was forced to buy a new frame. NOBODY offers a polished
frame. Is this a matter of the frames being too labor intensive, or
just a matter of fashion? Shame, because I think it's a nice look,
especially when it's freshly washed and polished.

It's probably both. It does cost more to polish a frame than to paint it. But
if the public demanded it, bike makers would find a way to offer it.

Polishing does seem to come and go. I've even seen a few half-painted,
half-polished frames lately.

Matt O.

Matt O'Toole said:

Gooserider said:

When I bought my first quality MTB, I bought a Mongoose Rockadile SX,
which had a polished aluminum frame. The shops were full of shiny
polished frames, both road and MTB. My head tube cracked, due to my
neglect, so I was forced to buy a new frame. NOBODY offers a polished
frame. Is this a matter of the frames being too labor intensive, or
just a matter of fashion? Shame, because I think it's a nice look,
especially when it's freshly washed and polished.

It's probably both. It does cost more to polish a frame than to paint it. But
if the public demanded it, bike makers would find a way to offer it.

Polishing does seem to come and go. I've even seen a few half-painted,
half-polished frames lately.

Matt O.

My Marin Larkspur (2001 editon?) had a nice brushed aluminum frame with
a plastic coat. Looked good. I peeled the decals off just to improve
the look. I liked it. Don't they do that any more?
Bernie

In article <[email hidden]>,

Gooserider said:

When I bought my first quality MTB, I bought a Mongoose Rockadile SX, which
had a polished aluminum frame. The shops were full of shiny polished frames,
both road and MTB. My head tube cracked, due to my neglect, so I was forced
to buy a new frame. NOBODY offers a polished frame. Is this a matter of the
frames being too labor intensive, or just a matter of fashion? Shame,
because I think it's a nice look, especially when it's freshly washed and
polished.

Just a guess on my part, but maybe it's done so
after-sales painting of the frame is an option
left to the buyer, and powdercoat sticks better
to brushed aluminum?

cheers,
Tom

--
-- Powered by FreeBSD
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

"Gooserider" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

NOBODY offers a polished frame.

--------
I'd guess its a combination of labor, exposing every imperfect weld,
and people complained about fingerprints.

Along those lines though, is anyone aware of a shop anywhere that
could strip the paint off a frame, brush it, and anodize it to prevent
oxidation? The paint on my tandem is ok, but seems to chip pretty
easily, exposing a reddish primer. I would just as soon plan to strip
it and leave it bare someday....

sources?

d

dan baker said:

"Gooserider" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

NOBODY offers a polished frame.

--------
I'd guess its a combination of labor, exposing every imperfect weld,
and people complained about fingerprints.

All these things, but mostly labor. It *does* cost a lot to polish a frame.
Most factory polished frames are then clearcoated too, to prevent fingerprints
and oxidation.

Quoted message said:

Along those lines though, is anyone aware of a shop anywhere that
could strip the paint off a frame, brush it, and anodize it to prevent
oxidation? The paint on my tandem is ok, but seems to chip pretty
easily, exposing a reddish primer. I would just as soon plan to strip
it and leave it bare someday....

You could do all these things yourself, except the anodizing. Chemical
strippers (try an aircraft or marine supply store) are the best/fastest way to
remove paint. From there, you could polish it yourself using something like
Simichrome or Met-all, or "brush" it with steel wool.

Some small frame makers would sell you a plain polished frame, and tell you to
use steel wool or metal polish to maintain its appearance. This
"self-maintainable" finish was a selling point, especially in the early days of
mountain biking when bikes were expensive and would get beat up a lot. b Metal
polish has wax/silicone in it to prevent oxidation, and it works pretty well.

I've stripped and polished a couple of frames, and a whole lot of sailboat
parts. It's a lot of work, but once it's done, it's easy to maintain.

Anodizing is cheap in large quantities, but for one-offs it's quite expensive --
perhaps more than a good paint job, and certainly more than powdercoat.

GT sold anodized MTB frames for a long time. Some were clearcoated over the
anodizing, some not. Santa Cruz sells both anodized and polished -- and
polished costs extra.

Matt O.

Aluminum CAN and does oxidize over time, although more slowly than
steel. Typically it will take on a dull look and white powdery oxide
forms on its surface. I suppose if you keep it shiny and
well-polished, the oxide formation will be minimal. However, that
approach is not typical of most bike owners.

(dan baker) said:

"Gooserider" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

NOBODY offers a polished frame.

--------
I'd guess its a combination of labor, exposing every imperfect weld,
and people complained about fingerprints.

Along those lines though, is anyone aware of a shop anywhere that
could strip the paint off a frame, brush it, and anodize it to prevent
oxidation? The paint on my tandem is ok, but seems to chip pretty
easily, exposing a reddish primer. I would just as soon plan to strip
it and leave it bare someday....

sources?

d

That is a pretty big item to anodize, but I'm sure there are some
plating houses that can do it for you. Stripping it might be a task
though.

I wouldn't recommend leaving the aluminum bare. You should clear coat
it.

Michael J. Klein [email hidden]
Dasi Jen, Taoyuan Hsien, Taiwan, ROC
Please replace mousepotato with asiancastings
---------------------------------------------
[email hidden]
[email hidden]
[email hidden]
[email hidden]
[email hidden]
[email hidden]
[email hidden]
[email hidden]
[email hidden]
[email hidden]
[email hidden]
[email hidden]
www.goto-info.com
[email hidden]
[email hidden]
[email hidden]