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

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"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
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