My pet hate is black crank arms. My bike came with them and, surprise surprise, it is rubbing off. Anyone got a quick and painless way of polishing the whole arm ??
Thanks guys

Is it anodized? Oven cleaner and a nylon scourer?

I used a dremel and wire wool when I did mine.

I suppose they are anodised ? Whatever the normal finish is. Tried wire wool but it’s pretty slow going. Didn’t use any liquid apart from water. Will try both those then. Thanks guys

Caustic soda

Work down with wet nd dry down to really fine stuff then autosol it for a bit ..

Wet and dry paper with some water.

It’s a messy job though, it”ll take some time though.

Finish off with a tube of Autosol, and some fine wire wool.

If its anodised oven cleaner won’t work. You need caustic soda. It works very well but is very dangerous. Other than that is wet and dry and elbow grease.

Aren’t most oven cleaners caustic soda?

But black is the best colour. My pet hate is when crank arms come in anything but black.

Oven cleaners are not normally strong enough to remove anodising. I did a lot of experiments when I was considering stripping some rims to get painted. In the end the only thing that would remove it was caustic soda. It’s easy enough just very dangerous if you are not careful. I’m not normally mr health and safety but I was extra cautious messing with this stuff.

Shimano AM45 shoes do the trick on mine. I love the shoes, but they do seem wide compared to others!

Caustic soda, wear thick rubber gloves and don’t leave them in too long. 5 minutes or so should do then give them a rub over with a scourer and all the anodising will come off.

Mr Cycle pink bike cleaner from the poundshop. According to my brother it eats anodised finishes if you leave it on too long.

See my Saint cranks polished here…

http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/11321170/

Caustic soda but BE CAREFUL ! The stuff is leathal !

Rinse then wet/dry them working finer and finer, finish with autosol.

Brilliant response from all. I LOVE THIS FORUM

Shimano? Ride for 5 minutes, it’ll all come off.

(Raceface are clever about this, they have the raised bits which look cool once polished)

Alphabet – Member

But black is the best colour. My pet hate is when crank arms come in anything but black.

Deviant.

Cant link to it.

Replace them with some silver ones and sell the black ones.

Glass bead blast, polish afterwards. Take 10minutes

Get a bag of anodising striper and etch
http://gaterosplating.co.uk/Anodise-Stripper-and-Etch.php
They also have an eBay store..

Get a polishing kit that can be used in a drill, that will take no time at all..

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281553615522

a useful ‘how to’ But basically it requires time, emery paper and a Dremel… Caustic soda? Bollox to that!

Caustic soda works a treat.

…Just don’t drink it or splash it anywhere!

Dump the cranks in the soda & water, leave until the fizzing mostly stops, rinse well then autosol for a shiny finish.

Sorted

Had a got is afternoon on the non drive arm and it’s looking pretty good but just read ‘cjr61’ and realised I made it harder than I needed. Tomorrow is another day……cheers all !

By the way, they are SRAM X1’s not sure if they are powder coated or anodised but the soda trick is working using a scourer. Took about an hour and half. Think I need to make it thicker !!!

Finish off with a tube of Autosol, and some fine wire wool.

I’m fairly sure there’s another brand who make something with a similar name but specially for rubbing off annodized finishes.

Drain cleaner. Ano comes off in minutes. Then metal polish.

Finish off with a tube of Autosol, and some fine wire wool.

I’m fairly sure there’s another brand who make something with a similar name but specially for rubbing off annodized finishes.

scotchbrite (comes in different colours/grades)

https://www.mscdirect.co.uk/CGI/INSRCH?ns=1&oldNtt=&oldNtk=&oldURLVar=&scrNtt=scotch-brite&image.x=0&image.y=0&Ntk=Keyword+Search

Quick ride in Kielder. Gone.