I’ve had mixed opinions on this one. I stripped the paint off an old aluminium frame to be used as a cheap commuter/play bike.

I’m just wondering what would be easiest to maintain, a brushed finish, or polished finish?

This is how it currently looks:

Images don’t want to work so heres a direct link:

Wire wool finish 1
Wire wool finish 2

Polished needs constant polishing to stay shiny, which is fine for the family silver but rubbish for an off road bike.
I’ve just been looking at pictures of my new (to me) motorbike taken a couple of months ago with it’s highly polished frame, now it’s just got an aluminium frame despite barely being used.

In that case i won’t bother with the polish. I don’t mind going over it every 6 months or so with wire wool though.

brushed

If you want polished just get a coat of lacquar or 2 over top ..makes it liveable

I’m gonna stick with a brushed finish for now and see how it lasts. If it starts to dull too fast I’ll give the polish a try.