[Closed] Renthal Stem - stripping the anodising

Shouldn't be any different to any other anodising, so anything with caustic soda in it.

Be careful, they are made to tight tolerances...

I really wouldn’t. The Duo I had creaked like a mofo. If yours fits well then I wouldn’t do anything to risk it becoming a creaking annoyance!

Only creaks through dirt ingress. I take the top off every 6 months and wipe down and light lube and it's silent

I wouldn't advise putting caustic soda on a safety-critical aluminium part

Also silver parts are usually clear anodised to keep them looking good without this they will oxidise and end up looking crap

I *almost* did this a couple of years back, but I decided the niggling doubt wasn't worth it.

Also silver parts are usually clear anodised to keep them looking good without this they will oxidise and end up looking crap

I know this is true in theory, but I have done a few things in the past that I've left bare and they are fine years later, a quick buff with a bit of polish keeps them looking nice.

“Only creaks through dirt ingress. I take the top off every 6 months and wipe down and light lube and it’s silent”

Yes but mine creaked whatever I did with it. I think this design requires really tight tolerances between the stem and bars. Clearly your setup currently meets those tolerances but mine didn’t. Strip the anodising and you risk loosening the tolerances and it creaking whether it’s dirty or clean.

Be careful using caustic soda as this will eat the alloy if left on for too long, strong fumes, don't get it on your hands, wash everything thoroughly afterwards, keep away from kids and animals!

In retro bmx world its used to melt broken alloy seat posts from steel frames as well as removing anno

A better option is to use Oven Pride oven cleaner (gel in a bottle)

This has been used extensively in the retro bmx world for removing anodising on very expensive parts

It will strip the anno off in a few mins but wont eat in to the alloy, brush on, wait a min or two then just wipe away with a cloth, reapply if needed

More info here

http://www.radbmx.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=81132.0

If your worried about the stem's clamp areas then just don't strip those parts that have contact with the bars and steer tube

Used oven cleaner in the past on lots of parts, to go back to silver. They all polish up fine and stay looking silver if not polished.

I thought that anodised coating is literally microns thick, polishing would take off more material.

Plus the Rental stem has 4 very widely supported bolts to support the bars so would think that risk would be minimal

I have found that there is very minimal creaking esp. with aluminium bars.

I did look for the contact details for Steve the Anodiser who used to be on here, to anodise it all black. But that would be exactly the same process. The old anodising would still have to me removed before new added.

Maybe Autosol Metal Polish might work better and be more gentle on the metal

<div class="bbp-reply-author">chiefgrooveguru
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Yes but mine creaked whatever I did with it. I think this design requires really tight tolerances between the stem and bars.

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Mine creaked too - emailed Renthal about it, they had me stick the calipers on it, and when I sent them the measurements, they replaced it.

Anodising is a surface modification of thickness measured in microns, not a coating.

Using an 'oven cleaner' is only removing the coloured dye.