Full Version: Who wants to learn to polish?
ptrhahn... If you find any good ones locally, keep a fellow northern Virginian in the loop!
RL:
I'd heard from guys in my car club that Metro Plating in Kensington was good... at least for polishing... but a pretty knowledgeable member here (I'll leave name off in case he's rather not be identified) emailed me to let me know that their chrome plating is substandard.
Said member passed along these folks as being good platers, but they don't polish...
http://www.paulschrome.com/
I'd heard from guys in my car club that Metro Plating in Kensington was good... at least for polishing... but a pretty knowledgeable member here (I'll leave name off in case he's rather not be identified) emailed me to let me know that their chrome plating is substandard.
Said member passed along these folks as being good platers, but they don't polish...
http://www.paulschrome.com/
I think you've been talking to the same person I have with respect to metro. He also referred me to Paul's. I called and they are very expensive. What is your car club?
I got to open a Christmas present early today...
Actually my uncle had it sent unwrapped directly from the mail order store he bought it from. I opened the box and there it was... a new cordless dremel with the pistol grip! I think I'll start cutting Q-tips in half later.
[ December 23, 2006, 09:09 PM: Message edited by: RL Paulie ]
I got to open a Christmas present early today...
Actually my uncle had it sent unwrapped directly from the mail order store he bought it from. I opened the box and there it was... a new cordless dremel with the pistol grip! I think I'll start cutting Q-tips in half later.
[ December 23, 2006, 09:09 PM: Message edited by: RL Paulie ]
Sorry if this has already been asked. Can you use the Met-all alumnium polish on other metals or do you have to buy their all purpose polish for chrome and other metals.....???
Thanks
Rick
Thanks
Rick
Ted...
Awesome work.... I am amazed...!
-Ed
Awesome work.... I am amazed...!
-Ed
I use the Met-all "for stainless and aluminum".
That is how it is labled on the can. The same stuff works great on chrome too...
That is how it is labled on the can. The same stuff works great on chrome too...
I use the Met-all "for stainless and aluminum". 
That is how it is labled on the can. The same stuff works great on chrome too...
That is how it is labled on the can. The same stuff works great on chrome too...
(Sidenote)
Am I the only one who finds it funny that there is a picture of a commercial airliner on the can?
Wouldn't you need 1,000,000 16 oz cans to polish an airliner fuselage?
Since my degree is in advertising those things stand out to me. Sorry to digress.
(Sidenote End)
Am I the only one who finds it funny that there is a picture of a commercial airliner on the can?
Wouldn't you need 1,000,000 16 oz cans to polish an airliner fuselage?
Since my degree is in advertising those things stand out to me. Sorry to digress.
(Sidenote End)
I heard Ted can polish a 747 with 3/4 of one can, a mouse sander, and a 500 ft extension cord.
lol...
Well, truth be known, there is a 45 pound can for $279 for those of you who want to get serious about polishing....
MET-ALL® Aluminum Polish (45 Lb. Can) $278.50
Painted or unpainted, MET-ALL®'s Aluminum & Stainless Steel Polish keeps all your aluminum shining bright. Special protection agents remove and prevent oxidation on all aluminum and stainless steel surfaces. This non-abrasive, environmentally ... Effective in removing accumulated surface dirt and stains from anodized aluminum. Great for cars, trucks, boats, RVs, motorcycles, trailers ...
MET-ALL® Aluminum Polish (16 Oz. Can) $5.95
Painted or unpainted, MET-ALL®'s Aluminum & Stainless Steel Polish keeps all ........
[ December 31, 2006, 03:46 PM: Message edited by: Ted Carl ]
Well, truth be known, there is a 45 pound can for $279 for those of you who want to get serious about polishing....
MET-ALL® Aluminum Polish (45 Lb. Can) $278.50
Painted or unpainted, MET-ALL®'s Aluminum & Stainless Steel Polish keeps all your aluminum shining bright. Special protection agents remove and prevent oxidation on all aluminum and stainless steel surfaces. This non-abrasive, environmentally ... Effective in removing accumulated surface dirt and stains from anodized aluminum. Great for cars, trucks, boats, RVs, motorcycles, trailers ...
MET-ALL® Aluminum Polish (16 Oz. Can) $5.95
Painted or unpainted, MET-ALL®'s Aluminum & Stainless Steel Polish keeps all ........
[ December 31, 2006, 03:46 PM: Message edited by: Ted Carl ]
just ordered a box of 50 of the secret pads from hughes, so if anyone needs some ,lmk. don't think i'll need all of them ,lol.
Thanks Rick, that is very cool of you!
You heard him! we have an easier source!
OK, Anybody want to move on?
I was contacted by a member about doing a stem for him. Usually I say no before it gets anywhere. But I was feeling like it would be a challenge, and it was a worthy part, so I said I'd give it a whirl under 2 conditions. First, be prepared for sticker shock, and second, I am busy, so it may take a while. The un-named "Customer" hasn't even seen it yet, as it is boxed up on my shipping desk waiting for Monday to go out.
Now, I am not going to do this in one shot, because there is a lot of things to cover, and a lot of photos needed. I have all the photos, but I need to do this over a week or 2.
Here was the original photo I received of it.
Original condition.
The first step is to evaluate what you have to work with very closely. You can change your mind and not do it at this point, or you can press ahead. Making a close evaluation before you start gives you a sense of what you can expect when you are done. At this phase of the project, I almost bailed out of this one. This was going to be a tough project for a number of reasons.
The quill bolt area suffered from corrosion, and scratches, and a few hammer marks. I was going to have to remove a fair amount of material from this area. To complicate things further, there is a counter bore for the quill bolt.
Assessment: Can I get this ding out, and maintain the original lines? ....I think so.
Quill bolt area
Damage to the cap. Again, another very complicated issue here. First there is a ding in a radius. That means that to remove the ding you need to blend, and basically work the whole radius across the good areas as well. Worse yet, the walls are very thin around the cap bolts. It is also a compound radius, as it goes down and around both ways.
Corrosion on the cap was clearly visible as white patches, that appeared to go deeper than the logo.
Assessment: Can I get this ding out, and maintain the original lines, AND keep the logo in tact, while maintaining an undistorted reflection? ....I think so. ...Maybe.
Cap damage.
The bottom scared me. The threads were broken through the cutout. The cutout itself had lots of damage and corrosion. And the whole shape of the bottom was tapered and radiused all over the place.
Bottom issues.
You heard him! we have an easier source!
OK, Anybody want to move on?
I was contacted by a member about doing a stem for him. Usually I say no before it gets anywhere. But I was feeling like it would be a challenge, and it was a worthy part, so I said I'd give it a whirl under 2 conditions. First, be prepared for sticker shock, and second, I am busy, so it may take a while. The un-named "Customer" hasn't even seen it yet, as it is boxed up on my shipping desk waiting for Monday to go out.
Now, I am not going to do this in one shot, because there is a lot of things to cover, and a lot of photos needed. I have all the photos, but I need to do this over a week or 2.
Here was the original photo I received of it.
Original condition.
The first step is to evaluate what you have to work with very closely. You can change your mind and not do it at this point, or you can press ahead. Making a close evaluation before you start gives you a sense of what you can expect when you are done. At this phase of the project, I almost bailed out of this one. This was going to be a tough project for a number of reasons.
The quill bolt area suffered from corrosion, and scratches, and a few hammer marks. I was going to have to remove a fair amount of material from this area. To complicate things further, there is a counter bore for the quill bolt.
Assessment: Can I get this ding out, and maintain the original lines? ....I think so.
Quill bolt area
Damage to the cap. Again, another very complicated issue here. First there is a ding in a radius. That means that to remove the ding you need to blend, and basically work the whole radius across the good areas as well. Worse yet, the walls are very thin around the cap bolts. It is also a compound radius, as it goes down and around both ways.
Corrosion on the cap was clearly visible as white patches, that appeared to go deeper than the logo.
Assessment: Can I get this ding out, and maintain the original lines, AND keep the logo in tact, while maintaining an undistorted reflection? ....I think so. ...Maybe.
Cap damage.
The bottom scared me. The threads were broken through the cutout. The cutout itself had lots of damage and corrosion. And the whole shape of the bottom was tapered and radiused all over the place.
Bottom issues.
Same on the top side of the bottom.
Dinger in the bottom front corner.
The rear of the stem had some deep scratches, and a few good dings. Those would be work, but all in all the least of my worries.
Dinger in the rear.
Before I get into how I did this stem, I will say that it did not come out perfect. But during my assessment of it , I knew that it wouldn't be flawless, as there was just too many issues to work with.
The parameters were; that I needed the logo to be perfect as it could be, and the radiuses needed to look straight, and all the original lines needed to be maintained. Therefore there would be compromises that needed to happen.
I must say, that I went back a few steps, more than once, and I tried to get it better, and better, in some areas, yet, the corrosion was too deep for perfection.
At any rate, this is how it came out. Not perfect, but I am hoping he will be happy with it, and I hope it makes it to the Rock.
Photographing reflections is always tricky, as the camera does not know where to focus, and so I like to add an image in the reflection to help see what is really there. The reflection should look straight and clean. But that is the biggest challenge...
Top completed.
Bottom Completed.
I will move ahead as I find time here and there. I was hoping to do something a little less complicated, but I can always go backwards if you want me to.
If you want to get your fingers really dirty, now's your chance.
The step by step on this very stem will follow as I can get to it.
Dinger in the bottom front corner.
The rear of the stem had some deep scratches, and a few good dings. Those would be work, but all in all the least of my worries.
Dinger in the rear.
Before I get into how I did this stem, I will say that it did not come out perfect. But during my assessment of it , I knew that it wouldn't be flawless, as there was just too many issues to work with.
The parameters were; that I needed the logo to be perfect as it could be, and the radiuses needed to look straight, and all the original lines needed to be maintained. Therefore there would be compromises that needed to happen.
I must say, that I went back a few steps, more than once, and I tried to get it better, and better, in some areas, yet, the corrosion was too deep for perfection.
At any rate, this is how it came out. Not perfect, but I am hoping he will be happy with it, and I hope it makes it to the Rock.
Photographing reflections is always tricky, as the camera does not know where to focus, and so I like to add an image in the reflection to help see what is really there. The reflection should look straight and clean. But that is the biggest challenge...
Top completed.
Bottom Completed.
I will move ahead as I find time here and there. I was hoping to do something a little less complicated, but I can always go backwards if you want me to.
If you want to get your fingers really dirty, now's your chance.
The step by step on this very stem will follow as I can get to it.
A couple more for good measure...
Bed time....
[ January 21, 2007, 05:03 AM: Message edited by: Ted Carl ]
Bed time....
[ January 21, 2007, 05:03 AM: Message edited by: Ted Carl ]
just one word - WOW
ted----------
just wanted to tell ya that this is one hell of a thread.
i dont think i have seen a topic with such information in it. the time and detail you spend with your work, the photos, and the commentary is absolutely amazing.
you seriously get my respect for your hard work and dedication to helping others.
thanks
tone
just wanted to tell ya that this is one hell of a thread.
i dont think i have seen a topic with such information in it. the time and detail you spend with your work, the photos, and the commentary is absolutely amazing.
you seriously get my respect for your hard work and dedication to helping others.
thanks
tone
Thanks guys!
OK, How about we start from the beginning?
I/we have looked it over, and decided to make a go of it.
Keep in mind that my way is NOT the only way of doing things. There are lots of substitutes that can be inserted along the way. But substitute carefully, and try not to miss the point or things can go awry quickly.
The biggest thing with this stem for me was that it DOES NOT belong to me. I found myself saying "If this was mine, I would....".... You will see what I mean shortly.
If this was MY stem, the first thing I would have done is remove the quill. However, I tried to carefully remove it with an 11 ton hand press, and it wanted nothing to do with coming out so easy as that. I probably would have heated the aluminum, and used a hydraulic press on it "If it were mine". The fact that I had the quill in my way throughout the project , influenced me to do a lot of things in a manner I would have preferred not to do them.
That said.....
Step one: Remove the rust on the quill. See Oxalic Acid thread.
Step 2: Remove the clear anodizing. A brief recap on that.
Lye, or caustic soda, and water, removes anodizing. Be careful, the fumes, the alkalinity, and lots more are dangerous here.
You don't need very much lye in the water to get the job done quickly, and it doesn't take much to burn your fingers, mix it a little bit at a time, you can always add more, but if it's too strong, it's too late to turn back. Just lick your finger and put it into a container of pure lye crystals, and you will be screaming before you can pull your finger out! That's no joke.
Again, "If it were mine", I would have had the quill removed, and I would have put the lye mixture in my tumbler, and removed it that way. Since the quill was in place, and the steel quill doesn't play nice in the lye bath, I had to do one end, and then the other.
To know if it is anodized clear, just put some polish on there, and see if it polishes or not. If not, it is anodized clear.
Here is how I did it.
I mixed up a small tupperware cup of lye, and submerged it, only up to the quill.
Then I waited and watched. The more it "Boils, or Froths" the more you know it is getting to the bare aluminum.
Time's up.
The part will look like this, or maybe blacker. The black is the alloying agents in the aluminum reacting to the lye. This is called "Smut" (for real). There is not much on this stem, which gives me some insight on what material it is, but that is not important here. If it's black, that's a good sign that the anno is gone.
What is notable here is that the corroded pits have become painfully apparent after the bath. I have my work cut out for me.
How do we know the anno is really, really gone?
Just polish a smidge of it. Yep, it's gone.
OK, How about we start from the beginning?
I/we have looked it over, and decided to make a go of it.
Keep in mind that my way is NOT the only way of doing things. There are lots of substitutes that can be inserted along the way. But substitute carefully, and try not to miss the point or things can go awry quickly.
The biggest thing with this stem for me was that it DOES NOT belong to me. I found myself saying "If this was mine, I would....".... You will see what I mean shortly.
If this was MY stem, the first thing I would have done is remove the quill. However, I tried to carefully remove it with an 11 ton hand press, and it wanted nothing to do with coming out so easy as that. I probably would have heated the aluminum, and used a hydraulic press on it "If it were mine". The fact that I had the quill in my way throughout the project , influenced me to do a lot of things in a manner I would have preferred not to do them.
That said.....
Step one: Remove the rust on the quill. See Oxalic Acid thread.
Step 2: Remove the clear anodizing. A brief recap on that.
Lye, or caustic soda, and water, removes anodizing. Be careful, the fumes, the alkalinity, and lots more are dangerous here.
You don't need very much lye in the water to get the job done quickly, and it doesn't take much to burn your fingers, mix it a little bit at a time, you can always add more, but if it's too strong, it's too late to turn back. Just lick your finger and put it into a container of pure lye crystals, and you will be screaming before you can pull your finger out! That's no joke.
Again, "If it were mine", I would have had the quill removed, and I would have put the lye mixture in my tumbler, and removed it that way. Since the quill was in place, and the steel quill doesn't play nice in the lye bath, I had to do one end, and then the other.
To know if it is anodized clear, just put some polish on there, and see if it polishes or not. If not, it is anodized clear.
Here is how I did it.
I mixed up a small tupperware cup of lye, and submerged it, only up to the quill.
Then I waited and watched. The more it "Boils, or Froths" the more you know it is getting to the bare aluminum.
Time's up.
The part will look like this, or maybe blacker. The black is the alloying agents in the aluminum reacting to the lye. This is called "Smut" (for real). There is not much on this stem, which gives me some insight on what material it is, but that is not important here. If it's black, that's a good sign that the anno is gone.
What is notable here is that the corroded pits have become painfully apparent after the bath. I have my work cut out for me.
How do we know the anno is really, really gone?
Just polish a smidge of it. Yep, it's gone.
Now the anno is gone, let me give you some more tool ideas.
At this point, you could take it to a buffing wheel, and buff it, and buff it, and buff it, and eventually it would be shiny and smooth. But it would look about as smooth and elegant as a puffer fish in a litter box.
So, sandpaper for the Mouse sander. Here is the catch. They don't make the stuff in fine enough grits for our purpose, for the mouse sander. So......we make our own.
I always buy the good stuff. Genuine 3M (Minnesota Mining, and Manufacturing, yes I'm a Minnesotan!) sandpaper for the mouse. It lasts longer, and doesn't have the diamond cutout on the tip.
That way when a sheet of 240, or 280 is used up, you can use this glue to glue on some 320 grit to one sheet, 400 to another, and 600 to another and trim around the edges. Label them on the back with a sharpie, as you will forget which is which once it is used a bit. The glue shown is the stuff body shops use for gluing on sandpaper too, cuz it peels off for a few days to change paper frequently.
Just smear on some glue, sick on your new paper,and open and close it like a mouth, to dry it quicker, and set it in front of a fan for a while. You want it to be dry, or the stuff you sand off will stick to the paper.......no good!
Also, a tool called a "Brite Boy" is a good one to own. (Lots of them if possible). They are also called rubberized abrasives. They are diamond, and silicon, and aluminum oxide filled rubber, They work great on the dremel. Dont spin them so fast that they fly off ,and rupture your dog's spleen or something like that.
Here is the tool I made from a piece of steel that I pulled out of the scrap bin. I used this to sand the flat on the stem around the quill. (If it were mine......lol)
I just glued some sandpaper to the end, and slid it over the quill and went to town.
Lastly, Go ahead and take apart one of your old BMX trophies, in the name of creating a new one. You didn't need it anymore anyway. Unless you are Reilley1, and it is your only 9th place trophy you have! (Rick's such a good sport, ain't he!?) In that case, find a substitute here.
The Marble bases from the trophies is very flat, and very useful for sanding, and a lot of other things too, for that matter! Find a nice big hunk of marble, and wrap a whole sheet of sandpaper around it, and you are set for the next phase.
If it wasn't so heavy, I'd ship all who wanted some as much as they needed, for free. lol....
Why marble? Good question. It's flat flat flat, and very hard. If you use anything soft, like a sanding block, or sheet rock, the edges of the flats that you sand will inevitably round up, and you will lose your nice crisp, sharp flats and corners. Kinda like sanding it on the carpet. Even wood is not great.
Any steel plate, or laminated counter top material, should all be ok substitutes.
To be continued!.....
[ January 24, 2007, 05:16 AM: Message edited by: Ted Carl ]
At this point, you could take it to a buffing wheel, and buff it, and buff it, and buff it, and eventually it would be shiny and smooth. But it would look about as smooth and elegant as a puffer fish in a litter box.
So, sandpaper for the Mouse sander. Here is the catch. They don't make the stuff in fine enough grits for our purpose, for the mouse sander. So......we make our own.
I always buy the good stuff. Genuine 3M (Minnesota Mining, and Manufacturing, yes I'm a Minnesotan!) sandpaper for the mouse. It lasts longer, and doesn't have the diamond cutout on the tip.
That way when a sheet of 240, or 280 is used up, you can use this glue to glue on some 320 grit to one sheet, 400 to another, and 600 to another and trim around the edges. Label them on the back with a sharpie, as you will forget which is which once it is used a bit. The glue shown is the stuff body shops use for gluing on sandpaper too, cuz it peels off for a few days to change paper frequently.
Just smear on some glue, sick on your new paper,and open and close it like a mouth, to dry it quicker, and set it in front of a fan for a while. You want it to be dry, or the stuff you sand off will stick to the paper.......no good!
Also, a tool called a "Brite Boy" is a good one to own. (Lots of them if possible). They are also called rubberized abrasives. They are diamond, and silicon, and aluminum oxide filled rubber, They work great on the dremel. Dont spin them so fast that they fly off ,and rupture your dog's spleen or something like that.
Here is the tool I made from a piece of steel that I pulled out of the scrap bin. I used this to sand the flat on the stem around the quill. (If it were mine......lol)
I just glued some sandpaper to the end, and slid it over the quill and went to town.
Lastly, Go ahead and take apart one of your old BMX trophies, in the name of creating a new one. You didn't need it anymore anyway. Unless you are Reilley1, and it is your only 9th place trophy you have! (Rick's such a good sport, ain't he!?) In that case, find a substitute here.
The Marble bases from the trophies is very flat, and very useful for sanding, and a lot of other things too, for that matter! Find a nice big hunk of marble, and wrap a whole sheet of sandpaper around it, and you are set for the next phase.
If it wasn't so heavy, I'd ship all who wanted some as much as they needed, for free. lol....
Why marble? Good question. It's flat flat flat, and very hard. If you use anything soft, like a sanding block, or sheet rock, the edges of the flats that you sand will inevitably round up, and you will lose your nice crisp, sharp flats and corners. Kinda like sanding it on the carpet. Even wood is not great.
Any steel plate, or laminated counter top material, should all be ok substitutes.
To be continued!.....
[ January 24, 2007, 05:16 AM: Message edited by: Ted Carl ]
Ted/All, I have also used cultured marble door sills from Home Depot or where ever as sanding blocks. They come in different widths, are much cheaper than real marble, are flat flat flat like real marble, and last forever like real marble.
-Dave
-Dave
A quick question, I have a DK stem I want to polish, but the engraving is really shallow on the cap. I assume I would lose this regardless of how much/ little I were to polish it?
Owl, the logo is really just a scratch. A scratch that someone put there. Polishing will remove the scratches, but.....it all depends on how deep it is. I've saved few that I thought were gonners, and lost a few I shouldn't have.
I'll show you a few ways to try and save logos. "Compromising 101" we'll call it.
I'll show you a few ways to try and save logos. "Compromising 101" we'll call it.
Start with the parts with the most metal, and biggest margin for error. This is your warm-up piece.
If you have a belt sander, then great, if not, this is easily done on your surface plate with about 80-100 grit sandpaper, it just takes longer.
I wanted to show you guys that it can be done by hand. (If it were mine...) I normally would do this on my mill, but that defeats the purpose of showing the 99.9% of the people who don't have one, how to do it.
Keep everything flat, and get an initial idea of what you have to work with. You will be surprised at how "NOT flat" everything really is when you start sanding.
No big deal here, just stay flat, use all 3 of your hands to their fullest, and take your time. Work carefully, as it's ALWAYS easier to take metal off, than it is to put it back on. And keep your peeper out of the belt, ...and anything else you don't want to lose....lol. 'nuff said.
Base on belt
Check your results and gauge things from there.
Still a lot of damage to remove yet, but it is progressing nicely.
Base, check progress.
Now for my favorite technique. The "Match Strike". It's ok to try this first without the belt turned on, there is no shame in dry runs!
Carefully lay the part flat on the belt and pull it towards you, against the pull of the belt, and rotate the part smoothly, and evenly as though you are lighting a match. A very expensive match. This will make a nicely curved and smooth radius. You want it close here, but you will have time to correct minor imperfections later. One strike at a time.
Base "Match Strike" technique.
This shows how NOT smooth and flat the stem was to start with.
Tilt is important to avoid when sanding. Note the line between the flat side and the start of the radiused side. This line should be straight. If you are tilting in or out, this line will start to go crooked. Therefore, I recommend checking your work frequently as you go.
Work until all you see is flat sanding scratches. Leaving damage like this shown behind will only make you sad later. But some damage like remaining corner damage, and such, can be left to work more carefully later. But get the most out of this step as feasable.
[ January 25, 2007, 06:08 AM: Message edited by: Ted Carl ]
If you have a belt sander, then great, if not, this is easily done on your surface plate with about 80-100 grit sandpaper, it just takes longer.
I wanted to show you guys that it can be done by hand. (If it were mine...) I normally would do this on my mill, but that defeats the purpose of showing the 99.9% of the people who don't have one, how to do it.
Keep everything flat, and get an initial idea of what you have to work with. You will be surprised at how "NOT flat" everything really is when you start sanding.
No big deal here, just stay flat, use all 3 of your hands to their fullest, and take your time. Work carefully, as it's ALWAYS easier to take metal off, than it is to put it back on. And keep your peeper out of the belt, ...and anything else you don't want to lose....lol. 'nuff said.
Base on belt
Check your results and gauge things from there.
Still a lot of damage to remove yet, but it is progressing nicely.
Base, check progress.
Now for my favorite technique. The "Match Strike". It's ok to try this first without the belt turned on, there is no shame in dry runs!
Carefully lay the part flat on the belt and pull it towards you, against the pull of the belt, and rotate the part smoothly, and evenly as though you are lighting a match. A very expensive match. This will make a nicely curved and smooth radius. You want it close here, but you will have time to correct minor imperfections later. One strike at a time.
Base "Match Strike" technique.
This shows how NOT smooth and flat the stem was to start with.
Tilt is important to avoid when sanding. Note the line between the flat side and the start of the radiused side. This line should be straight. If you are tilting in or out, this line will start to go crooked. Therefore, I recommend checking your work frequently as you go.
Work until all you see is flat sanding scratches. Leaving damage like this shown behind will only make you sad later. But some damage like remaining corner damage, and such, can be left to work more carefully later. But get the most out of this step as feasable.
[ January 25, 2007, 06:08 AM: Message edited by: Ted Carl ]
After you have worked all the major damage out of the areas that need it its time to look at the areas that don't need the major sanding with heavy grit.
To start on the cap, I like to place it on the marble block with some 280 sandpaper and give it a few good rubs, and get things started, and then you can really start to see where things stand
The cap and logo here show some real concerns after an initial once over on the marble block.
Corrosion is deep in some areas, but thankfully the logo is prominent and there is quite a bit to work with here.
Are you nervous yet?
To start on the cap, I like to place it on the marble block with some 280 sandpaper and give it a few good rubs, and get things started, and then you can really start to see where things stand
The cap and logo here show some real concerns after an initial once over on the marble block.
Corrosion is deep in some areas, but thankfully the logo is prominent and there is quite a bit to work with here.
Are you nervous yet?
Here is where you need to make the most of your surface plate.
Some 280 sandpaper is good here. Start sanding things flat and true (Not the logo yet). get all sides started and the bottom. Flat, flat, flat.
Start mixing in some "Match Strikes" to areas needed as you go. Here is the work on the top radius. One strike at a time.
And the same match strikes for the corners.
Here is where we can make things go much quicker. After you start working the corners by hand. You can use a 3M wheel to speed up the process. Now remember here. You are NOT going to be able to keep things as straight with the wheel, but you will be able to remove more material quicker. So this is a back and forth process until you get it mastered. Work the corners with a similar match strike technique on the 3M wheel, from the bottom up, AGAINST the direction of rotation of the wheel.
Then go back to striking matches to straighten everything back out on the corners.
You can start working the logo now too.
Always using the surface plate, start sanding the top side.
Now, here is the cheat....the secret.....the "Compromise"....
Ideally you want it FLAT right? But you can wish in one hand, and want in the other, the fact remains, you need to save the logo, and the corrosion is deep, so we need to cheat a little bit.
Everyone knows that roads are flat right? Nope, they are crowned in the middle for rain to run off. That is what we are going to do here. Ever so slightly we are going to crown the center of this stem. We will give it a very slight convex surface. One so slight that nobody but you will ever know.
Using the surface plate, sand on the top, BUT the trick is to apply more pressure to the sides with your finger. Then rotate it 90 degrees and do the same thing. Taking slightly more from the sides than in the center. Work it slowly and carefully in straight push strokes.
You see what I am showing in the picture here? I am pressing on the side, and pushing it away to sand it.
4 pix per post limit. Next starting to use the mouse sander.
It's also time to start moving into finer grits of paper. 320 is where we are heading on the cap, but we need to get all the rough sanding done before we want to start with that, so we need to get the base closer first.
Once you start using finer grits of sandpaper, you REALLY don't want to get a piece of 80 grit dust, or chunks, into your sandpaper, or it will really upset you. So all the big stuff first.
Use the 3M wheel on the radius of the base now too, and get the mouse sander warmed up with some fresh 240-280 grit paper, as we are going to go to town next on all the areas that can't be flat sanded on the block. Such as the bottom of the stem and it's cutouts.
Until then....
Cheers
[ January 25, 2007, 07:02 AM: Message edited by: Ted Carl ]
Some 280 sandpaper is good here. Start sanding things flat and true (Not the logo yet). get all sides started and the bottom. Flat, flat, flat.
Start mixing in some "Match Strikes" to areas needed as you go. Here is the work on the top radius. One strike at a time.
And the same match strikes for the corners.
Here is where we can make things go much quicker. After you start working the corners by hand. You can use a 3M wheel to speed up the process. Now remember here. You are NOT going to be able to keep things as straight with the wheel, but you will be able to remove more material quicker. So this is a back and forth process until you get it mastered. Work the corners with a similar match strike technique on the 3M wheel, from the bottom up, AGAINST the direction of rotation of the wheel.
Then go back to striking matches to straighten everything back out on the corners.
You can start working the logo now too.
Always using the surface plate, start sanding the top side.
Now, here is the cheat....the secret.....the "Compromise"....
Ideally you want it FLAT right? But you can wish in one hand, and want in the other, the fact remains, you need to save the logo, and the corrosion is deep, so we need to cheat a little bit.
Everyone knows that roads are flat right? Nope, they are crowned in the middle for rain to run off. That is what we are going to do here. Ever so slightly we are going to crown the center of this stem. We will give it a very slight convex surface. One so slight that nobody but you will ever know.
Using the surface plate, sand on the top, BUT the trick is to apply more pressure to the sides with your finger. Then rotate it 90 degrees and do the same thing. Taking slightly more from the sides than in the center. Work it slowly and carefully in straight push strokes.
You see what I am showing in the picture here? I am pressing on the side, and pushing it away to sand it.
4 pix per post limit. Next starting to use the mouse sander.
It's also time to start moving into finer grits of paper. 320 is where we are heading on the cap, but we need to get all the rough sanding done before we want to start with that, so we need to get the base closer first.
Once you start using finer grits of sandpaper, you REALLY don't want to get a piece of 80 grit dust, or chunks, into your sandpaper, or it will really upset you. So all the big stuff first.
Use the 3M wheel on the radius of the base now too, and get the mouse sander warmed up with some fresh 240-280 grit paper, as we are going to go to town next on all the areas that can't be flat sanded on the block. Such as the bottom of the stem and it's cutouts.
Until then....
Cheers
[ January 25, 2007, 07:02 AM: Message edited by: Ted Carl ]
Ok, now you've got the idea on getting it straight, and working out the big stuff.
When it is straight, now is the time to wipe of the workbench, and your clothes and hands of all the rough abrasives and sanding dust.
Put some 320 sandpaper on the mouse sander, and start working everything. The catch here, is that the mouse pad is not as firm as the marble sanding block, and will start to round off edges if you let it. To avoid this, use the heel of the mouse, and the sides, and the tip where needed, but you can use the full pad area too. You simply need to keep the mouse as flat as possible and work carefully.
Dont press hard is the best advice. Let the paper do the work. Be gentle. Finesse over everything!
If the middle of a flat area needs more work, you can use the heel, (or rear corner of the mouse), and concentrate its efforts in the middle of the part.
If a radius needs a little rounding, you can use the center area of the pad, and sort of do reverse match strikes with it.
Just work carefully, and you will see how much time this tool will save you, and how it improves the quality of the finished item in no time.
This is how it looks after the 320 work with the mouse is done. Remember, you can always go back a step to the plate, and make adjustments.
Base moused with 320.
Base sides, moused with 320.
Cap, moused 320.
Before you get carried away with a smooth finish, remember to work things like the bolt holes. The reason being, is that if you slip and mark up the surface, you dont want to have to back up too far to fix the accidental damage you did working the holes.
Now is a good time to use the brite boy on the holes
Brite boy.
[ January 26, 2007, 05:56 AM: Message edited by: Ted Carl ]
When it is straight, now is the time to wipe of the workbench, and your clothes and hands of all the rough abrasives and sanding dust.
Put some 320 sandpaper on the mouse sander, and start working everything. The catch here, is that the mouse pad is not as firm as the marble sanding block, and will start to round off edges if you let it. To avoid this, use the heel of the mouse, and the sides, and the tip where needed, but you can use the full pad area too. You simply need to keep the mouse as flat as possible and work carefully.
Dont press hard is the best advice. Let the paper do the work. Be gentle. Finesse over everything!
If the middle of a flat area needs more work, you can use the heel, (or rear corner of the mouse), and concentrate its efforts in the middle of the part.
If a radius needs a little rounding, you can use the center area of the pad, and sort of do reverse match strikes with it.
Just work carefully, and you will see how much time this tool will save you, and how it improves the quality of the finished item in no time.
This is how it looks after the 320 work with the mouse is done. Remember, you can always go back a step to the plate, and make adjustments.
Base moused with 320.
Base sides, moused with 320.
Cap, moused 320.
Before you get carried away with a smooth finish, remember to work things like the bolt holes. The reason being, is that if you slip and mark up the surface, you dont want to have to back up too far to fix the accidental damage you did working the holes.
Now is a good time to use the brite boy on the holes
Brite boy.
[ January 26, 2007, 05:56 AM: Message edited by: Ted Carl ]
Use whatever means necessary to get into the areas that are difficult, and keep them as flat as possible.
Popsicle sticks, and tongue depressors with sandpaper glued on them are fair game for areas like this.
Base popsicle stick or tongue depressor.
Now that you have the swing of things. wipe off the bench, and your clothes and hands again, and move to the 400 grit paper. Do a really good job here, and remove all the 320 and 280 scratches. This is probably the most important pre sanding step before polishing!
Then when you think you have it, go to the 600 grit. I am here to tell you, that you will be going back to 400 a few times here. Because you THINK you got all the 320 scratches out, but until you get a handle on what a real 400 grit surface looks like, you will miss some areas. No shame, just work it with 400 some more, and go back up to 600. The 400 may be the most important step, but the 600 step is the one that will save you the most time when it comes to polishing it.
If you have a true 600 grit surface on your part, the polishing will be easy.
Here is where I really disagree with some opinions. You have a TRUE 600 grit finish. What next? Well you COULD go to 800, 1200, 2000, 2500, 3000 grits. But I would ask this.....WHY? The time you spend going through all those extra grits, you could have been done by then.
When you start polishing with the mouse and the dremel, you will NOT get the desired results on the first polishing. But after about 4 to 6 polishes, you will have a mirror. I would personally rather polish the part a few times, than waste all the time going to finer grits. You simply don't need to go there if you are using power tools to polish. A true 600 grit finish will polish to a mirror with the Met-All polish just fine. Polishing by hand may be another story, but we want results, and hand polishing blows anyway....lol.
Here is my test of the sanding of the radius. I used a wheel in the dremel for the radius here. Now you can go back and fix blemishes you missed, or press ahead.
This is a photo showing what a true 600 grit finish looks like as well.
Base testing radius finish.
For the cutout, I chose a few tools, and it took a few tries to get what I wanted, but that is the name of the game. There is no instruction manual. It's trial by fire here.
Cutout Q tip.
I said felt wheels mostly suck, and I meant it, but....this one was the right size, and helped out a lot here for the initial polishing of the cutout. More tools is always better....
Cutout wheel.
[ January 26, 2007, 06:23 AM: Message edited by: Ted Carl ]
Popsicle sticks, and tongue depressors with sandpaper glued on them are fair game for areas like this.
Base popsicle stick or tongue depressor.
Now that you have the swing of things. wipe off the bench, and your clothes and hands again, and move to the 400 grit paper. Do a really good job here, and remove all the 320 and 280 scratches. This is probably the most important pre sanding step before polishing!
Then when you think you have it, go to the 600 grit. I am here to tell you, that you will be going back to 400 a few times here. Because you THINK you got all the 320 scratches out, but until you get a handle on what a real 400 grit surface looks like, you will miss some areas. No shame, just work it with 400 some more, and go back up to 600. The 400 may be the most important step, but the 600 step is the one that will save you the most time when it comes to polishing it.
If you have a true 600 grit surface on your part, the polishing will be easy.
Here is where I really disagree with some opinions. You have a TRUE 600 grit finish. What next? Well you COULD go to 800, 1200, 2000, 2500, 3000 grits. But I would ask this.....WHY? The time you spend going through all those extra grits, you could have been done by then.
When you start polishing with the mouse and the dremel, you will NOT get the desired results on the first polishing. But after about 4 to 6 polishes, you will have a mirror. I would personally rather polish the part a few times, than waste all the time going to finer grits. You simply don't need to go there if you are using power tools to polish. A true 600 grit finish will polish to a mirror with the Met-All polish just fine. Polishing by hand may be another story, but we want results, and hand polishing blows anyway....lol.
Here is my test of the sanding of the radius. I used a wheel in the dremel for the radius here. Now you can go back and fix blemishes you missed, or press ahead.
This is a photo showing what a true 600 grit finish looks like as well.
Base testing radius finish.
For the cutout, I chose a few tools, and it took a few tries to get what I wanted, but that is the name of the game. There is no instruction manual. It's trial by fire here.
Cutout Q tip.
I said felt wheels mostly suck, and I meant it, but....this one was the right size, and helped out a lot here for the initial polishing of the cutout. More tools is always better....
Cutout wheel.
[ January 26, 2007, 06:23 AM: Message edited by: Ted Carl ]
Here is a good shot of a little test polish on the radius, and what the 600 sanding should look like.
The first polish will bring out defects you missed, and start to give it some sheen. But the next few polishings will bring out the real bling. The more you polish the better it gets!
Cap test polish radius, and 600 finish. Jersey sheet rag.
Some final tips that are important.
Here is a formerly top secret tip you can try. If your pad gets really black and sticky, you can use a little shot of WD-40 on it. It mixes with the polish well, and adds another dynamic dimension to the polishing. It makes it messier, but it is useful in some cases to make the polish runnier, and wetter and slickrier...More greased moose-poopish if you will. Trial by fire, as someone once said.
The closer to a sterile environment you can make before you start to polish the better. clean up all dust, and debris. Wash your hands, and get super clean rags, and even change cloths if you are full of grit. Any contamination on your pads, or rags, or on the part will really wreck your day!
Don't leave your scotch-brite polishing pads in the open air, or let them get dirty with sanding dust. Keep em sealed in a bag until ready to use them.
Use 100% cotton rags. I HATED when my ex-wife made me sleep on cotton jersey sheets. BUT, I love cutting that old stuff up, and using it for polishing rags!
When wiping off the polish between steps, use GENTLE pressure. You can scratch up your work in a heartbeat if you rub at it! Gentle soft swirling motions to remove the stuff slowly. Replace your rags frequently as you near completion, and don't sit them in a pile of sanding dust, (you cleaned all that up already though didn't you!?)
Alcohol can be useful to get stuff out of threads. I forgot to mention this. Clean all dust out of threaded holes before polishing too!!!! That will wreck your day if you forget to do that.
Foam polishing pads work awesome too. The problem is that they have a tendency to get sticky, and get torn. But if you want to try the foam pads in the mouse polishing kit, they do work very well with practice.
What have I missed? You tell me.
My work is done here. You are soon to blow me away, and school me up on how to really get it done!
It's all you now....More? Questions? Different materials? You name it, If I can shed any more light on the subject that I missed then fire away.
The bolt was a trick. I wanted to keep the unique markings, but it had been hammered on, and so I compromised and mirrored the sides of it, and worked the markings as best I could.
Finished bolt area.
Good color, good flavor, and neat lines. It might have even improved it's appearance and value a smidge?
Black oxide was not possible with the quill installed, so good quality flat black was the ticket.
An O-ring installed on the quill keeps it from smacking the headset.
Side Finished.
[ January 26, 2007, 07:22 AM: Message edited by: Ted Carl ]
The first polish will bring out defects you missed, and start to give it some sheen. But the next few polishings will bring out the real bling. The more you polish the better it gets!
Cap test polish radius, and 600 finish. Jersey sheet rag.
Some final tips that are important.
Here is a formerly top secret tip you can try. If your pad gets really black and sticky, you can use a little shot of WD-40 on it. It mixes with the polish well, and adds another dynamic dimension to the polishing. It makes it messier, but it is useful in some cases to make the polish runnier, and wetter and slickrier...More greased moose-poopish if you will. Trial by fire, as someone once said.
The closer to a sterile environment you can make before you start to polish the better. clean up all dust, and debris. Wash your hands, and get super clean rags, and even change cloths if you are full of grit. Any contamination on your pads, or rags, or on the part will really wreck your day!
Don't leave your scotch-brite polishing pads in the open air, or let them get dirty with sanding dust. Keep em sealed in a bag until ready to use them.
Use 100% cotton rags. I HATED when my ex-wife made me sleep on cotton jersey sheets. BUT, I love cutting that old stuff up, and using it for polishing rags!
When wiping off the polish between steps, use GENTLE pressure. You can scratch up your work in a heartbeat if you rub at it! Gentle soft swirling motions to remove the stuff slowly. Replace your rags frequently as you near completion, and don't sit them in a pile of sanding dust, (you cleaned all that up already though didn't you!?)
Alcohol can be useful to get stuff out of threads. I forgot to mention this. Clean all dust out of threaded holes before polishing too!!!! That will wreck your day if you forget to do that.
Foam polishing pads work awesome too. The problem is that they have a tendency to get sticky, and get torn. But if you want to try the foam pads in the mouse polishing kit, they do work very well with practice.
What have I missed? You tell me.
My work is done here. You are soon to blow me away, and school me up on how to really get it done!
It's all you now....More? Questions? Different materials? You name it, If I can shed any more light on the subject that I missed then fire away.
The bolt was a trick. I wanted to keep the unique markings, but it had been hammered on, and so I compromised and mirrored the sides of it, and worked the markings as best I could.
Finished bolt area.
Good color, good flavor, and neat lines. It might have even improved it's appearance and value a smidge?
Black oxide was not possible with the quill installed, so good quality flat black was the ticket.
An O-ring installed on the quill keeps it from smacking the headset.
Side Finished.
[ January 26, 2007, 07:22 AM: Message edited by: Ted Carl ]
And here we are again at the...
Before...
After.
I want....."One Million Dollars"....
I'm out, you're in Mavric......Let me have it!
Before...
After.
I want....."One Million Dollars"....
I'm out, you're in Mavric......Let me have it!
I was planning on doing these pedals in the near future as a necessary project for one of my bikes.
Is anyone interested in a masters degree class, on really messed up stuff? Or did I go too deep already?
Or I will just do em up. The only difference is whether or not I bother to take pictures along the way. They are going to get done up either way. Figured I'd offer if there is interest.
The floor is wide open to suggestions, or questions....
[ January 27, 2007, 02:50 AM: Message edited by: Ted Carl ]
Is anyone interested in a masters degree class, on really messed up stuff? Or did I go too deep already?
Or I will just do em up. The only difference is whether or not I bother to take pictures along the way. They are going to get done up either way. Figured I'd offer if there is interest.
The floor is wide open to suggestions, or questions....
[ January 27, 2007, 02:50 AM: Message edited by: Ted Carl ]
quote:What thread count were those?
Use 100% cotton rags. I HATED when my ex-wife made me sleep on cotton jersey sheets. BUT, I love cutting that old stuff up, and using it for polishing rags!
I'd dig seeing pics of the DX pedal resto.
Q: Have you done rim polshing?
I have a set of Araya 1.5 aeros that were chrome plated which has chipped off and would like to get them back to bling eventually.
Q2: Whats the best way to get chrome plating off aluminum parts?
Oh yeah Ted - show us the DXs. That's one of my up and coming projects.
That Profile stem is mind blowing - top job mate!
On stems - what do you think of stems like the Sugino Diamond Back. They seem to have a very slightly textured finish - do you need to sand that all flat before polishing?
That Profile stem is mind blowing - top job mate!
On stems - what do you think of stems like the Sugino Diamond Back. They seem to have a very slightly textured finish - do you need to sand that all flat before polishing?
Ted your work is priceless. I don't comment much on your work but I read every word. I can't tell you how much time and $$$ I've saved by reading your stuff. Thanks mate.
Now on with the DXs. I have a set to do and I'm really keen to see how you fix the shredded ends on them.
Bravo.
Now on with the DXs. I have a set to do and I'm really keen to see how you fix the shredded ends on them.
Bravo.
Yes Ted...do the DX's as well. With pics!
DX's, yes, i was just looking at my sets yesterday. they are next. are those the ones you got at the bbq last fall?
i am nearing completion on the goose i have been working on.
met-all, mouse and secret pads = awesome.
i am nearing completion on the goose i have been working on.
met-all, mouse and secret pads = awesome.
Yep, they are the DX's I got at the BBQ.
I have a few surprises for you guys on this one too. I could spill the beans, but why would I want to do that?
Truth be known, they are moving along very quickly. Hopefully, I'll get some things started here with them soon.
For now, I'll entertain you with the project that kept me from getting ANYTHING done, with the promise of being able to get SOMTHING done again. Hence the long turn around time on the stem. Can you imagine trying to get anything done with everything in this room packed into my other shop space? Nothin was gettin' done in there!
I conceded to the illogic of my 3rd bedroom EVER being needed as a bedroom. Now, as with the rest of the bachelor pad, it's more bachelory.
I added 6 workbenches, slat wall, and then some.
Now I have an official shipping department, and some sanity reclaimed.
Unfortunately, I still can't get much done, because instead of working in my new secondary shop, I just want to sit and drink beer, and watch satelite TV in there. lol
I have a few surprises for you guys on this one too. I could spill the beans, but why would I want to do that?
Truth be known, they are moving along very quickly. Hopefully, I'll get some things started here with them soon.
For now, I'll entertain you with the project that kept me from getting ANYTHING done, with the promise of being able to get SOMTHING done again. Hence the long turn around time on the stem. Can you imagine trying to get anything done with everything in this room packed into my other shop space? Nothin was gettin' done in there!
I conceded to the illogic of my 3rd bedroom EVER being needed as a bedroom. Now, as with the rest of the bachelor pad, it's more bachelory.
I added 6 workbenches, slat wall, and then some.
Now I have an official shipping department, and some sanity reclaimed.
Unfortunately, I still can't get much done, because instead of working in my new secondary shop, I just want to sit and drink beer, and watch satelite TV in there. lol
I would personally love to see your step by step photo's of your restoration of your dx pedals
As this was the hardest, most time consuming part of my project...trying not to lose the original shape and getting into the nooks and crannies almost drove me mental (I even had to get some assistance and advice by a professional to show me how to get into the intricate parts). Although, I was happy the way mine turned out, I'm sure Ted's will look out of control!!
Before
After
As this was the hardest, most time consuming part of my project...trying not to lose the original shape and getting into the nooks and crannies almost drove me mental (I even had to get some assistance and advice by a professional to show me how to get into the intricate parts). Although, I was happy the way mine turned out, I'm sure Ted's will look out of control!!
Before
After
Steef, we covered both of those questions.
Nice job on that ride 84Profile!
But, you hate the pins, the cutouts, and the stupid caps that you can't get, except from the UK black market for premium prices.
I have a fix for all of that.
Let's just start by getting rid of the stuff you hate.
I've introduced you guys to my slide hammer before, but here it is again. Buy one, make one, or borrow one. Life is always good with a slide hammer in the tool box.
Probably over-rated? Yeah, It's not much good for anything else anyway. Who needs a slide hammer for polishing? Or for.... Seat posts, stems, bushings......
Slide hammer. And a few other goodies in that drawer.
Put them into a vice as close to the pin as possible. Clamp on the slide hammer, give a couple love taps, and voilla.
Just a small vice will do, no major hitting going on here. Just love taps. I didn't even move my toolbox doing these. Of course it weighs.....
Get the body bags. Dead soldiers. Hardly worth crying over.
If you are screaming like a girl, flailing, and running in circles, at the thought of finding replacement pins, and the blasphemy of this whole procedure so far, you might want to change the channel, cuz it's going to get crazier.....
Stud mashed over? Can't get a grip on it?
No problem. Use the Dremel, and get a start hole going, and drill it out. Yes, you should use a drill bit smaller than the pin for this, and stop drilling when the metal feels softer......D'oh!
Look at that BEAUTIFUL finish on these things....Maybe we should just spray paint them with a rattle can?
Next, get a pencil and a piece of paper, and make a rubbing. Mark which pedal, and which is the outboard side for reference later. Yes, a purple Crayola crayon will work here.
You are marking the center pins and the rest of the pin holes.
WHY? Because those cast aluminum center pins are about to disappear too. And we want to know where to put the replacement pins.
That concludes phase one.
Cheers.
Nice job on that ride 84Profile!
quote:DX pedals are one of the crummiest, stubborn, and frustrating, parts to polish on a BMX bike. As for asking a professional? I'm just going to leave that one alone 'til I find somewhere to use it......lol
trying not to lose the original shape and getting into the nooks and crannies almost drove me mental (I even had to get some assistance and advice by a professional to show me how to get into the intricate parts).
But, you hate the pins, the cutouts, and the stupid caps that you can't get, except from the UK black market for premium prices.
I have a fix for all of that.
Let's just start by getting rid of the stuff you hate.
I've introduced you guys to my slide hammer before, but here it is again. Buy one, make one, or borrow one. Life is always good with a slide hammer in the tool box.
Probably over-rated? Yeah, It's not much good for anything else anyway. Who needs a slide hammer for polishing? Or for.... Seat posts, stems, bushings......
Slide hammer. And a few other goodies in that drawer.
Put them into a vice as close to the pin as possible. Clamp on the slide hammer, give a couple love taps, and voilla.
Just a small vice will do, no major hitting going on here. Just love taps. I didn't even move my toolbox doing these. Of course it weighs.....
Get the body bags. Dead soldiers. Hardly worth crying over.
If you are screaming like a girl, flailing, and running in circles, at the thought of finding replacement pins, and the blasphemy of this whole procedure so far, you might want to change the channel, cuz it's going to get crazier.....
Stud mashed over? Can't get a grip on it?
No problem. Use the Dremel, and get a start hole going, and drill it out. Yes, you should use a drill bit smaller than the pin for this, and stop drilling when the metal feels softer......D'oh!
Look at that BEAUTIFUL finish on these things....Maybe we should just spray paint them with a rattle can?
Next, get a pencil and a piece of paper, and make a rubbing. Mark which pedal, and which is the outboard side for reference later. Yes, a purple Crayola crayon will work here.
You are marking the center pins and the rest of the pin holes.
WHY? Because those cast aluminum center pins are about to disappear too. And we want to know where to put the replacement pins.
That concludes phase one.
Cheers.
I just wasn't sure if the chromr plate stripping applied to aluminum parts as well.
The Araya aeros don't seem to have dimples so I think it's worth a try to see what comes out of it. I only bought the wheels for the Speciaqlized sealed hubs, so if I can make something out of the rims as well...
The Araya aeros don't seem to have dimples so I think it's worth a try to see what comes out of it. I only bought the wheels for the Speciaqlized sealed hubs, so if I can make something out of the rims as well...
Wow Ted. Impressive. But starting to get scary...
Wow, I'm intrigued....show us more!
I'm in.
I've spent about $50 on restoration items just from this thread.
As for the third bedroom, when you said that I said no way your married!
Polish on Ted, polish on. And many thanks for the time you have spent on the polishing details.
Paul
I've spent about $50 on restoration items just from this thread.
As for the third bedroom, when you said that I said no way your married!
Polish on Ted, polish on. And many thanks for the time you have spent on the polishing details.
Paul
My personally coined phrase. "The only thing better than a power tool, ...is a "really sharp" power tool".
A 90 Degree high speed is very useful here because the ends of the DX pedals are not flat, and a round sanding disc can easily generate that dished out shape.
However, a sanding block made of a foot long hunk of 2 X 4 (don't ask me to convert it to metric.) and a whole sheet of sand paper wrapped around it will do nicely here.
The choices of sanding media are seemingly endless here. Here's a few chioces.
90 degree high speed.
This was my choice for initial shaping. I would NOT recommend this for first timers with this tool. Wicked things happen wicked fast with meat cleaver paper on here. But this is not my first time, so it was my choice.
Notice how I left plenty of material. I didn't try to take it to size yet. I just carved it like a bar of soap to get the big chunks off.
Meat Cleaver. 36 Grit??
Even the milder meat cleaver paper necessitates caution here. Note the shape taking form here.
I also took it to the belt sander with the 80 grit, and squared up the end here. I left it large on purpose. We can easily sand of more corners later. And will for that matter.
Milder meat cleaver(about 60 grit). and belt sander, 80 grit.
Now is where we go to town with lots of 120 grit sandpaper in the mouse sander. We shape, and sand all the outside parts that we can easily get to with the mouse. You are the artist here. Sand and shape. And get all the big uglys out of there. Shaping and sanding with the mouse and 120 is kind of mesmerizing, you just watch the parts you don't want anymore fall away...
Try to leave all the corners sharp and crisp. DX pedals did not have crisp edges, but.....here again, we can take them off quickly later with some 320 grit much later. Always easier to take it off than to put it back on.
Mouse with 120 grit paper.
[ January 31, 2007, 04:36 AM: Message edited by: Ted Carl ]
A 90 Degree high speed is very useful here because the ends of the DX pedals are not flat, and a round sanding disc can easily generate that dished out shape.
However, a sanding block made of a foot long hunk of 2 X 4 (don't ask me to convert it to metric.) and a whole sheet of sand paper wrapped around it will do nicely here.
The choices of sanding media are seemingly endless here. Here's a few chioces.
90 degree high speed.
This was my choice for initial shaping. I would NOT recommend this for first timers with this tool. Wicked things happen wicked fast with meat cleaver paper on here. But this is not my first time, so it was my choice.
Notice how I left plenty of material. I didn't try to take it to size yet. I just carved it like a bar of soap to get the big chunks off.
Meat Cleaver. 36 Grit??
Even the milder meat cleaver paper necessitates caution here. Note the shape taking form here.
I also took it to the belt sander with the 80 grit, and squared up the end here. I left it large on purpose. We can easily sand of more corners later. And will for that matter.
Milder meat cleaver(about 60 grit). and belt sander, 80 grit.
Now is where we go to town with lots of 120 grit sandpaper in the mouse sander. We shape, and sand all the outside parts that we can easily get to with the mouse. You are the artist here. Sand and shape. And get all the big uglys out of there. Shaping and sanding with the mouse and 120 is kind of mesmerizing, you just watch the parts you don't want anymore fall away...
Try to leave all the corners sharp and crisp. DX pedals did not have crisp edges, but.....here again, we can take them off quickly later with some 320 grit much later. Always easier to take it off than to put it back on.
Mouse with 120 grit paper.
[ January 31, 2007, 04:36 AM: Message edited by: Ted Carl ]
So where did I leave those darned cast aluminum pins at? They were just here a minute ago.....
It's a little easier sanding without 36 pins making your life miserable, isn't it!?
By the way, if you get confused by having too sharp of an eye. I do indeed have 2 Mouse sanders. It allows me to have 2 set ups at once and quickly go back a forth. (Actually I have 3, I have the "Mighty Mouse" too, but it's too big for this stuff...lol)
More tools is better tools.
Make use of said tools.
Now we start to get rid of more stuff we don't like about the DX pedals. Use a small drum sander in the Dremel to get rid of those ugly casting lines in the middle. Be careful, no divots! They will show up quickly as craters when I show you the really cool tools and tricks later.
Cant get into the corners....Don't fret.
Small Drum Sander in Dremel.
Use a brite boy wheel (the grit varies like sandpaper with them). Get the corners closer, and work back and forth with all the other tools here.
Brite boy, pencil tip rubberized abbrasive.
Now we use lots of 120 grit in the tip sander of the mouse and get everything that we can get to with it, and start making all the internal flats, flat and smooth.
I've also used the 3M wheel on the grinder to get the round inside spindle area as well here.
Mouse with tip sander.
Cant get into the small areas and corners?
Of course not. That's why I will post more tomorrow with some of the really neat stuff....That is cheap and easy.
Cheers
It's a little easier sanding without 36 pins making your life miserable, isn't it!?
By the way, if you get confused by having too sharp of an eye. I do indeed have 2 Mouse sanders. It allows me to have 2 set ups at once and quickly go back a forth. (Actually I have 3, I have the "Mighty Mouse" too, but it's too big for this stuff...lol)
More tools is better tools.
Make use of said tools.
Now we start to get rid of more stuff we don't like about the DX pedals. Use a small drum sander in the Dremel to get rid of those ugly casting lines in the middle. Be careful, no divots! They will show up quickly as craters when I show you the really cool tools and tricks later.
Cant get into the corners....Don't fret.
Small Drum Sander in Dremel.
Use a brite boy wheel (the grit varies like sandpaper with them). Get the corners closer, and work back and forth with all the other tools here.
Brite boy, pencil tip rubberized abbrasive.
Now we use lots of 120 grit in the tip sander of the mouse and get everything that we can get to with it, and start making all the internal flats, flat and smooth.
I've also used the 3M wheel on the grinder to get the round inside spindle area as well here.
Mouse with tip sander.
Cant get into the small areas and corners?
Of course not. That's why I will post more tomorrow with some of the really neat stuff....That is cheap and easy.
Cheers
Sends a shiver down my spine just looking at those photo's, as it reminds me of the 2 solid weekends I lost in mine. (I'm a slow worker)
But your progress shots look great....I would have to say it would be a heck of lot easier with that meat clever sand paper, than the b*st*rd file and 50 sheets of multipule grades of sand paper and dremel bits etc that I used.
Also, it occured to me in my dx resto, that you have to be very careful of the cap hole, as the more material you take from the pedal the more the hole becomes enlarged, thus not allowing the cap to fit snug and flush when finishing up. Also, I found it very easy to remove material from the pedal and it would be easy to take too much and start into the stud hole.
Can't wait to see the next instalment!
But your progress shots look great....I would have to say it would be a heck of lot easier with that meat clever sand paper, than the b*st*rd file and 50 sheets of multipule grades of sand paper and dremel bits etc that I used.
Also, it occured to me in my dx resto, that you have to be very careful of the cap hole, as the more material you take from the pedal the more the hole becomes enlarged, thus not allowing the cap to fit snug and flush when finishing up. Also, I found it very easy to remove material from the pedal and it would be easy to take too much and start into the stud hole.
Can't wait to see the next instalment!
Ok guys, I have a lot of cool stuff for you here and soon after.
I've been told by a few people now that some think this is off the hook. If so, then that is good, but I think that if you think it's off the hook now, then this stuff should be "Off The Chain"....
To start.
Mistakes, and comments answered.
Mistakes can be made here, even when you think that you are following my advice to a T.
Here is how: I made one that showed up last night using my very own tools that I have showed you here. I was at Target shopping a while back and saw Q-tips on sale. And they came in many colors now. Cool, I'll take 3 boxes.
Boy was I surprised to find out that I needed 2 collet sizes smaller to chuck them up in my Dremel! WHAT? Are they Metric sizes now or something!??? .....No big deal. Well I am here to tell you that they they FAILED miserably. They are too small, too weak, and don't have enough fuzz on them! They break right off!
It is hard to see the difference in the package, but not when you cut them in half. It sounds funny, but they even feel too light....lol
So, ONLY buy the BRAND NAME or PREMIUM Q-tips, or Johnson's brand Q-tips, or whatever comes in the larger and stronger sizes! So if anything I am telling you here fails to work properly, look closely at the possible ways that it could be failing! MAYBE you just bought the wrong brand of Q-tips/ Ear Cleaners! (Or similar wrongdoings.) There is a lot of variables here, and I don't know all the possible things that can go wrong when using my ideas, but there are so many brands of stuff, that simple things can get complicated.
Next topic. Comments. "Why are you telling everyone your secrets?"
"Why the heck not?"
There is always going to be someone with a nicer bike than mine. Always was, always will be. Unless I hit the lotto.
I take pride in making the best I can of what I got, and what I can afford to work with. This thread is not for the pros who already know how to polish, nor is it for the guys with unlimited resources that can pay to buy new, or have it done for them. It's for the guys that take the time to read it, and want to make the best of what they've got, and what they can afford to work with.
Some people hoard secrets (Often, IMO, to feel more needed, and more important), but I like to learn from others, and enjoy others who are willing to share ideas with me, and I like to share what I have learned with others as well. Nuff said.
Let's take this off the chain now....
More cheap tools.
Invention often comes with failure. I believe that.
Want proof? I was happy using Q-Tips with my Dremel. But when I bought the wrong ones and they failed, I saw that they were too weak, and too small when I was comparing the two side by side.
I suddenly had a revelation, ......that Q-tips are about the same size and length as a round tooth-pick.
I grabbed one out of the box, and stuck it inside, and thought to myself, It went in, but it will never come back out. Then the rest of the light came on. They are cheaper than the Q-tips, ...who cares!!!
So, cut the Q-tips in half, cut the toothpicks in half, and meld their universes as one! No more broken Q-tips!!! And after some R and D.....They are awesome!
Next in the photo is priceless and cheap tools!
Use a PVC vinyl cap off of a plastic tube, or bolt, or all the places they use them, and use it to cover the collet assembly on the Dremel. That way when you bump your polished part, and you WILL, the metal collet will not do damage. At the very least, tape it up. But this is the ticket.
Next....The Dremel brush. Works in logos with polish.
Last but not least, Take a candle, and drip some wax onto the screw head of the polishing wheel to prevent damage to the part when it hits it. It's not perfect, but it is cheap enough, and easily replaced when you knock it off.
I am going out of my way NOT to show you the expensive way to do polishing. If the tools on this page are too expensive, you are in the wrong hobby, no?
Tugging at the chain yet?
[ February 02, 2007, 04:56 AM: Message edited by: Ted Carl ]
I've been told by a few people now that some think this is off the hook. If so, then that is good, but I think that if you think it's off the hook now, then this stuff should be "Off The Chain"....
To start.
Mistakes, and comments answered.
Mistakes can be made here, even when you think that you are following my advice to a T.
Here is how: I made one that showed up last night using my very own tools that I have showed you here. I was at Target shopping a while back and saw Q-tips on sale. And they came in many colors now. Cool, I'll take 3 boxes.
Boy was I surprised to find out that I needed 2 collet sizes smaller to chuck them up in my Dremel! WHAT? Are they Metric sizes now or something!??? .....No big deal. Well I am here to tell you that they they FAILED miserably. They are too small, too weak, and don't have enough fuzz on them! They break right off!
It is hard to see the difference in the package, but not when you cut them in half. It sounds funny, but they even feel too light....lol
So, ONLY buy the BRAND NAME or PREMIUM Q-tips, or Johnson's brand Q-tips, or whatever comes in the larger and stronger sizes! So if anything I am telling you here fails to work properly, look closely at the possible ways that it could be failing! MAYBE you just bought the wrong brand of Q-tips/ Ear Cleaners! (Or similar wrongdoings.) There is a lot of variables here, and I don't know all the possible things that can go wrong when using my ideas, but there are so many brands of stuff, that simple things can get complicated.
Next topic. Comments. "Why are you telling everyone your secrets?"
"Why the heck not?"
There is always going to be someone with a nicer bike than mine. Always was, always will be. Unless I hit the lotto.
I take pride in making the best I can of what I got, and what I can afford to work with. This thread is not for the pros who already know how to polish, nor is it for the guys with unlimited resources that can pay to buy new, or have it done for them. It's for the guys that take the time to read it, and want to make the best of what they've got, and what they can afford to work with.
Some people hoard secrets (Often, IMO, to feel more needed, and more important), but I like to learn from others, and enjoy others who are willing to share ideas with me, and I like to share what I have learned with others as well. Nuff said.
Let's take this off the chain now....
More cheap tools.
Invention often comes with failure. I believe that.
Want proof? I was happy using Q-Tips with my Dremel. But when I bought the wrong ones and they failed, I saw that they were too weak, and too small when I was comparing the two side by side.
I suddenly had a revelation, ......that Q-tips are about the same size and length as a round tooth-pick.
I grabbed one out of the box, and stuck it inside, and thought to myself, It went in, but it will never come back out. Then the rest of the light came on. They are cheaper than the Q-tips, ...who cares!!!
So, cut the Q-tips in half, cut the toothpicks in half, and meld their universes as one! No more broken Q-tips!!! And after some R and D.....They are awesome!
Next in the photo is priceless and cheap tools!
Use a PVC vinyl cap off of a plastic tube, or bolt, or all the places they use them, and use it to cover the collet assembly on the Dremel. That way when you bump your polished part, and you WILL, the metal collet will not do damage. At the very least, tape it up. But this is the ticket.
Next....The Dremel brush. Works in logos with polish.
Last but not least, Take a candle, and drip some wax onto the screw head of the polishing wheel to prevent damage to the part when it hits it. It's not perfect, but it is cheap enough, and easily replaced when you knock it off.
I am going out of my way NOT to show you the expensive way to do polishing. If the tools on this page are too expensive, you are in the wrong hobby, no?
Tugging at the chain yet?
[ February 02, 2007, 04:56 AM: Message edited by: Ted Carl ]
How about putting velcro onto a popsicle/craft stick. Cutting down the width a bit at the tip, and wrapping sandpaper around it. Shown uninstalled. The idea shown installed is lame, the stick splits, but I wanted to show how not to do it, as well as how to do it.
The velcro is not bad, I've used it in the past, but now it was time to go one step further, since it was not perfect. But it is ok.
If you only glue the back side of the paper on the second and third wraps, you can wrap it about 3 times, and just peel one layer off, and have a fresh piece in a jiffy.
Nah, that always sucked a little bit.
Lets make a tool from a piece of phenolic plate, or fiberglass plate, carbon fiber, or 1/8 inch 5 ply hobby plywood, or.....? I REALLY prefer the flexibility and ruggedness of the phenolic plate I chose. Besides, it was already stocked in my building supplys , and the carbon fiber was REALLY just too stiff.
Just copy the legs from the original tool. Hey, I know, use your Dremel to make the tool (whoa....lol) Drill a hole, insert, and sand, sand, sand away at all the little holes like nobody's business!
About .300" wide at the tip, for those of you who are ready to expand the Mouse's already priceless status, and make one up for yourself.
Oh yeah, a phenolic tip for the mouse sander, that's the ticket!
Plenty more to come....
[ February 02, 2007, 05:38 AM: Message edited by: Ted Carl ]
The velcro is not bad, I've used it in the past, but now it was time to go one step further, since it was not perfect. But it is ok.
If you only glue the back side of the paper on the second and third wraps, you can wrap it about 3 times, and just peel one layer off, and have a fresh piece in a jiffy.
Nah, that always sucked a little bit.
Lets make a tool from a piece of phenolic plate, or fiberglass plate, carbon fiber, or 1/8 inch 5 ply hobby plywood, or.....? I REALLY prefer the flexibility and ruggedness of the phenolic plate I chose. Besides, it was already stocked in my building supplys , and the carbon fiber was REALLY just too stiff.
Just copy the legs from the original tool. Hey, I know, use your Dremel to make the tool (whoa....lol) Drill a hole, insert, and sand, sand, sand away at all the little holes like nobody's business!
About .300" wide at the tip, for those of you who are ready to expand the Mouse's already priceless status, and make one up for yourself.
Oh yeah, a phenolic tip for the mouse sander, that's the ticket!
Plenty more to come....
[ February 02, 2007, 05:38 AM: Message edited by: Ted Carl ]
OMG Some of those ideas are priceless. The amount of times I have slipped and buzz that shiney freshly sanded and buffed stem with the dremel chuck. Then have to start the whole process over!
I for 1 am most appreciative of you sharing your knowledge...Thanks Ted!
Can wait to see how these come out.
I for 1 am most appreciative of you sharing your knowledge...Thanks Ted!
Can wait to see how these come out.
This was about the last thing I was going to do tonight. But since my son has been up with a painful ear ache, I guess I am staying up too.
I was saving this for last, but I'm going to toss this in here now, as they are not done being polished and I don't know when they will get to the next phases.
How am I ever going to fix these caps?
This is the scale modeler in me coming out here for you.
I shall name it....."The DX Caps for a Dollar, in less than an hour phase".
First I am going to roam the hardware store and find a suitable base. As luck would have it, a 3/4 inch press in plug bushing fits into the very inner diameter. I believe it would take a 15/16 bushing to fit the threaded area, but since no hardware stores carry them in 15/16 that I could find, this will work nicely.
The flange of the bushing is a little bit too thick for my liking, so I sanded it thinner.
Next I took a bike off the wall and picked 2 decent caps from one of my bikes,
I wrapped a piece of tape around the original caps removed from another bike. I chose the aluminum speed tape that was within reach, but most any tape would have worked fine.
I sprayed some teflon mold release onto the cap. Wax would have worked too. I should have filled the deep removal holes with clay, or crayon, or candle wax, but I simply didn't bother with it.
Next I mixed up some basic plaster of paris. Always mix 10 times more than you need. Why? I dont know, I just do. lol
Pour it in and wait about 15 minutes.
Then I peeled the tape off, and broke it apart, fully expecting it to fail on the first try. Nope, just dandy. One leg was broken off, but I sanded them both down anyway, because I didn't want to go that deep.
Then I wrapped the plaster of paris plug in regular masking tape. Why? To show you that it doesn't really matter which tape you use. See background in photo one.
Then I sprayed the plaster plug with more teflon mold release. If you don't have mold release, who cares, the plug is disposable anyway!
Then I mixed up some filled epoxy. I chose the type and brand because it was a 10 minute cure. JB weld comes in 24 hour cure, and 5 minute cure. Any of the filled epoxies that are black and white resins should work dandy.
I spread some epoxy mix into the plaster plug, and stuck my press bushing into the back of it, and squished it down. I tried to center it up the best I could with epoxy squeezing up the sides of it.
Then I waited 10 minutes.
I removed the tape, and separated the plaster plug, and voilla. A DX cap ready for finishing.
Surprise, surprise, the mold stayed in tact, and I don't have to make another one, or use the one I didn't liek anyway.
So I reused the same plug and made another one. This time the mold was junk.
I sanded them a bit.
I used the dremel and carved out the removal holes.
I painted them with a grey primer that was close in color.
Added clear coat.
And Voilla.
Before....
After....
Here's the deal.
In a few quick and cheap steps, I made 2 DX replacement caps for $1 dollar.
Are they perfect? No. But they weren't perfect after the first time the bike got layed down anyway. They removal holes are always marked up after the first grease job too. So imperfect, is really more perfect for these.
My modeling instinct tells me to airbrush them with exact color match, and green grass stains, and yellow sun fade. But who the heck is ever going to notice that these are not originals as it is? Someone may look to see if I used a Victor cloverleaf cap, as some people do, but they will look at them and say, "nope", DX caps, and drive on.
I could have made a permanent mold using gel coats, fiberglass, carbon fiber, epoxy resins, or I could have used a CNC and made a tool steel mold. But, as with the rest of the projects here, I wanted to show you how to do it for as cheap and easy as possible. With tools that Joe BMX has on hand.
DX Pedal Caps for a dollar....
Works for me....But, you will have to wait again for the rest of the polishing and pins, and the rest of the project.....
Cheers all...
[ February 03, 2007, 06:01 AM: Message edited by: Ted Carl ]
I was saving this for last, but I'm going to toss this in here now, as they are not done being polished and I don't know when they will get to the next phases.
How am I ever going to fix these caps?
This is the scale modeler in me coming out here for you.
I shall name it....."The DX Caps for a Dollar, in less than an hour phase".
First I am going to roam the hardware store and find a suitable base. As luck would have it, a 3/4 inch press in plug bushing fits into the very inner diameter. I believe it would take a 15/16 bushing to fit the threaded area, but since no hardware stores carry them in 15/16 that I could find, this will work nicely.
The flange of the bushing is a little bit too thick for my liking, so I sanded it thinner.
Next I took a bike off the wall and picked 2 decent caps from one of my bikes,
I wrapped a piece of tape around the original caps removed from another bike. I chose the aluminum speed tape that was within reach, but most any tape would have worked fine.
I sprayed some teflon mold release onto the cap. Wax would have worked too. I should have filled the deep removal holes with clay, or crayon, or candle wax, but I simply didn't bother with it.
Next I mixed up some basic plaster of paris. Always mix 10 times more than you need. Why? I dont know, I just do. lol
Pour it in and wait about 15 minutes.
Then I peeled the tape off, and broke it apart, fully expecting it to fail on the first try. Nope, just dandy. One leg was broken off, but I sanded them both down anyway, because I didn't want to go that deep.
Then I wrapped the plaster of paris plug in regular masking tape. Why? To show you that it doesn't really matter which tape you use. See background in photo one.
Then I sprayed the plaster plug with more teflon mold release. If you don't have mold release, who cares, the plug is disposable anyway!
Then I mixed up some filled epoxy. I chose the type and brand because it was a 10 minute cure. JB weld comes in 24 hour cure, and 5 minute cure. Any of the filled epoxies that are black and white resins should work dandy.
I spread some epoxy mix into the plaster plug, and stuck my press bushing into the back of it, and squished it down. I tried to center it up the best I could with epoxy squeezing up the sides of it.
Then I waited 10 minutes.
I removed the tape, and separated the plaster plug, and voilla. A DX cap ready for finishing.
Surprise, surprise, the mold stayed in tact, and I don't have to make another one, or use the one I didn't liek anyway.
So I reused the same plug and made another one. This time the mold was junk.
I sanded them a bit.
I used the dremel and carved out the removal holes.
I painted them with a grey primer that was close in color.
Added clear coat.
And Voilla.
Before....
After....
Here's the deal.
In a few quick and cheap steps, I made 2 DX replacement caps for $1 dollar.
Are they perfect? No. But they weren't perfect after the first time the bike got layed down anyway. They removal holes are always marked up after the first grease job too. So imperfect, is really more perfect for these.
My modeling instinct tells me to airbrush them with exact color match, and green grass stains, and yellow sun fade. But who the heck is ever going to notice that these are not originals as it is? Someone may look to see if I used a Victor cloverleaf cap, as some people do, but they will look at them and say, "nope", DX caps, and drive on.
I could have made a permanent mold using gel coats, fiberglass, carbon fiber, epoxy resins, or I could have used a CNC and made a tool steel mold. But, as with the rest of the projects here, I wanted to show you how to do it for as cheap and easy as possible. With tools that Joe BMX has on hand.
DX Pedal Caps for a dollar....
Works for me....But, you will have to wait again for the rest of the polishing and pins, and the rest of the project.....
Cheers all...
[ February 03, 2007, 06:01 AM: Message edited by: Ted Carl ]
Amazing Ted. You are a legend mate. Hope your boys feeling better too !
Ted you are a friggin FREAK! Every time I catch up on this thread I am blown away. All those years of RC modeling has clearly paid off. You remind me of some kind of polishing Super Hero!
Keep up the good work
I hope to come over soon so you can give me some insight on my little project, great job brutha!
Keep up the good work
I hope to come over soon so you can give me some insight on my little project, great job brutha!
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