clean/polish wheel hubs

[voelser]

So, I've pulled apart the rear wheel, cleaned one side of the hub (somebody along the line tried to paint it black) and although it is nice and clean, it still looks dull.

What is the best way to bring some shine back? I've looked up some tutorials, but they all discuss bringing it to a mirror finish. I would like to keep the scratches and dings as to me they add to the character of the bike (it's 35 years old, not brand new!), but get a bit more of a shine.

Anybody have any tips? Or is what I want impossible?

Cheers!

 

[xjwmx]

What is the best way to bring some shine back? I've looked up some tutorials, but they all discuss bringing it to a mirror finish. I would like to keep the scratches and dings

Just stop early, sort of. 0000 steel wool will put a nice new industrial gleam on. If you wanted a mirror finish you might file out the dings first, and progress to finer abrasives later.

 

[XSLeo]

Use any of the tutorials but don't start so coarse a grit that you remove the character marks. Just start at one of the finer grits and polish from there.
Leo

 

[gggGary]

This hub was pretty dull, with the spokes and sprocket off I used a gray and then a blue dico 4" nylon abrasive wheel. I put an axle in the hub, clamped the axle in a vice so the hub would spin freely. Used the dico wheels in a 1/4 drill. I think it shined up nice to a close to factory finish. These wheels get down in the slots really well. The spinning hub leaves a nice uniform pattern like the factory finish. Wear glasses or better a face shield. I hit it with spray bomb wheel clear, also while spinning on the axle to keep it shiny longer. Respoked with mikesXS stainless, the clear didn't chip or mark at all while respoking! I can't stop myself so the brake hub got polished instead of the factory swirl finish.

 

[gggGary]

A pic of the other side

I need to work on the new camera focus yet!

 

[voelser]

Thanks guys!

Is it really required to get the clear off? I was was hoping to manually buff the whole thing up. Let's just say I lack the tools and garage to do this. I have a kitchen and elbow grease!

 

[5twins]

If you don't remove the clear coat, that's what you'll be polishing, not the aluminum. The problem is, that clear coat chips off in spots over time. Corrosion starts on the bare aluminum at those spots but then grows under the remaining clear coat. If you have tons of time and vast amounts of elbow grease, eventually you can polish through the clear coat and reach the aluminum. But it's so much quicker and easier to remove the clear coat first. I use common paint stripper.

Be aware that buffing is a dirty, dirty job. After a couple hours, you can look like you just came out of a coal mine. The wife may not like that happening in her kitchen, lol.

 

[voelser]

Hmmm...and I assume after the beautiful buff job (how does that sound dirty?) a new clear coat has to be applied?

That's ok, i'm solo...

 

[5twins]

I don't re-clear the parts. I don't want what happened to the originals to reoccur (chipping, then corroding under the remaining clear coat). Since you really can't access that center ribbed portion of the hub once the spokes are in, I don't polish it. I just clean it well, usually soda blast it. That gives it a nice clean, bare aluminum look.

 

[voelser]

ok, so, use painstripper to remove the clear and then just clean it? Again, I'd have to farm out the soda blasting...

 

[5twins]

I guess that's the best you can do. I'm not sure they cleared that center area, just the outer polished portions. When you apply the stripper, you'll see it "wrinkle" up in a minute or so if clear is present. That's the clear coat coming off.

 

[voelser]

Well...I was going to get some paintstripper for the tank anyway......might as well do the hubs as well!

Thanks!

 

[5twins]

If you have the alloy "rain gutter" rims, they may be clear coated as well. Some of the early and very first ones were not. I renovated a set from a '73 TX750 and was pleasantly surprised to find no clear coat on them. I was also pleasantly surprised to find that the rims were D.I.D. brand and not the Takasago brand as used on the later models.