I recently bought a old mech from another member with the idea of doing a cleaning and polishing how to.
I used the below method when restoring chrome bike parts, do not do this on poorly plated metals or anodized parts, this method is fine for brass, copper and stainless.
I think my end result was superb.
Here we go:
This is what the mech looked like when it arrived at home, some would doubt if it could be cleaned and repolished.
Here are the ingredients needed for the clean:
the lemon is not really necessary, unless the vinegar is too weak to clean the mech, either way, you can use 100% lemon juice from the shops (Sold in those little green bottles).
Step one:
Strip the mech and take out all delrin/plastic ( do not soak these, they will become brittle after time or discolour terribly ). Then soak in vinegar ( Best to use proper white spirit vinegar ).
Step two:
Make a thick paste with bicarbonate of soda and Vinegar/Lemon juice, the bicarb will fizz, nut once it has fizzed it will be a paste ( Remember, more bicarb than vinegar will be best )
this paste is then used with a sponge to scrub the mech as much as possible, between scrubs drop the mech in the vinegar and rinse it decently, check if you are happy and repeat the scrubs as many times as you wish or until you are satisfied with the result, like mine below
Step three:
Rinse the mech in vinegar for the last time to get the last bit of bicarb off and to be sure its been cleaned to your liking. Now wash it with some dishwashing liquid and thoroughly rinse under running water.
Now comes the fun part...
I have a little attachment that I screw into the mech and then spin it on my drill, you can use a carto for this, I just used an old attachment thingy that was laying around.
Step four:
Apply some autosol polish directly to the mech ( I prefer Autosol because it leaves a bit of a protective residue on the metal and can also be used on all metals. DO NOT USE IT ON PLATED METALS!!! )
Step five:
Slowly spin the drill , I reiterate, SLOWLY. Mine flew off and hit me square it the nugget, it was not fun, so here easy does it. Whilst spinning apply gentle pressure with a clean sponge.
Once you are happy that the mech is shiny enough you can put the sponge away and buff it with a clean microfiber whilst slowly spinning the drill.
If you do it right like I did above, it should take between 20 and 30 minutes to clean it properly.
I think my end result was more than I expected. I was a bit worried that the lazer etched logos may come off, but it didn't at all, so I can really recommend this method of cleaning. Below is my end result
Feel free to leave your opinions on this one:
I used the below method when restoring chrome bike parts, do not do this on poorly plated metals or anodized parts, this method is fine for brass, copper and stainless.
I think my end result was superb.
Here we go:
This is what the mech looked like when it arrived at home, some would doubt if it could be cleaned and repolished.
Here are the ingredients needed for the clean:
the lemon is not really necessary, unless the vinegar is too weak to clean the mech, either way, you can use 100% lemon juice from the shops (Sold in those little green bottles).
Step one:
Strip the mech and take out all delrin/plastic ( do not soak these, they will become brittle after time or discolour terribly ). Then soak in vinegar ( Best to use proper white spirit vinegar ).
Step two:
Make a thick paste with bicarbonate of soda and Vinegar/Lemon juice, the bicarb will fizz, nut once it has fizzed it will be a paste ( Remember, more bicarb than vinegar will be best )
this paste is then used with a sponge to scrub the mech as much as possible, between scrubs drop the mech in the vinegar and rinse it decently, check if you are happy and repeat the scrubs as many times as you wish or until you are satisfied with the result, like mine below
Step three:
Rinse the mech in vinegar for the last time to get the last bit of bicarb off and to be sure its been cleaned to your liking. Now wash it with some dishwashing liquid and thoroughly rinse under running water.
Now comes the fun part...
I have a little attachment that I screw into the mech and then spin it on my drill, you can use a carto for this, I just used an old attachment thingy that was laying around.
Step four:
Apply some autosol polish directly to the mech ( I prefer Autosol because it leaves a bit of a protective residue on the metal and can also be used on all metals. DO NOT USE IT ON PLATED METALS!!! )
Step five:
Slowly spin the drill , I reiterate, SLOWLY. Mine flew off and hit me square it the nugget, it was not fun, so here easy does it. Whilst spinning apply gentle pressure with a clean sponge.
Once you are happy that the mech is shiny enough you can put the sponge away and buff it with a clean microfiber whilst slowly spinning the drill.
If you do it right like I did above, it should take between 20 and 30 minutes to clean it properly.
I think my end result was more than I expected. I was a bit worried that the lazer etched logos may come off, but it didn't at all, so I can really recommend this method of cleaning. Below is my end result
Feel free to leave your opinions on this one:
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