Stripped Alloy frame... Any protection/clear coat required?

[ozdavo]

I have any alloy frame (7005 I believe) that I have stripped and plan to build up with a natural alloy finish. I assume I need to treat the frame with some type of protection, but have no idea what cheap & suitable options are available.
Any help/hints/advice welcome.

[Dan]

Can't you give it a coat of beeswax?

[drubie]

I have an old Norco MTB frame that originally came clear coated over natural looking alloy - the factory clear coat had peeled by the time I got it (tip shop find).

I sanded off the clear coat and polished it down with sandpaper, metal polish and that "maserati" cotton wadding stuff. It's been a couple of years and it still looks fine with no extra protection. It's been through several kinds of hell (although I keep it in the shed it's done quite a few mountain bike events now in all weathers). I personally wouldn't bother with a coating if you're after the natural look. Most of the minor corrosion can be quickly buffed out with metal polish (but I prefer the cotton wadding because it removes less metal)

If it's supposed to look highly polished / mirror finish then you might need to coat it with something or clear coat it.

[ozdavo]

Thanks, not after the highly polished look, just don't want it to corrode. What is the Maserati cotton wadding?

[drubie]

Thanks, not after the highly polished look, just don't want it to corrode. What is the Maserati cotton wadding?

I can't find a picture online, but supercheap and Repco sell it - it's a yellow tin with "maserati" on it, full of a bunch of cotton that has been doped with a metal polishing compound. You tear off a pinch at a time and use it in small pieces. Good for cleaning stainless steel and aluminium trim on cars and also good for bike stuff - less messy than the Autosol compound and a touch finer (so I'd use Autosol to remove the big scratches and the maserati wadding to finish off).

[ozdavo]

Sounds great, will get some and give it a go.

[barefoot]

I stripped the paint off a 7005 MTB frame years ago, and left it like that. It became known as The Cleanskin.

I liked the post-modern industrial look of it. You could see the extruding die marks on the tubes, the heat zone around the welds. Appearance wise, it stayed exactly how it started, except for the top tube getting polished by the brushing of my legs. That added to the functional authenticity of the look. I didn't treat it with anything (but contempt ).

Aluminium corrodes very quickly. As in, within seconds of being exposed to air. The oxide coating is hard and insoluble, so it forms a very thin protective coating and stops the metal underneath from corroding. Chances are you've never really seen un-corroded aluminium, because all aluminium "in the wild" already has an oxide coating on it.

tim

[Wal42]

Dan's advice is spot on.

I know because I recently stripped down an alloy fork, I took it to the metal platers to be finished, he advised me that clear won't stick, that I also wouldn't get any guarantee from any chromers (I rang nearly everyone in OZ & he was correct) & that to stop any corrosion to coat it with bees wax, it seals against air which causes the oxidisation (or corrosion if you wish to call it that), if you were after a high lustre finish, I would use a high silicone or wax content auto polish, if not just plain bees wax, just rub it in, allow it some time to penetrate then wipe off the excess.