Jump to content

How To Create The Finish Alu Brushed Surface?


N Roach

Recommended Posts

Hey,

I have stripped down a frame to raw metal. I am thinking of keeping it this way. I would like to know how to create the surface effect that frames such as echo lite, team and control have. It's like a silver brushed effect. I am guessing I would need some type of buffing disk to create the lines and then just put a laquer on top...?

Im also look for a topic, where someone has stripped down a 20" czar and smoothed the welds off etc made it 1.7kg. Would be most appreciated if someone could find it. I have looked and looked!

Any help would be great.

Nathan :)

Edited by Nathan Coward
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is this the czar you mentioned http://kep.tar.hu/cphun/50550318#2

Also as said wire wool and i used some t-cut (usualy used for removing light scratches etc) it brings off all and i mean all the dirt and grime (you will see the results on the cloth you use) then white spirit to take off bits of the t-cut should look nice and shiney. (Y)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i wouldnt of thought smoothing the welds out is a good idea.

Agreed. Theres certain areas of a frame that you really dont want to skimp on, and the welds that hold it all together would be one of those areas. The weight you're going to save compared to how incredibly weak your risking making your frame, is not worth it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i wouldnt of thought smoothing the welds out is a good idea.

Works great for Klein...

There is an attachment for drills that is a circular disc made of wires. Haven't tried it on a frame, but worked amazingly on a booster.

I think that's a bit savage, tends to rip through the alloy too much.

I would suggest some oil and fine/medium wire wool (Y)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You wont get a brushed Alloy look from Polishing alone.

Im not to sure on how they achive it, but polishing would only give you a shiney look.

Also Dont use t-cut, Use Brasso, will give a much better result.

If you really want to have a brushed look Lidls are selling Brushed Alloy Sticker sheets for £4.99

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Im pretty sure smoothing off the welds isnt going to effect the strength that much, seeing as its purposely done in the engineering trade.

hmm never heard that one before and i work for one of the worlds largest engineering companies, we certainly don't 'smooth' off welds

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fair enough then. Thinking about it the things Im thinking of that have smoothed off welds dont really have and force put through them.

hmm never heard that one before and i work for one of the worlds largest engineering companies, we certainly don't 'smooth' off welds

Link to comment
Share on other sites

hmm never heard that one before and i work for one of the worlds largest engineering companies, we certainly don't 'smooth' off welds

you sure about that? welds have to be smoothed on certain things. it's not exactly a common practice though and it's usually only there because it looks good not because it does anything.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

From my building code experience, the strength in welding Alu comes from the material you add in during the welding....but that not to say there isn't a point which you pass and have excess.

As for brushing....what I've done, polish it, then take scotchbrite pad (industrial strengt?heavy duty works best.) and stroke in one direction!! this is where you will make of brake the final look.

As long as you take the time to NOT go backward and forward, just using repetitive one direction strokes you will get a nice strait grain effect.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Im pretty sure that smoothing out welds would be a good idea, but it does depend on the amount of weld material used.

Cannondale and klien perform oversized welds and smooth them out, so they have a similar amount of material to a normal arc weld. Having such a smooth weld will minimise any points of high stress brought on by the pattern from the welding.

To be fair, both styles will have similar strength, its all about the annealing/heat treatment process afterwards.

Edited by strelly
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am almost certain that you need to get a stiff copper brush, and "BRUSH" it to get the "BRUSHED" look. Hence the name. Haven't done it to a bike, but did it to an intake once-came out great.

Definitely one direction, not back and forth.

Edited by ti-mig-guy
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...