GT Xizang Titanium, X-lite Ti forks 😳

[Spankyfart]

It has a sloped small triangle so it's an 18" like said before, amazes me that they don't know.
Still alot of money but with the fork I'm sure it's not.

 

[d8mok]

Took me 2 full days to make a Xizang look perfect. I guess it all depends on how good you want the end product to look.

If you just hit it with autosol you are still left with scratches (fine and deep) under the shiny outer wrapper. It also oxidises again quickly which affects the polishing and can end up patchy. I took some great advice from a Ti frame builder and there’s no way a hour would make it look as good as it could.

 

[Spankyfart]

Wouldn't bead blasting and recoating be the best / easiest option to make it look like new?

 

[ferrus]

Took me 2 full days to make a Xizang look perfect. I guess it all depends on how good you want the end product to look.

If you just hit it with autosol you are still left with scratches (fine and deep) under the shiny outer wrapper. It also oxidises again quickly which affects the polishing and can end up patchy. I took some great advice from a Ti frame builder and there’s no way a hour would make it look as good as it could.

I disagree. Having polished a rough Xizang, Edge Ti, Passoni bar/stem, 3-4 stems and a couple of seat posts to an immaculate finish, I know it’s possible. They were all done by hand so perhaps that’s the secret, as you can easily vary the pressure and abrasion.
I’ve seen your Xizang d8mok, it looks superb. But the finish I’ve managed is equally flawless.

 

[ferrus]

Wouldn't bead blasting and recoating be the best / easiest option to make it look like new?

Xizangs come with a highly polished finish - no coating’s needed to protect it as titanium naturally and immediately forms an oxidised surface.

 

[SantasLoneCruzer]

No skills needed, just an hour or so with some Autosol and that’d polish up a treat.
There’s always a possibility of cracks with those forks, but has anyone contacted the seller?, they might be really helpful and honest.

I’m not a fan of the forks personally (style over substance IMHO) but the bike’s a bargain at that price.

I’ve messaged on eBay, but nothing back yet.

 

[Twozaskars]

I asked for better photos of this yesterday and no response, also if it’s still in the box making the current photos 7 years old? I was ready to just buy it and drive down but for some reason that I can’t explain, I asked my mrs what she thought - won’t be doing that again.

 

[d8mok]

I disagree. Having polished a rough Xizang, Edge Ti, Passoni bar/stem, 3-4 stems and a couple of seat posts to an immaculate finish, I know it’s possible. They were all done by hand so perhaps that’s the secret, as you can easily vary the pressure and abrasion.
I’ve seen your Xizang d8mok, it looks superb. But the finish I’ve managed is equally flawless.

I’d be interested to see it?

My other Xizang has had very little use. That was easy to polish by hand with mothers. Took a couple of hours as it was decent before.

For a heavily used frame I’ll disagree and say it needs much more than a hour. But that’s ok, we can have different opinions and levels of finish we are happy with.

At Malverns I looked at many many polished bikes which had flaws compared to what I’d call flawless. Yes they were shiny but wasn’t at a level I’d call restored.

 

[ferrus]

Fair enough @d8mok, if a frame’s in a rough state it’d definitely need more attention than just polishing. I was referring to the idea that Autosol leaves scratches itself; it’s perfectly possible to attain a mirror finish using it, as well as Brasso etc.