Polishing a Marin IFT

Scapel

Retro Newbie
Hi Guys (and girls)
I'm looking for advice on how to polish an IFT. I've seen many highly polish Marin's and Gt's etc and always wondered how those that did it got such an amazing finish?
Please depart your wisdom on me!
Cheers Andy (newbie)
 
Re:

Hi Andy,I used to do a bit of this back in the day.I had use of a buddy`s lathe and used that to polish/buff frames.Doing it by hand is a bit of a pain,deep scratches will need a fine wet and dry emery,also give tinfoil and water a go for light scratches,the rest of it should come up nicely with Autosol and patience.After polishing I used to apply a clear lacquer to the frame,make sure the room is ventilated,not cold and has no moisture.Its tedious but rewarding.
 
Re:

Cheers mate, thanks for the great advice. After doing a bit of research it seems elbow grease and patience is the key to polishing these old frames. A lot of people talk about using ultra fine sand paper and gradually working their way up the grit number until they get a mirror finish. Not sure if I'm that keen!

Thanks
 
This fella certainly knows a thing or two about polishing! Everything on the bike was spotless, and super shiny. I haven't had the heart to strip it like I planned for donor parts, it is just so beautiful!
DSC08444_zps93rtghqn.jpg
 
I haven't looked closely, just threw it together and left it in storage. Moving it into the workshops later this week, so will have a proper look. Like I say. I bought it to strip off the M900 for a Klein Attitude frame, but never had the heart to do it. it was Major22's prior to my snagging it. I presume he finished it. That is his pic, I was blown away when I unboxed it!
 
Re:

That looks amazing! Just the inspiration I need for my build. I've always wanted to do a polished Marin with lots of 90's purple bling
 
Re:

Hi,

I've recently restored a Marin IFT and spent many hours polishing it.

The process I followed is this.

1. Wet and dry emery paper from 400 grit all the way to 4000
2. Aluminum foil with autosol
3. Autosol with a soft cloth
4. Jewelers rouge (green) on a soft cloth

The last step gives it that mirror finish - if that's what you want.

I've posted a few photos of the frame here

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=352238&start=10

Cheers,
 
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