I've used a stiff cotton cord in those grooves--first with mineral spirits and then a new length to polish the grooves. It takes a while and they never get bright, but they're clean and have a dull lustre.
Wilf
How to clean and polish hubBIX stripper will remove the clear coat. So will Aircraft stripper, which comes in aerosol cans. Acetone and steel wool will take off any small patches that might remain after stripping.
I just did both the front and rear hubs as well as the brake plates. I have a buffing wheel, but don't use it, especially if most of the clear coat was still intact. Sometimes I just start with 1200 grit paper or if they are rough, 400 grit and work my way up to 1200. Then 0000 steel wool. Last step is a good polish with Mother's Alum polish or similar. I use no power tools with the sandpaper. The center portion gets the wire brush treatment. I don't strip the clear unless it really looks bad. I like the frosted look for the center of the hub. I do take a small rat tail file and clean up the casting lines that are only roughly ground by Honda. I put a nice radius on them. Then I put the hub in a lathe and polish just the outer edges of the fins in the center of the hub. I actually polish the entire hub in the lathe if I'm doing a hub that has been unlaced from the rim. Makes for a much more uniform look. So I guess I do use a power tool. But the sandpaper is still controlled by my hands or with a wood or rubber sanding block. Be careful if you use a hard cotton wheel and rouge when you get near spoke holes and sharp edges. The wheel will elongage holes and take the sharp edge off in a second. You can always tell parts that were polished by first timers that did not know what they were doing. regards, Rob
Rob, how do you clamp the hub in your lathe? Are you using a 3-jaw chuck? I'm looking to clean up my CB77 hub. The entire thing looks pretty ugly. I'm thinking I'll need to remove the clear coat. I like the idea of blasting the centers and polishing the face and backing plate. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.
Free,
First I see you are new, at least this is your first post. Welcome. I'm pretty new here to. I suggest you fill in your profile with your location. You will get more responses from folks here once you tell them where you are located. You also might find someone close to you that can offer help should you need it. Yes, I chuck the hubs up in a 3 jaw chuck, clamped carefully on the inner bearing carrier on the brake plate side, obviously with the brake plate removed. I also put a small piece of wood against the other side of the bearing area on the opposite side of the brake plate and seat my live center firmly into the wood. This provides a little extra security because you don't want to chew up the hub in the chuck by clamp down hard, but you also don't want it flying out with all the nasty consequences associated with that. Also, NO RAGS for polishing. Use only paper towels. A rag can be snagged by almost anything and can pull your hand into the work, yank off a finger, etc.. I don't know what your background or experience with lathes and similar tools are so I'm going to treat you like a neophyte, only because I don't want you to get hurt. No gloves, rubber, cotton or otherwise, either. Clothe gloves can be snaggeg and rubber gloves will grip a smooth surface and if strong enough can cause a nasty sprain or jamb or break a finger under the right conditions. Cover the ways of the lathe with paper towels or newpaper directly under the work to keep grit from sandpaper and polishing media off the ways. Give the lathe ways and related areas a good vacuuming when you are done. Here's another trick where the lathe comes in handy. With the lathe protected from overspray, you can clear coat the hub with the lathe on back gears, which is turning very slowly if you are not familiar with the term. We are talking maybe 25 -50 rpm. With the hub turning, you can put a fairly heavy, yet even coat of clear coat on the hub and then just leave it turning in the lathe to dry. No runs using this method and only one coat required. It has to be very slow or it will sling the clear coat to the OD of the hub. I don't clear coat anymore because what I can buy seems to scratch too easy and it does make the polished alum a little cloudy looking. I find my polished pieces hold up really well where I live and keep my bikes. Hope this helps. And did not mean to talk down to you if you are a seasoned machinist. I'd rather err on the side of caution when it comes to things like this. NO FREAKIN' RAGS, GOT IT!!! regards and good luck, Rob
Anything that lists Methylene Chloride will work. That's the stripping ingredient. Wear non-rubber gloves. That stuff dissolves petroleum products and is absorbed through the skin faster than an old Kawasaki KZ-1000 cop bike ... which is why you feel "cold and tingly" on your skin where it was.
Known carcinogen and an Osha fav. :( Dana
1966/7 CB-77 Red of course 1976 CB-550F (project over-budget and under-funded) 1985 GS-450S (Land Speed Racer)
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