Untreated aluminum?

[998R]

Is the aluminum Ducati uses raw and not clear anodized (e.g., kickstand and foot peg brackets on a 998)? Over time, I see a lot of impurities (i.e., dirt) embedding itself into the aluminum. I've tried using Simichrome to polish the dirt out but it's not working. Perhaps my rag is not reaching the pits in the aluminum. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on restoring the finish to the stock aluminum pieces. I don't want to rub polish too hard and end of putting on a chrome finish to the piece. Thanks.

[pjonte]

Sorry, it actually painted to appear like aluminum..

[k-os]

Try some mineral spirits with a toothbrush.

[BklynDuc]

If the parts are aluminum, or any other metal, you could try a product called "NEVR-DULL". Home Page

[DaC]

Originally Posted by 998R

Is the aluminum Ducati uses raw and not clear anodized (e.g., kickstand and foot peg brackets on a 998)? Over time, I see a lot of impurities (i.e., dirt) embedding itself into the aluminum. I've tried using Simichrome to polish the dirt out but it's not working. Perhaps my rag is not reaching the pits in the aluminum. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on restoring the finish to the stock aluminum pieces. I don't want to rub polish too hard and end of putting on a chrome finish to the piece. Thanks.

A small soda blaster is great for cleaning up this sort of stuff.

If you have an air compressor, you can make one up pretty quickly with some simple clear tubing and a container to hold the baking soda.

[jwsparkes]

I think they are anodized. Well, I know the sprocket carrier on my 996 was because I tried to polish it. The anodize layer is typically rather hard. It also does not conduct electricity very well.

An easy test would be if you have a multimeter, set it to resistance scale, the lowest setting and put both the probes on the part about 1cm from each other. If it's bare aluminum the meter will show a very low resistance (short circuit beep if your meter does that). If it's anodized, it will show a very high resistance.

Aluminium alloys of practical strength suffer from corrosion very quickly. There is usually a requirement to anodise or chromate the surface on exposed parts.

You can reapply the anodise layer if you have the equipment. After starting to polish my sprocket carrier I decided it was going to be too much work and look like shit anyway, so I gave it a clean and reapplied the annodize layer using the Phosphoric acid process. Most parts are either Sulphuric or Chromic acid annodized, but phos is also being used now. My sprocket appearance went back to the nice uniform matt aluminium and it's not corroding yet.

But if anyone wants to now more about anodizing, can either google or ask me to start a new technical thread?

[desmo_pt]

Originally Posted by jwsparkes

But if anyone wants to now more about anodizing, can either google or ask me to start a new technical thread?

Please, a new technical thread!