Removing Anodizing & Polishing Aluminum BMX Hub! (Mirror Finish)

From anodized black to polished aluminum in just 6 hours! haha
Learning how to remove anodizing and then how to polish aluminum all in one day on a part that will go on my new bmx bike was so rewarding in the end! Seeing the finished product was just awesome.
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If you intend on removing anodizing, I would do some research into a different or better method that could be a bit faster than the 2-3 hours it took with draino drain cleaner.'
But as far as polishing goes, mothers mag and aluminum polish with a microfiber rag are the way to go! They brought a mirror finish to the aluminum and using a drill to spin the hub made light work of it.
Hope you enjoy this one! From the actual process itself to editing the video, I am proud of all of it!!
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[@bmxrider71]

I've done this for a LOT of old skool parts that looked rough before and here's my process... Drano crystals with HOT water. Let it soak until it removes EVERYTHING. Rinse VERY well with water. To polish a hub I'll put it in a fork just like you did but I'll put 4 spokes cut in half through from the inside, pinch then together and put them into a drill. Hold the drill level with the hub and pull the trigger (I set the drill to the lowest speed). Use wet sand paper (I start with 500 grit) to get out imperfections. Repeat with 1000 grit (keep the paper wet). Again with 1500 grit. Clean THOROUGHLY. Then put some polish on a soft cloth and pull the trigger on the drill until it shines like chrome. Wipe with a CLEAN DRY cloth and voila, it's done. This takes about 1-2 hours at most. Feel free to hit me up for any other tips like this. PS - WEAR A MASK PPS - I wrote this before I finished the video 😂😂😂😂

[@PinstripeJim]

Sweet. When you do the wet sanding or any sanding, it helps to go one direction with one grit of paper, then cross the sanding grain with the next grit of paper and keep crossing with each finer grain. Not too easy with a hub but flat pieces or with a drill buffer it can be done.

[@Brant_Moore]

Tim and Jim’s polishing service. Haha Thanks dudes! I’m getting ready for my next endeavor into part color changing. This one is a little simpler if it will work!

[@RocketRuss]

You may want to spray the finished/polished part with a protective clear coat. Otherwise, you'll see some oxidation/corrosion happen after some time. Well done, by the way.

[@gsboonedox9883]

Dude everytime I go to look up a how to video for BMX, it's always you. 4 or 5 videos now. Just want to say thanks man. Stay cool and stay rad, bro. I'm going to go ahead and subscribe.

[@Brant_Moore]

Hell yea! I’m stoked I’ve been able to help you!

[@PinstripeJim]

More than 25 years ago I was a metal polisher professionally. This isn't an easy process and you killed it. I had a 90's GT 24" Cruiser that I stripped and everything but the tires and grips was either chrome plated or polished aluminum. We used a special stripper for paint and anodizing that was very toxic or we just grit wheel sanded the anodizing off. There are not many polishing shops left due to EPA regulations. But, now I am going to strip the anodizing on my stem of my new PK Ripper 27.5" this weekend using this technique. May need to pick up a little buffing wheel for my drill. I'm impressed. That hub looks great.

[@Brant_Moore]

Hey thanks man! It’s awesome that people do this at all. Crazy what you can do with a little elbow grease to make your bike YOUR bike!

[@arthursoto4285]

Dude I ran with your drill idea and polished all the bolts on my bike. Saved so much money and it looks amazing. Thanks for the inspiration

[@Brant_Moore]

That's so awesome to hear man!!! Bet it looks goooooood too

[@lewishughes3914]

I’ve just polished my revolution hub and I didn’t bother sanding it. Just used oven cleaner and I used the same polish and it came up just as good. I didn’t loose any of the details on the hub it looks 👌🏻

[@zackk695]

Great job and you taught me about using the drain cleaner to remove old color. I have some white a bit myself and it’s very tough and not for the light hearted. You best friend is going to be a cloth polishing wheel that connect to drills. They are cheap and get about 5 different wheel sizes. When they are dirty then throw them in the wash with regular dishwashing soap and they are ready to use again. No need to dry them

[@Brant_Moore]

Happy to help and thanks for the tip there! There's also some tips that might help better than drain cleaner in the comments if you look through.

[@mambocowboy]

Looks better than the black for sure.

[@matthewschick860]

I did this on my Eclat Seismic and it worked so well. I wish i could upload photos!

[@angelbrooksbmx]

Thank you for this video doing this to my stem and seat post right now

[@jsimmonstx]

Might want to try a can of easy-off oven cleaner (yellow can, "heavy duty") to strip the anodizing next time...

[@DaveWasThereMan]

And a rotary tool. Get some cheap pads and make a big fun mess

[@emilegoguely4032]

Right on, used to bmx and graduate to different projects. Still tinkering and learning about how to polish, helpful tips!

[@jawertt]

Hi why you did not use paint remover?

[@JJM94]

Use an old tooth brush to speed up the process next time. Took me mins to do my stem 😊

[@Brant_Moore]

I feel like that and probably 100 other things would’ve sped this up. Hahaha it took way too long

[@liam.ywg_]

I’ll keep that in mind for my scooter Bars tomorrow!

[@thomasmiller7531]

In my early bmx years I once sanded/polished a black anodized rim to aluminum.. going round the spokes cause I didn’t want to unlace it lol, even if I did it completely wrong, that experience threw me off of any similar endeavors for life. You did a good job, though!

[@JuicyFruityify]

Dude this is me, stripping the anodizing off an old aluminum briefcase....thanks for the pointers ! I'll let you know how it goes.

[@landen1448]

I just did this on a bunch of pit bike parts then polished them worked really good

[@hawbra56]

Turned out awesome. Its definitely a process. I have used oven cleaner in the past to de-anodize parts. It seemed to be the same amount of work.

[@palikariena7292]

Nice video thx. I would recommend eye protection in case of splashes.

[@russelljennings7822]

Looks like it turned out pretty nice to me! The only advice I'd give you for your next polishing job is to wet sand it with 1000 grit or higher sand paper. It will speed up the hand polishing with the mother's polish but in all very good job👍👍

[@ZippyLikesZippers]

I always used oven cleaner to strip anodizing.

[@Brant_Moore]

Hmmm good to know!

[@Bobby_Uterus]

Works way faster. Works on powder coat too.

[@Brant_Moore]

Wish I would’ve known that first! Haha

[@Bobby_Uterus]

@@Brant_Moore You still got the results you were after. Thats what matters right?

[@Brant_Moore]

I mean, in hind sight, yes definitely. But as usual with a project like this I went in thinking it would only take a few hours..then the anodizing stripping part took all day alone. Haha Should have known that would happen from the start though

[@seanstepherson6138]

Looks really good. I forgot to mention earlier this week I had not seen a JP Cycles hoodie or catalog in a long time. Seen yours in the back of your car.

[@seanstepherson6138]

On all my show cars and bikes I had I always used Mother's products

[@EliHorwitz]

Do you think this will work on plain black paint on an aluminum frame?

[@melodyfrench9576]

Wow that came out frikken awesome🤘🏻⚡️🤘🏻can’t wait to see the new bike build, yeah 💪🏻

[@DanielRodriguez-fv5os]

I use the draino full strength

[@jasonniemier4425]

One thing to remember is polished raw aluminum will tarnish it’s the nature of aluminum. Especially in environments when it’s getting wet and subjected to the elements. To prevent this a good quality clearcoat will stop the tarnishing and it will stay mirrored shiny indefinitely.

[@BenJamin-wl8ov]

Just started doing this to some rc parts 💪🤘👍

[@macendy1]

Any problems with loose fitting of bearings, since you submerge the whole hub body?

[@Bmxunion]

Nice! Was definitely about to message you asking why you didn't get a drill out to polish it, haha.

[@Brant_Moore]

Hahaha I did it literally just to keep you from giving me shit! 😉😉😉

[@mark_spit7839]

So this is the video I've been waiting for, for the last 30 years lol! I have an old VG cable hanger anodized purple that doesn't quite go with a black and blue '87 Haro Master. Thx for the vid!

[@PinstripeJim]

I have a Free Agent 24" from around 1992 I'm going to do the same to.

[@seirasiera5182]

You can use it directly without water by using a brush. Just dont let it stay to long. Once the paint remove the wash with water

[@Gen01Lee]

From what I know the ingredient that’s in drain cleaner and oven cleaner is lye? And that it’s best to buy straight lye and then add water. I haven’t tried this yet but plan to soon.

[@4321eyeseeyou]

Hey, I know you did this 2 years ago but I have to tell you, you were making me laugh (with good intentions) because it was trial and error but you did really good, I'm just glad there was nothing to could get caught on or had any sharp edges. Just don't get hurt but hey, you're a rider so you take some risks, be careful. Take it easy and do it right.

[@Brant_Moore]

Hey thanks for not leaning into it too hard. haha If I were to do this today I'd definitely use an oven cleaner to take off the anodizing and figure out a better way to polish the hub. It worked at least and still looks great to this day! haha

[@RonaldoHere236]

Its works bro..!! but i'am using Autosol for better shining wax. Tq for sharing.

[@Brant_Moore]

Awesome!!! Happy to help!!

[@kilokiloj]

Thank you so much. That was amazing.

[@DaveWasThereMan]

The remaining black is usually aluminum oxide not anodizing, sometimes you'll push the oxide around forever not realizing its just aluminum residue.

[@detroitrcwurks998]

Easy off oven cleaner and paint stripper works well also!

[@mike2190]

Nicely done.

[@LoneWolfed]

Heads up. In the beginning of some videos you point to the left, but there's no links there. At the end they're there. Hub looks bomb!💣💥

[@scotty555babe]

What's the intro music please.

[@carlinoheaney4434]

Yeew hub came out awesome 😎 I like new music 🎶 rad

[@dividingdan]

good video bro!

[@Brant_Moore]

THank you man!!

[@jasonmorgan4108]

Use a drill with a slip clutch on the lowest setting to avoid mangling your hand

[@Brant_Moore]

Thanks for the tip!

[@VailSkateSupply1]

I heard oven cleaner will work too. Maybe try it on the rear?

[@Ygliltony]

Killed it

[@XxLastWinterxX]

Looks great

[@TheDaltonmichaels]

nice, found this video cause i want to strip the anodizing off some of the bolted on parts on my engine. just want nice polished aluminum parts on everything now. dont forget to put some wax or protective coating on that polished part. being a bike it'll probably see moisture and dirt witch will oxidize it over time. i polished my dirtbike wheel hoops once. huge waste of time, but looked killer for a month or so lol. not worth the time though.

[@zackk695]

Maybe put drain cleaner directly on the hub

[@blakeeaton9870]

Does it go dull after a while ?

[@bsimz008]

how is your hub right now? any negative effect so far? I plan on doing the same on my crankset.

[@Brant_Moore]

Nothing that I’m aware of. It still looks just like it did at the end of this video

[@bsimz008]

​@@Brant_Moore Thanks for the update man. I was just a little worried that it might compromise the structural integrity of the part. I plan on doing the same with my crankset.

[@1911fortyfiv5]

Damn bro I’m proud of you too lol. Thanks for the video now to remove some anodized coating off my aluminum alloy colt frame.

[@jeramimachado383]

Hell yes!!!!

[@nowherebrain]

I keep thinking of doing this to some rims, since black rims are simply cheaper...any thoughts/advice?

[@Brant_Moore]

Hmmmm. I would try with one before going crazy. But if you’re smart about it and do it the right way it could be viable

[@Brant_Moore]

I’ve always found with things like that that it’s usually more work and time than it’s worth. I almost always wish that I had just paid the extra money and been done with it. Haha

[@nowherebrain]

@@Brant_Moore well I was going to get one from an old garage sale bike with an old araya rim.. or simply buy the cheapest pinned rim I could find for a test...and I guess I would need a standing buffer...wouldn't make sense to spin the rim(like you did with the hub)..

[@nowherebrain]

@@Brant_Moore what...lol, no way..here in germany the black rims knock off about 20-30% of the price compared to a polished or chrome counterpart...cheaper to paint them than to polish them.

[@jdm91hatch]

Would this work with anodized gold you think?

[@thomas930409]

yes, as this process dissolves aluminum taking off any anodized color

[@aevan104]

I've always used oven cleaner to remove anodizing. It only takes a couple minutes

[@Brant_Moore]

Yeaaaaaa, I kinda forgot about oven cleaner when at the store prepping for this one. Haha

[@Cab895]

wow!!!

[@pauljames1978]

Don't get any WD40 in the bearing Brant it will mess them up (was rocking out to the music ) 👍🚲💨

[@raulcabrales9594]

Alianation really made you do all that work when they could have just made it polished from the factory? Lol jokes aside, great job!

[@Cra1g1380y]

Nice.

[@eazyevan1]

In any process removing Ano or paint always remember that open air is your enemy it dilutes or dry's the chemicals up, use a bag or lid and to results speed up significantly, you're welcome. 😎

[@Brant_Moore]

Thank you! Good to know for next time

[@JakeRidesBikez]

now... did the hub end up oxidizing over time and lose that polished look? Also some people in a forum were saying that using strong bases (e.g. drano) on anodized parts can also start attacking the un-anodized aluminum itself and compromise the strength of the part. I would look into that more before building a wheel with that hub!

[@Brant_Moore]

Nope it’s still 100% perfect and has had zero issues what so ever

[@sw1412]

Easy off works just as well, yellow can

[@Brant_Moore]

That’s good info! Hopefully some people see it. Thank you

[@kirkberry2472]

Should have used easy off it took off the anodizing from my truss hoop

[@TheOnlyBlackInMeWasWillieBrown]

you could've just bought oven cleaner instead and sprayed it directly on the part and let it sit.

[@indiangamerz4100]

Hi m india m rhata hu. BMX cycle kya melti h

[@nicolerobinson9429]

Hey, can you confirm you didn't end up using the metal polish?

[@Brant_Moore]

No I did

[@nicolerobinson9429]

@@Brant_Moore ooooh I didn't see it. I just saw draino, wd40, mother's polish. Whereabouts would I find the part where you used it? So sorry for the fuss! Amazing work though!

[@Brant_Moore]

Oh I thought you meant the mothers. I’ll have to watch through this again to remember if I used anything else but of the top of my head I think the mothers was the only thing I used

[@nicolerobinson9429]

@@Brant_Moore haha yeah I've watched it three times and couldn't see it and I thought I might be going crazy?! Do you remember why you though you MIGHT use it? I assume you haven't had to repolish or anything yet? Looking to do it on a BB

[@nyaxz8439]

use Natrium hidroksida and Hot Water

[@mquevedo0616]

How's the hub? I tried a drain cleaner in my radiator, it ate the aluminum away. I had to replace it. 🤓

[@Brant_Moore]

I'm not riding it anymore but it's still laced up and has nothing wrong with it

[@SurRonBurgundy]

Yea next time just hit it with the WD 40 straight out the deanodizing… it will clean and polish same time.

[@DanielRodriguez-fv5os]

Using a terry towel first instead of a microfiber is faster

[@Brant_Moore]

Thanks for the tip!! Hopefully someone sees it and is helped!

[@natehate5547]

try easy off oven cleaner next time instead of drain cleaner

[@unfit-bmx]

You will need to lacquer that bud or it will corrod and go dirty straight away

[@PinstripeJim]

No it won't as long as you keep it clean. How do you think aluminum polished car wheels are kept nice? keep them clean and hit with aluminum polish often. The polish acts as a barrier to elements and corrosion.

[@davidgee1728]

Lacquer thinner??

[@NicoFerolino]

u need to brush it off. use brush

[@nowherebrain]

I watched this before, but why not just buy some sodium hydroxide?

[@420jacksonian]

to easy to mess up aluminum with the wrong cleaner,much safer to use oven cleaner, reg, not heavy duty ,reg will remove much better, but takes 6 to 10 hrs.the wrong cleaner will also produce a toxic gas , aluminum foil and drain cleaner made with sulfuric acid in a empty 2 litre bottle,cap it shake for 2 seconds and throw, a loud bang equal to a halve stick of dynamite.

[@superstock9261]

That's not anodised I think, that's powder coating

[@Brant_Moore]

It’s definitely anodizing

[@WishihadaNami]

I might’ve ruined mine with low grit sandpaper on a belt sander Bedford I watched this video. What an idiot I am

[@blameusa7082]

use power tools

[@crimpers5543]

protip: wear gloves.

[@zachorton8764]

Why would you want to do this?

[@skunk3works895]

Let me save you some time easy off over cleaner takes it right off np I never heard this way loos to much drama lol