Tuesday Tune-Up: Polishing Your P&J

That’s ‘Pride & Joy’. Perverts…

Yes, on the Tuesday Tune-Up this week I’m going to show you how I go about getting a showroom shine on my bike. Well, actually on Wendy’s bike – mine’s already too shiny.

So, following on from last weeks’ post about how to keep your bike clean, the next step is to give it a bit of sparkle. Before I start though, a couple of things:

• This won’t work on raw Ti
• This won’t work on a matte finish frame
• It won’t clean up rust on an old steel frame
• It will work on clear lacquer (i.e. clear lacquer over raw carbon), as long as it’s not matte lacquer
• Don’t do it on your drivetrain, components or wheels

That bit sorted, let’s crack on…

1. First things first, use last weeks’ lesson to get your bike nice and clean – don’t do this on a dirty bike!

2. With some car wax (I’ll come onto the good ones to use later) and a soft, lint-free cloth (or sponge / pad which is sometimes supplied with some waxes) apply wax sparingly but with good coverage in a circular motion

3. Allow the wax to ‘go off’ – 10-15mins should do it – which will leave a creamy-coloured crust on the bike

4. With a clean, lint-free cloth buff off that crust!

5. You should find that your bike now sparkles, and the paint surface feels much smoother to the touch

6. Repeat if you want to – it’s marginal gains from here, but I always feel like that second coat of wax leaves the bike ‘just so’ in terms of a visible difference from when I started.