I broke off the threads on the BB spindle of my Motobecane when I tried to pull a set of shimano cranks on it. Both square taper, but the Shimano cranks were a mm smaller inside. So, I found another spindle (shimano) to match the original (really)! However, the finish was a little nasty after, what, twenty to thirty years or there abouts. So I put the polishing wheel on it and brought it to a beautiful mirror finish (I keep dipping it in water to prevent heating up the metal) and then thought to myself, rats, this is Cro-mo not stainless steel. It says Cro-mo on the spindle, but here's my real question. How are non-stainless spindles finished to protect them from rust? Anodizing, grease, or what? I know lots of pedals aren't stainless, but appear to have some sort of hardened black finish. Any suggestions would be appreciated. By the way, it's my old Grand Touring, found on a fence, Motobecane, which I believe to have been built in July of 1970, have to check my records on that though.
Cheers,
Richard F. Long (RIX)
Temecula, CA
USA