I was considering buying a polished mtb hardtail frame-no specific make decided yet.in other peoples experience,how durable is the finish(usually)compared to a painted or anodized frame both of which get badly chipped/scuffed too easily in their intended use.Furthermore,could my existing alloy frame be chemically stripped and then polished:profesionally of course and does anyone know where it could be done?

IME most of the polished frames you see are actually lacquered. If you don't treat aluminium it'll tarnish very quickly.

Although my Malt 1 is a great frame the lacquer has come off where the cable has rubbed & where mud has been trapped between the tyre & chain stays & this does not look good. I don't think this is easy to sort out as like, Mike Spence says, it is tarnished & you can't just touch it up like you can with paint.

This has all happend over the last two years of wear so I my next frame will also be poilished as it does look cool.

ive found the lacquered finish not to be as durable as a powder coat.

when my old bike lost about 50% of its finish i took the rest of the lacquer off and "buffed" it up with a brillo pad.

left it with a nice matt titanium effect

thanks for that guys.btw I found a company called argos cycles who advertise that they can restore/renovate any bike frame to whatever colour etc you want.seems like a great idea going down this route esp if you`re happy with your existing frame.I wonder if they can supply oe decals :ie the marin "tribal"graphics from their 04 trail hardtail range.

My flux is polished alloy and I much prefer to a paint finish, my preference would be

1 Polished
2 Anodised
3 Powdercoat
4 Spray paint

btw Argos have a very good reputation and seem to know there stuff