My forks were leaky, and there were black streaks that wouldnt clean off with degreaser, so I replaced the legs. This gave me a chance to play with the old ones.
The first pic shows the streaks and sanding with 2000 grit, which didnt do much.
The 2nd photo shows what happened with red scuff pads, which is about 500 grit.
It did start removing the streaks, so they were above the chrome layer.
The 3rd pic shows them after sanding with 220 grit sandpaper.
The streaks are gone, and the legs turned from shiny to matte. I've heard of people sanding with 320 grit to take some of the mirror finish off, which is supposed to make the seals work better. Not sure if that is true or not, but you can sand pretty agressively and not go thru the chrome. If anyone has the black streaks and are already set on replacing them, I'd give the 320 grit a try.
The last pic shows the seals wiping oil in both directions. This isn't under any kind of pressure, but it still looks promising.
The first pic shows the streaks and sanding with 2000 grit, which didnt do much.
The 2nd photo shows what happened with red scuff pads, which is about 500 grit.
It did start removing the streaks, so they were above the chrome layer.
The 3rd pic shows them after sanding with 220 grit sandpaper.
The streaks are gone, and the legs turned from shiny to matte. I've heard of people sanding with 320 grit to take some of the mirror finish off, which is supposed to make the seals work better. Not sure if that is true or not, but you can sand pretty agressively and not go thru the chrome. If anyone has the black streaks and are already set on replacing them, I'd give the 320 grit a try.
The last pic shows the seals wiping oil in both directions. This isn't under any kind of pressure, but it still looks promising.
