v-pilot wrote on 03/06/14 at 21:24:47:I've heard of using the outer cover from parachute cord. Cut a comfortable length and pull out the center part then make one complete wrap around the spoke and a dab of some cleaner or polish and saw it back and forth up and down the spoke...mat take you a while though
After trying several approaches I went for this. It can put enough friction on them to make them too hot to touch. Even this, tho, wont bring them back to pretty. Theyre aluminum, & if youll look closely, youll see that the side thats facing forward on the top of the axle is more nasty looking than the back side. Thats pitting from sand & whatnot,, You cant fix that w/o polishing the surface smooth,, & yer not iguana get that done, I promise you.. What you will do is spend a few hours & wear your butt out to gain a 30% improvement.. After doing what I did, getting the results I got, my recommendation is, wash the bike, wax it, & ride it. Heck with the spokes. Keep the rim chrome up & itll look fine,.
Aluminum spokes suck for pretty.. ride it, man,,
IF you decide youre determined to clean them, pull the wheel & lay it on a 5 gallon bucket. Youll never do it again,,
I used Turtle Wax chrome polish. Maybe something a bit more abrasive, like rubbing compound would yield better results with less effort. I went thru several lengths of cord. They eventually break from all that rubbin & scrubbin.. But parachute cord with the innards removed proved to be the best way to scrub them. With some thinking youll be able to wrap it so it will walk down onto the nipple & even run between where the spokes cross.