cleaning up the ti frame

I've received two compliments on the look of my titanium frame after a cleanup process, so I'm posting it here, mostly so I can go back and remember what I did.

1. First, clean the frame with any cleaner that doesn't leave much residue. I use glass cleaner (in a previous life, I was a janitor, so I know about this stuff). General-purpose cleaners like Formula 409 will do, but they leave residue, although you'll fix that in the next step (it's just a bit harder).
   
2. Next, clean the frame with a rag moistened with mineral spirits or turpentine. Don't go over the decals with this; while a single application of these solvents should not break up or remove the decals, these solvents will eventually affect them (the lacquer thinner that's actually recommended for removing decals is related to these guys). These solvents are not great for your hands: limit your exposure or wear rubber gloves.
   
3. Wipe the frame with a dry cloth to make sure any oils are removed.
   
4. Go over the roughest spots with 0 steel wool. You won't want to do the whole bike, and this process will leave scratches behind; that's OK for now.
   
5. Then go over the whole bike (except for the decals) with 0000 steel wool. Steel wool is readily available in grades from 4 (the most coarse I've seen) to 0000. If you used all the grades, you could get a mirror finish, but most of us don't want that. By judicious use of the 0-then-0000 process, I was able to keep the brushed finish that came on the frame. Careful with this; you want to remove the worst scratches, but not shine so much that the brushed finish is lost.
   
6. Use just a little metal polish on the frame, except don't polish the decals. This stuff has abrasive in it, so be careful where you put it. Just-a-little gives the frame a nice finish; too much will lead you toward the mirror finish (that is, frankly, a pain to maintain).
   
7. It was probably overkill, but I then went over the whole business with Nu Finish liquid.
   

The standard practice for achieving the mirror finish is to go over the surface thoroughly with succeeding grades of steel wool, ending with the 0000, then use the waxy polish. It works: I brought the forks of a Honda Magna motorcycle to a mirror finish that way (here's a picture of the way it looks with the dull forks), but I didn't want to do that to the bicycle. I'd post a picture of the bicycle frame, but I don't have a "before", and I'm not sure the difference would come out in the photo anyway.