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Polished controls?

  • Thread starter Thread starter spyug
  • Start date Start date
S

spyug

Guest
Anybody go to the bother of cleaning all the paint off the clutch and brake controls?

I'm trying to eliminate most or all of the black on the bike and was thinking I would paint the brake master, lever and the the clutch lever and mirror perch but then I got thinking about just stripping the paint and polishing.

The master can be polished I'm sure but I don't know about the levers which I think might be pot metal of some kind. Same with the switch controls.

Thoughts ladies and gentlemen?

Cheers,
spyug
 
spyug said:
Anybody go to the bother of cleaning all the paint off the clutch and brake controls?

I'm trying to eliminate most or all of the black on the bike and was
Thoughts ladies and gentlemen?

Cheers,
spyug
Click to expand...

yes, my thought is this; ..y'know that episode of star trek where kirk goes into the inverse opposite parallel world and spock is all evil and swarthy and that, and nothing makes sense in the world... well that's how you make a boy feel with your talk of eliminating all the black on a bike.

evil
 
conrad said:
yes, my thought is this; ..y'know that episode of star trek where kirk goes into the inverse opposite parallel world and spock is all evil and swarthy and that, and nothing makes sense in the world... well that's how you make a boy feel with your talk of eliminating all the black on a bike.

evil
Click to expand...

All well and good, but the front of my levers always end up shiny, and the back never does.
Coincidence?
Time warp?
Heat from excessive airspeed?
You decide.
 
tkent02 said:
All well and good, but the front of my levers always end up shiny, and the back never does.
Coincidence?
Time warp?
Heat from excessive airspeed?
You decide.
Click to expand...

#3 defo.

here's the only sorta bike that looks good in all the colours of the rainbow;

aDXFcL


EDIT; joshing apart, I'm half sure yr levers are aluminium alloy aren't they? thus should polish up a treat. Is that right?
 
Last edited:
conrad said:
#3 defo.

here's the only sorta bike that looks good in all the colours of the rainbow;

aDXFcL


EDIT; joshing apart, I'm half sure yr levers are aluminium alloy aren't they? thus should polish up a treat. Is that right?
Click to expand...



those are neat lazers!! id love to have the machine for myself lolol
 
I've polished up quite a few sets. The clutch perch and MC come up very easily and if you take your time smoothing out the rough edges on the MC you can make a very nice job.

The stock black levers are what takes the time. They are aluminium but coated with a paint that's about 90% resistant to paintstripper. Most of the work in removing that paint is with sanding with wet and dry and it is slow. They do polish up easily though, once you've got the paint off.
 
hampshirehog said:
The stock black levers are what takes the time. They are aluminium but coated with a paint that's about 90% resistant to paintstripper. Most of the work in removing that paint is with sanding with wet and dry and it is slow. They do polish up easily though, once you've got the paint off.
Click to expand...

mm.. yes. taking off the paint or powdercoat must be 90%+ of the job. That's why I just paint over. why clean when cans of black are a couple of dollars. I was cutting a fire extinguisher about today and found under the chrome is lovely brass. Why would they chrome brass? its prettier now.

Question: do any painters know if one has a thick powdercoated frame, which is ace for protection but is a horrible colour, say bright red, could it be painted over? how could you give the powercoat a key? acid?

rgds
 
i polished my levers and switchgear. they come up real nice. i got some pics somewhere, ill dig 'em out
 
conrad said:
Question: do any painters know if one has a thick powdercoated frame, which is ace for protection but is a horrible colour, say bright red, could it be painted over? how could you give the powercoat a key? acid?
...
Click to expand...

You can rub down powder coat with wet and dry - say 180 grit - to get a key suitable for paint and use a decent primer. A few of the old British bike classic restorers use this trick as the PC base fills imperfections in the frame pretty well. Though I've always thought it a bit extreme to use black PC, get a nice PC finish and then paint black over the top.

Alternatively, you can strip the powder coating off using paintstripper and a wire wheel. It's slower than stripping paint and takes a fair bit of time. Bead / shot / sandblasting is extremely slow for removing PC though is useful for knocking off those last bits that are really difficult to get to with a wire brush or scraper.
 
hampshirehog said:
You can rub down powder coat with wet and dry - say 180 grit - to get a key suitable for paint and use a decent primer. A few of the old British bike classic restorers use this trick as the PC base fills imperfections in the frame pretty well. Though I've always thought it a bit extreme to use black PC, get a nice PC finish and then paint black over the top.

Alternatively, you can strip the powder coating off using paintstripper and a wire wheel. It's slower than stripping paint and takes a fair bit of time. Bead / shot / sandblasting is extremely slow for removing PC though is useful for knocking off those last bits that are really difficult to get to with a wire brush or scraper.
Click to expand...

yep yep, that's just what I wanted to know. Thanks so much. YehNo, painting over will definitely be the go now you've explained. I know the powdercoat'd be a nightmare to take off and there's a lot of frame, plus I really like the protection (I live on metal roads (gravel), only the one main road south is tarmac).

Thinking about it, I could also do the same to my wife's bike's frame (job lot at the powdercoaters lol). Have got far too much red in my shed. CHeers for the info and thought prompting.

regards to hampshire. Pompey end? my old stomping ground.
 
spyug said:
Anybody go to the bother of cleaning all the paint off the clutch and brake controls?

I'm trying to eliminate most or all of the black on the bike and was thinking I would paint the brake master, lever and the the clutch lever and mirror perch but then I got thinking about just stripping the paint and polishing.

The master can be polished I'm sure but I don't know about the levers which I think might be pot metal of some kind. Same with the switch controls.

Thoughts ladies and gentlemen?

Cheers,
spyug
Click to expand...

The levers can be polished. I did both the clutch and the brake lever. I left the clamps alone for osm contrast. I also thought about polishing the MC and the top triple tree, but I thought it might be a little excessive. Anyway, if I ever do decide to, it shouldn't be too much hassle.

This is the brake lever. I chopped the ball of the end and then polished the whole thing. If you look, you'll see it's an aftermarket brake lever. I did the same for the stock clutch lever and it turned out just as good. I just don't have a good picture of it.
brake_lever_polished_01.jpg
 
Thanks guys. I might give it a try. Now that I have the nack with the sisal wheel on the bench grinder, I find I'm looking for things to shine up.:dancing:
Alternatively, I might just go with the silver paint. I'm not sure what it is about the black paint on the controls on a white bike. to me it just doesn't look right. Now on the black bike ( The GS) I like it all black. In fact, my engine guards are chrome and I'm thinking of going black with them this year.

Well I better get started.

cheers,
Spyug
 
spyug said:
..controls on a white bike. to me it just doesn't look right. Now on the black bike ( The GS) I like it all black.

cheers,
Spyug
Click to expand...

aaah at last. the nightmare is over, all is well with the world again..

kirk agrees
4374900555_d89f3b97f3_o.jpg
 
... them yokes make the world one notch better and nicer than it was previous.
wow
 
Well I started in on the master cylinder and lever and man is it a chore.

The castings are so rough it takes awhole heck of a lot of sanding to get down to polishable metal. The master is a real biotch as its all nooks and crannies. It might take a couple of hours to get it decent enough to polish. The clutch side should be easier but I'm going to have a big rethink on the switch controls.....maybe a bit o black ain't going to be the end of the world.

I'm kinda thinking it might just have been better to leave it be. Oh well I've started now so I guess I better keep at it.

Cheers,
spyug
 
I stripped mine..cleaned them all out and did a semi polish on them and highlighted the lettering in red..wanted a brushed look and not a high polish.

IMG00044.jpg
 
Best way to clean off powercoat is fire, no lie...Anything that had been coated before, easier result is to burn it off. Some acid strippers do ok but take time and multiple applications, if you just want to paint over, You can scuff and paint like normal. If you want to re-coat the shop just needs to clean it spotless, heat it and recoat it hot. I worked in powercoating for years...Any questions ask away
 
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