Engine covers clearcoat starting to look "icky": polish or go black???

[t3rmin]

So on my new 700 the engine is black, but the valve, stator, timing, clutch, and chain covers are clearcoated bare metal. The chain and clutch covers still look ok, but the rest are fairly corroded.

I do like the black motor with metal accents look, but I'm open to the blacked-out look as well. Since it'd be lots more elbow grease to polish those covers back to a good bare metal shine, I'm pondering just cleaning them up and hitting them with black instead.

I know we have some black engine nuts here, but seriously, what do ya'll think would be the best course of action here? Remember the cyls and case will still be black in any case. Photographic evidence would be very helpful. ;-)

[Calvin Blackmore]

Strip Buff and reshoot with high temperature clear coat.
VHT makes good stuff apparently
I used a duplicolor clear that worked OK and is holding up but appears to not like gasoline.

You will need an el cheapo knockoff of a dremel and a buffer kit and motor so it wont be easy or cheap but it will look like a piece of jewelry

black engines are ugly as sin and the OEM finish beneath is rough apparently to hold the black paint better or simply because the extra work to do a dine finish would be wasted on all the hideous black oooze

[t3rmin]

Strip Buff and reshoot with high temperature clear coat.
VHT makes good stuff apparently
I used a duplicolor clear that worked OK and is holding up but appears to not like gasoline.

You will need an el cheapo knockoff of a dremel and a buffer kit and motor so it wont be easy or cheap but it will look like a piece of jewelry

black engines are ugly as sin and the OEM finish beneath is rough apparently to hold the black paint better or simply because the extra work to do a dine finish would be wasted on all the hideous black oooze

With a name like "Blackmore" I'm surprised to hear you say that. ;-)

But seriously, all else being equal, I'd like to go with the clear. Just so much work to polish... And my Black and Decker "Dremel" overheats after a minute or so -- do they all do that?

[Calvin Blackmore]

Mine does not heat at all its a chinese non name item
It took me no more than 15 hours to strip and rebuff on a wheel for the bulk and with the dremel for the fine details and nooks on the oil cover.

ttoal cost may have been around 150 dollars for compunds wheels and a cheap motor

go economical cos your not going to go into business doing this and I figure so long as the equipment survived the process then its was money well spent

[smagnusen]

I recently took off all engine covers and worked them up from 400 grit to 2k and then polished them. I had deep corrosion. It's a day+ of work but it moves quickly and is at least satisfying when you're done.

I can't see a dremel being of much use, honestly. For sanding there just isn't enough surface area on those little dremel bits. They'd wear out too quickly and plus there are too many contours that a dremel, though small, just can't follow. You need to wet sand by hand.

For polishing you can buy a cheapo hand polisher to get the swirls out. I made a bench-type polisher with an old 1.7K rpm 1/2 hp motor and an a $5 arbor from Menards. Works beautifully and got my parts up to near mirror finish.

Good luck and post some pics if you can.

[renobruce]

So on my new 700 the engine is black, but the valve, stator, timing, clutch, and chain covers are clearcoated bare metal. The chain and clutch covers still look ok, but the rest are fairly corroded.

I do like the black motor with metal accents look, but I'm open to the blacked-out look as well. Since it'd be lots more elbow grease to polish those covers back to a good bare metal shine, I'm pondering just cleaning them up and hitting them with black instead.

I know we have some black engine nuts here, but seriously, what do ya'll think would be the best course of action here? Remember the cyls and case will still be black in any case. Photographic evidence would be very helpful. ;-)

Whether you paint or polish, you will have to strip the existing clearcoat. Use aircraft stripper with the parts off the bike. If you decide to paint, look at my thread in the appearance mods called "back in black" for some tips.

[t3rmin]

....yeah 1+ day of polishing does not appeal to me. ;-) I think it'll come down to how they look after the stripper does its thing. They are in the early stages of corrosion, so who knows.

I've been using an aerosol stripper from WalMart as of late. Takes off multiple layers of paint in one application -- really tenacious stuff.

[Mark whiz]

I do the covers on my 700 every couple of years. Strip them down good with a good stripper (not cheap wally world stuff) and some steel wool. I usually just get after them with SemiChrome or Mothers paste polish and lots of rags. On the really bad spots I've used a Dremel tool with the wire brush polishing wheel and then buffed them out as best I can. After all the prep work, clean the cases REALLY good to remove all of the stripper, dust, poolish, etc. Then start spraying with a good quality high temperature clear coat. the last couple of times I've used the DupliColor version from Auto Zone with good results - again stay away from the stuff Wally World sells in the automotive dept...............it's turns yellow as soon as the parts heat up.

The only time it has taken me more than a day, is if the weather conditions didn't allow the clearcoat to dry fast enough or i/f I REALLY had to work a particularly bad spot.

[t3rmin]

Or another option I didn't think about is hit 'em with high-temp aluminum colored paint. I've had great results with that stuff before. Hmm...

[Nessism]

The clear coat comes off very easily with stripper, at least mine did. Like the others, I used wet sandpaper to get the corrosion off - use the minimum sandpaper grit you can get away with since it's a lot of work to get rid of the sanding scratches. On one of my cases I had to use 220 but the other was not so bad. I didn't go any finer than 600 and the finish turned out great. Follow up with Mother's. Tons of work. Since you don't want to do such work tcrmin, you had best just paint the covers. I'm not sure what will happen with the corrosion under the paint though. Might not last too long but then it won't be that much work to just redo it in a couple of years.

Good luck.

[yasser]

Or another option I didn't think about is hit 'em with high-temp aluminum colored paint. I've had great results with that stuff before. Hmm...

Great thread question.
Is there a photo of a bike with aluminum colored paint on the covers?

[renobruce]

....yeah 1+ day of polishing does not appeal to me. ;-) I think it'll come down to how they look after the stripper does its thing. They are in the early stages of corrosion, so who knows.

Awww, come one, ya bum! Shine those covers up! :-D

See how they look after the old clear is off. You might be able to just hit them with some mothers and a pad on your drill. But if you want them to really shine, or if you want to paint them black, you're going to be in either task at least a day.

I've been debating on painting my side covers black to match the engine on my project. I don't recall seeing any painted side covers, black OR silver. Maybe someone will chime in.

[t3rmin]

See how they look after the old clear is off. You might be able to just hit them with some mothers and a pad on your drill.

Yeah that's what I'm thinking. If I paint, rest assured I'll prep well. BTW the aluminum paint idea is growing on me. I did that to the starter cover on my 750 and loved the finish. Impervious to oil and gas after baking, too. I'm not sure a clearcoat would really be needed.

[moto_dan]

Yeah that's what I'm thinking. If I paint, rest assured I'll prep well. BTW the aluminum paint idea is growing on me. I did that to the starter cover on my 750 and loved the finish. Impervious to oil and gas after baking, too. I'm not sure a clearcoat would really be needed.

My vote is for polishing. Polishing you can do in stages and degrees. Often as someone has mentioned, once the clear coat is off the covers, they may not need much more than light polishing using my favorite product for aluminum, Never Dull wadding. Once polished I never clear coat and the covers clean up with little effort.

[beby99]

But seriously, all else being equal, I'd like to go with the clear. Just so much work to polish... And my Black and Decker "Dremel" overheats after a minute or so -- do they all do that?

Ya got a drill?? If so, this here polishing kit is for you....and only $20.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=94962