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

[spyug]

I have stripped and polished the cases on my 3 previous Yammies and it was tedious work but each spread out over several weeks during the winter months. The cases look nice when buffed but they do require polishing from time to time if not clearcoated. I opted not to clearcoat as I had seen some poor results.

With the GS having black barrels and crankcase with polished stator and clutch covers it just didn't look right to me. I scuffed them with a scotch pad and shot them with semi gloss black. I left the cam cover as is and will take it off for polishing over this coming winter.

Some bikes look great with lots of shiny parts. To me, the GS looks better all blacked out.

My 2 cents.

Cheers,
spyug.

[t3rmin]

Notice how adeptly I ignore all this excellent advice? :-D

Aluminum paint, aluminum paint, aluminum paint! ;-)

[Calvin Blackmore]

Oh I forgot where But i read that the compostion of the alloy used in Suzuki cases contains lead?

Can this be true?

They do oxidize failry quickly or so it seems.
You guys opting not to use clear do you have heated and humidity controlled storage spaces?

[t3rmin]

Oh I forgot where But i read that the compostion of the alloy used in Suzuki cases contains lead?

Can this be true?

They do oxidize failry quickly or so it seems.

I guess that would be consistent with the oxidation I've seen...

If I did polish, I would definitely clearcoat. I'd rather have less shineyness than to do it all over again periodically.

[Rock]

I stripped the clear coat off with acetone and bronze wool. It came off pretty easy. I keep it in the garage or shed and lightly polish it maybe twice a year at most with semi-chrome by hand and it looks super again with very little work. Takes me a hour or so is all. A bit of wax helps as well.

[txironhead]

Dupli-Color Polished Aluminum or Brushed Aluminum Engine Enamel. Looks like fresh-cast parts, great against a black engine. I did my Shadow this way and it looked fantastic. I even painted the factory mags with it, looked brand new. For low-maintenance (read: I hate spending three hours cleaning my bike) it's the way to go.

[t3rmin]

Dupli-Color Polished Aluminum or Brushed Aluminum Engine Enamel. Looks like fresh-cast parts, great against a black engine. I did my Shadow this way and it looked fantastic. I even painted the factory mags with it, looked brand new. For low-maintenance (read: I hate spending three hours cleaning my bike) it's the way to go.

That's what I wanted to hear! Got pics?

[txironhead]

Yes, I have pics, unfortunately they're on film and I discovered two nights ago that my scanner is junk. I'm in the process of looking for a flatbed scanner with negative film capabilities right now. I may just get this one scanned at Wally World because a lot of people want to see pics of my "Dupli-Color Shadow". I painted the engine, frame, rims and sheetmetal all with various colors/types of Dupli-Color paint, and no one believed me when they saw it. Even the guy I sold it to said that there was no way it could have been spray painted. Amazing what you can do with wet sanding and polishing compound.

[t3rmin]

Hah. I'm getting a bit more handy with a rattle can, but painting is still not my cup'o'tea. That's why I like matte finishes -- you can't go wrong. I shot my 750 starter cover with a matte finish high heat ceramic aluminum colored paint from the local hardware store and it looked fantastic. I think I'd like that same finish on the engine covers.

[t3rmin]

Shot the timing cover with high-temp aluminum and baked it and it looks fantastic. WAY easier than polishing. Will do the valve cover today and post pics.

[QuaiChangKane]

I started polishing my cases and didn't care for the results.

I mean, I got stator cover and countershaft cover to shine like mirrors, but didn't like the way they looked against the matte-black engine.

I scuffed them and am painting my cases black. The problem is trying to figure out how to paint the recesses in the cases - "TSCC" on the valve cover, "Suzuki" on the cases, and the ring around the ignition cover....



I want to paint these recessed highlights red, like the GS750EF - any suggestions?


I just like the way black cases with polished allen-head bolts looks. I also like the look of a cast-finished engine with polished cases (like some of the newer Harleys), but not so much I want to tear down my engine to blast it .




-Q!

[txironhead]

The only way to do it is careful work with masking tape and an Xacto knife and spray it, or a very steady hand with a brush.

[Mark whiz]

I always hand brush in the lettering with enamel model paints and then clearcoat - never had a problem doing it that way. In fact, the model paint seems sturdier than the clearcoat.

[t3rmin]

I just left the logo and such aluminum colored for the "embossed" look.

[txironhead]

It's easier if you're polishing your covers, then you'd just spray the entire area and wipe off the excess with acetone. It's really not that hard to hand paint, especially with a small brush and model paint. I've even seen people use nail polish. Hey, it's enamel, right?