Engine side cover restoring?

[kevinwcarr]

Whats the easiest way to strip the peeilng clear coat off of the engine side covers? The way i did it 15 years ago was wet and dry sand paper then using a polish to shine them up. Is there an easier way to do it?

[doctorgonzo]

That's what I did, though I used steel wool for the initial pass, then progressivley finer sandpaper.

[kevinwcarr]

thanks doctor

[posplayr]

Chemical Epoxy / Paint Stripper

would most likley work. It made short work of the paint on my GS1100ED gas cap with original paint.

Otherwise, sand, and buff it off.

Posplayr

[Suzuki mad]

Used paint stripper followed by 'solvo' autosolve on an old green scotch brite pad and a lot of elbow grease. Nowadays I use a polishing mop on an electric drill for most of the casing and a dremmell for the smaller areas the bigger one won't get into.

Suzuki mad

[Nessism]

Paint stripper to remove the factory clear. Various methods to restore the shine depending on what you want in the end.

[Suzuki mad]

When your at the old lacquer watch the emblems on the cases. They don't react well to paint stripper and there a lot harder to find in original condition than the new modern ones that Suzuki offer.

Suzuki mad

[boathead]

haven't tried it myself, but.....when i was in the navy, the brass belt buckles had a lacquer coat......we took it off with nail polish remover applied with a soft rag. give it a shot on a small spot and see if it works.

[boathead]

ok, i just tried nail polish remover....my bike was still really hot from riding, and so the heat evaporated the solvent rapidly, but damn if the baked on factory coating on the small spot i applied it to didn't come right off.

try it.

[renobruce]

Take the pieces off the bike... it's much easier. Go down to Walmart and buy aircraft stripper. Spray on, let set, and wash off with water. Some pieces may need a second application.

Then wet sand progressively up to at least 1000 grit (I go to 2000 grit), and polish.

[bucketsofgs1000]

I tried aircraft coating remover at some point and certainly would NOT recommend it if you don't want liquid side covers. I ended up overlaying my covers with carbon fiber anyway, so the lumpy bubbles got covered up in the end.

[renobruce]

I tried aircraft coating remover at some point and certainly would NOT recommend it if you don't want liquid side covers.

Do you mean the side cover emblems? Yeah, they won't survive. Mine were toast so I removed them and used new ones when I was done.

[bucketsofgs1000]

I had already removed the emblems (one was already gone anyway). No the aircraft coating remover started attacking the plastic of the side cover. Worked fantastically on the fuel tank though. I sprayed it on, waited about 30 sec and then could scrape off 30 years of primer, base, and clear laquer with no effort. I was so thrilled I tried the plastic very sparingly... bad idea. Good luck.