seeking opinion - paint engine black or strip of bad spray paint job?

[sacruickshank]

Working on an '81 GS550T where a PO spray painted numerous things (tank, fenders, cyl head)

I've already stripped the tank and fenders and will refinsih them to matte black fenders, clear metal tank, both with blue center stripe.

The cyl head had a poor spray paint job so i can either strip it back to the original grey or repaint and be more careful. Any opinions?

If stripping, any guidance on the best way to strip cyl fins? I've used aircraft stripper on other items, but not sure how it will work on fins.

Pic for reference
PXL_20210220_230956572.jpg

[sacruickshank]

and here's the tank and fender. other parts, like the passenger peg/exhaust mount are also matte black. There is still some chrome on the bike
PXL_20210215_214225934.jpg

[LAB3]

One look I've always liked is black cases, bead blasted heads left raw (Looks white) and a black valve cover.

[timebombprod]

With the tank looking like that (looks awesome) I would strip the spraypaint and have the raw metal look. Black is cool, for bikes that look more plasticky, but myn personal opinion is the raw metal look will match that tank indefinitely

[timebombprod]

Hey that tank looks rusty inside from that picture! Pick up some KBS rustblast and get that thing cleaned, dont need the protective coating and that's something I wish i didnt do to my tank.

[sacruickshank]

Hey that tank looks rusty inside from that picture! Pick up some KBS rustblast and get that thing cleaned, dont need the protective coating and that's something I wish i didnt do to my tank.

Hah, take a look at the inside of my other current project! Makes this one look pristine. I usually use Evaporust and will get to that point with this tank soon.
PXL_20210221_114101288.jpg

[sacruickshank]

One look I've always liked is black cases, bead blasted heads left raw (Looks white) and a black valve cover.

Hadn't thought about the valve cover, but black paint could be interesting. The current finish has taken some beating, so paint could be good.

For engine cases I usually go with bare metal cleaned to a low luster rather than black. The engine is still in the frame, so painting the cases would require me to take it out. Not a huge deal if the cyl heads are off, but i wasn't planning on it.

PXL_20210221_115708282.jpg

[LAB3]

Another idea for that valve cover could be to rough it up with a Scotch Brite or similar to take it down to bare metal and match the bare metal on the tank. I'd often considered "Graining" the metal and hitting it with some black paint then wiping it leave the scratches black on the bottom and bright on top. Here's another idea, using chemicals to create a colored patina on the metal. Grey, black and dark brown are easy to do on aluminum.

[sacruickshank]

after spending more time with the cyl head today, my current thought is to paint the main section of the engine, the cylinders, and cylinder head black. Unless vapor blasting becomes an option I don't see getting all the current black off the fins, so i'll just cover it with a (hopefully) better paint job.

The side cases and valve cover will go back to bare metal or painted grey. that seems to provide a decent black/silver balance. If it's too dark i'll fab some raw metal side panels, too light i'll paint them black as well.

thx for the ideas.

[Rob S.]

When I got my Z1, my friend painted his CB750 engine black. It didn't look nearly as good as my Kaw. One difference? The edges of the 903's cooling fins were bare metal. It made for a striking contrast with the black.

[salty_monk]

I like the polished look on the fins too!

[sacruickshank]

I like the polished look on the fins too!

I'll test that in a small area. I also like the look, but need to see if the finish comes out nicely with my DIY job.

[LAB3]

I'll test that in a small area. I also like the look, but need to see if the finish comes out nicely with my DIY job.

I'd bet you could scrub the edges of the fins with steel wool, sandpaper etc. after painting to reveal the factory silver underneath. If you didn't like it or it turned out bad you could always hit it with more paint to cover it back up.