Old aluminum

[Anonymous]

i use mothers aluminum polish and eagle..uhh..can't remember the name of it-- that wadding stuff in the can.

i refinished my valve cover, breather cover and one side cover so far by cleaning the bejesus out of all of all of it with nonchloronated brake parts cleaner, stripped it of its old clearcoat, polished it like a madman, then re clearcoated it with fuel resisted ceramic-fortified clearcoat. looks cherry...at least i think so

[jimcor]

i use mothers aluminum polish and eagle..uhh..can't remember the name of it-- that wadding stuff in the can.

Never Dull or Ever Brite. Uhh, those are the 2 I've used and one of them is Eagle One. Just can't remember which. :?

[rphillips]

Everyone has an opinion, I've always used Semichrome polish and Never Dull. Both work great for me, but the clearcoat does need to come off.

[TheNose]

cheese makes the best polish!!

That's only when you're polishing your knob, Leon!!! 8O

Terry

[Jethro]

That's only when you're polishing your knob, Leon!!!

Whoa, whoa, WHOA!!! This has dropped to a completely unaccpetable level here...

[TheNose]

That's only when you're polishing your knob, Leon!!!

Whoa, whoa, WHOA!!! This has dropped to a completely unaccpetable level here...

Terry

[Big T]

The clearcoat does go dull over time, so it's no surprising that it's not perfect after 20 years.

Stripping off the clearcoat, buff it up wiyh Mothers or Simichrone or whatever, then clean it off really well and clear coat it.

Should look just like it came from the factory and no cheese involved.

[retrex]

Re: Old aluminum

Hey, I just bought an NOS magneto cover. Received it today. It is perfect as far as having no dings, nicks, or scratches, but it's not quite as shiney as I was expecting. I don't know, I thought since it was NOS it would be bright aluminum.

Most of the aluminum you see on our bikes is cast aluminum. No matter how much you polish is it will never look like billet. You can get a more reflective, mirror like surface by removing the protective coating and polishing using any one of the methods previously described. However in doing so you open yourself to corrosion. You will be polishing often to maintain that extra reflective shine. Is it worth it? I am begining to think no. My opinion is that if you have a good NOS piece with no corosion leave it be. Polish and reseal your other pieces to an exceptable luster and spend your time riding.

[KEITH KRAUSE]

Yup. Keeping the shine of bare aluminum is work. Just ask me. I've got polished wheels, cases, fork legs, signals.... :roll:
But the bike is worth it to me. I always say I'd probably be on the couch eating chips if I wasn't polishing. So me and my bike benefit.

[bozlymon]

to those who suggest clear-coating the newly polished aluminum, what do ya'll use?

Brian in NC
82 gs1100g
82 gs1100gl
82 gs1100gl parts bike (maybe)

[duaneage]

I used Clear Engine Paint from an automotive store. I cleaned all the surfaces with lacquer thinner and immediately applied the clear. I did three coats about 2 minutes apart and then waited a day before installing them.