removing paint from engine

[Guest]

My bikes po's have slathered a few coats of aluminum/silver paint on my engine, i can see brush strokes in the paint in some areas. I have NO IDEA what the original color was. I want to remove all or most of it. It is so thick I think it is contributing to my overheating. My only indication of temp is my stock temp gauge that reads 160C on the highway (320F) I dont know if it is accurate or not. I want to see if it makes a difference in oil temp. I dont care what it looks like, I will be removing the jugs for a rebuild soon and it will get repainted. I have heard of using gunk, oven cleaner or simple green. I am planning to spray it, let it sit then pressure wash it. Any suggestions?
Thanks
Richard

[Skyboy8950]

Are you going to remove the engine to do this? There are paint strippers that you can use, but you don't want it on other parts of the bike like other paint and rubber.

[gearhead13]

I didnt want to have to remove the engine, just get some of the paint off there so my engine doesnt cook.

[Skyboy8950]

You could get a stiff putty knife and see if you could scrape it, but that is laborious...

[IluvmyGS]

Brake fluid will remove paint from your engine as well!

[renobruce]

The paint might be adding a bit of heat to your engine, but it sounds as if you have other problems. I would drop the oil pan and check the oil strainer to see if it's clogged up. Run some Seafoam in the oil to maybe help clear out any clogged oil passages. Also, if your bike is running lean it will overheat. Check your carbs for proper operation. What do your plugs look like?

[gearhead13]

All the plugs i removed from it have had white insulators, so it must be running lean. Time to pull the carbs off and clean them, maybe go up one or two on the main maybe or raise the needle.... Its a canadian bike so the needle should have notches in it i guess
Gettin those carbs on and off sounds like a pain, a good argument for pods i think, and more jetting.

[Zook]

The mains only work at WFO, you need to first adjust the a/f ratio then if needed change pilot jets.

[gearhead13]

The mains only work at WFO, you need to first adjust the a/f ratio then if needed change pilot jets.

What do you mean? a/f ratio by what jet? air screw? needle? I set the idle air screw for best idle. The main will affect needle settings from right off idle to wot. 90% of the time it is less than 1/4 throttle. When I pull the carbs to clean I want to higher on the main and needle. What rpm range do pilot jets affect?

[AirCooledHeaven]

My bikes po's have slathered a few coats of aluminum/silver paint on my engine, i can see brush strokes in the paint in some areas. I have NO IDEA what the original color was. I want to remove all or most of it. It is so thick I think it is contributing to my overheating. My only indication of temp is my stock temp gauge that reads 160C on the highway (320F) I dont know if it is accurate or not. I want to see if it makes a difference in oil temp. I dont care what it looks like, I will be removing the jugs for a rebuild soon and it will get repainted. I have heard of using gunk, oven cleaner or simple green. I am planning to spray it, let it sit then pressure wash it. Any suggestions?
Thanks
Richard

Don't use oven cleaner, it's highly caustic and loves eating aluminium. Use a regular paint stripper from the hardware store.

[gearhead13]

I have heard about using seafoam on here a few times, so i went and got a can yesterday and put some in the gas tank and oil, ran it for a few minutes and left it overnight. I pulled the plugs this morning and cyls 1&2 were leaner than 3&4.
Went for a ride today and noticed it had quite a bit more power, and a bit cooler. But I think my stock oil temp gauge is out of whack. It will be interesting to pull the plugs again tomorrow to see if 1&2 are running better (or how much better).
Seafoam=good stuff
I still want to pull the carbs for a cleaning tho, just waiting for rebuild kits.

[tas850g]

I haven't heard of using seafoam. what is it, how does it work, how to use it, and where to get this if it works well?

Thanks!

[gearhead13]

You can get it at NAPA thats where i got it. On these older bikes quite often the fuel passages in the carbs get gunked up. Put some in the gas tank and some in the engine oil, cleans carbs loosens sticking rings.
Recommended!
I pulled my plugs out today and they looked the same, maybe one coil is getting more juice than the other??

[Suzuki_Don]

I have heard about using seafoam on here a few times, so i went and got a can yesterday and put some in the gas tank and oil, ran it for a few minutes and left it overnight. I pulled the plugs this morning and cyls 1&2 were leaner than 3&4.
Went for a ride today and noticed it had quite a bit more power, and a bit cooler. But I think my stock oil temp gauge is out of whack. It will be interesting to pull the plugs again tomorrow to see if 1&2 are running better (or how much better).
Seafoam=good stuff
I still want to pull the carbs for a cleaning tho, just waiting for rebuild kits.

You won't need rebuild kits, just new "O" rings from Robert Barr for the carbs and intake boot "O" rings from same source. And a solution to dunk the carbs in to clean them up and remove varnish, etc. from internal passages.

[gearhead13]

Where do you find/what do you use for dunking carbs into? some special solution from a bike shop or just seafoam or what??
Should I get fuel bowl gaskets or do they normally come off in one piece?