New bars and whats best to bring up old alum. cases to shine again.

[doggies]

1981 GS-550T where is the best- cheapest place to get stock size bars,used would be great to. Is there a product to put on the cases to bring up a shine. How about tank badges,side covers,and badges. I know ebay is hit or miss.

[Griffin]

www.bikebandit.com

www.babbittsonline.com

www.z1enterprises.com

www.crc2onlinecatalog.com

[chef1366]

I use sandpaper. Those cases have a clear coat that has to come off first. I start with 200 grit and end up with 4000 grit.
A buffer and buffer compound will also work.

[Nessism]

4000 grit???? What the heck is that?

I recently did some covers and used: Paint stripper - 220 - 400 - 600 - Mothers polish. Damn I hate all that sanding work.
I was hating life and sick of sanding so before starting on the last cover I went down to Harbor Freight and bought a couple of sticks of "Gray Cutting Compound" and a stiched buffing wheel - chucked it up in my auto polisher. It took a lot of pressure on the wheel but the last cover came out nicely in only a fraction of the time it took to hand sand the other covers. I'm sold.

[chef1366]

Microbe paper
400

[Bones]

I agree with Chef and Nessism on this one. There isn't any product that will shine your covers. It comes down to hand sanding and/or buffing to get the desired result you want.

[catbed]

get some aircraft stripper and strip the old clear off. i sanded from 400 to 1000 and then hit it with some mothers. you can see the results...

[Dave8338]

get some aircraft stripper and strip the old clear off. i sanded from 400 to 1000 and then hit it with some mothers. you can see the results...

Works AWESOME!!!
Unless you have several deeper scratches...AC stripper and med/fine grit on the buffer and finish off with glazing compound and treat it to a hand-rubbed coat of Mothers metal polish / sealer and your set!

[four_shot]

what about re shooting the clear when done? is that a good or bad idea?

[Nessism]

If you want to protect the finish a clear coat is recommended. Unfortunately, most over the counter clear paints are margional in terms of durability. If you want to do the job right, find a powder coater in your area. Because of the difficulty is finding a suitable paint most people just leave their cases raw. Use some wax and keep the bike clean and it seems like a reasonable way to go.

[jwhelan65]

Works AWESOME!!!
Unless you have several deeper scratches...AC stripper and med/fine grit on the buffer and finish off with glazing compound and treat it to a hand-rubbed coat of Mothers metal polish / sealer and your set!

Where do you get aircraft stripper? what kind of sealer?

[Nessism]

Aircraft stripper is not needed although it does work well. The water based strippers are pretty poor but the good stuff that washes off with mineral spirits will cut though Suzuki's case paint easily.

[renobruce]

Where do you get aircraft stripper? what kind of sealer?

Walmart has it, as well as some auto parts stores like Kragen.

There are many ways to get them to shine. But you must strip the clear first. I did like others and wet sanded progressively up to 2000 grit. Then I used a buffer (bought at Harbor Freight) in my drill and used Mother's aluminum polish to finish. I chose not to clearcoat anything, but I live far away from salt water and the humidity is very low here. The Mother's adds a bit of protection. I have only had to polish my stuff once. I just occasionally go over the parts by hand and that has kept up on the shine.

[cromwell1234]

If the covers are on the bike "WATCH THOSE GASKETS" the rubber around the oil eye will melt if your not careful, start a small spot in the center and work your way around to be safe!!!

[waterman]

Where do you get aircraft stripper?

I like to use gasket remover in a spray can. You can get double duty out of it. Spray on covers, let sit a minute, wipe off with paper towel. Works great on gaskets, too.

From here sand, grind, polish to hearts content. I have been using a high temp clear coat. Looks okay, slight haziness in finish, not sure how long it will last. Do know that without sealer, had to buff almost weekly due to humidity in my area. They don't call it the rust belt for nothing.