How to Clean Engine Casings

[renaissance79]

Hi Everyone. I did a little research on this but came up empty. I just bought my 04 and the engine casings are looking pretty sad. They are scratched up where the rider's boot rubs against the casing (which is one problem), and they have some kind of white residue that won't wash off with mild detergent. I read that these casings are clear coated, but they they certainly don't look that way anymore.

I attached some pics. I already went out and bought various kinds of sand paper, but maybe someone has a different techinque or knows how to take care of this without sanding off the top layer. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

 

[beemerrich]

You're on the right track...you need to get the lacquer off to get at the white oxidation. I like to use some nasty, toxic stripper before going to the mechanical methods.

Breath deep.

Cheers,

--Rich

 

[renaissance79]

HA. Now that is funny...

 

[Roger]

Maybe take a look at B06Tang's thread. It's probably way more than you want to take on but you might get some ideas on how far you might have to go to get the covers looking better.

http://www.newbonnevilleriders.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9929

Another member, thearcticsea has some real nice stuff going on too. Have a look in this thread.

http://www.newbonnevilleriders.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5863

A big buffing wheel on a good motor will go a long way to make the job easier.

 

[B06Tang]

A big buffing wheel on a good motor will go a long way to make the job easier.

The truth has been spoken there!! And you can get a buffing wheel on the cheap if you hunt around.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imUHYQnzLqQ


On a side note - there is a guy on the base that rides an '03 Bonnie that has the same type of covers and they look like shit too. He asked me if I was willing to trade my covers for his plus $250 for what I have done. Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit....DONE! I'm going to take that $250 and match it to my $250 and get me a wickedly bad ass air compressor!! Looks like I have a new set covers to start all over on now

 

[strokerlmt]

Nice deal and you have an air compressor to get your grips off ;-))))
LMT

 

[renaissance79]

Thank you all for the advice and tips, and for the links to other postings and video on here. It looks like a decent job to get these covers clean again, but it will be worth it.

I'll probably first try some sort of general cleaning agent. Then I'll just try buffing and see what that does. If I can't buff out the nasty stuff, I'll go to send paper, etc.

 

[B06Tang]

Thank you all for the advice and tips, and for the links to other postings and video on here. It looks like a decent job to get these covers clean again, but it will be worth it.

I'll probably first try some sort of general cleaning agent. Then I'll just try buffing and see what that does. If I can't buff out the nasty stuff, I'll go to send paper, etc.

This is the order that it worked out for me:

#1 stripper to get the lacquer off the covers

#2 wet sanding to get natural alloy to shine up

#3 buffing wheel to get them to look like glass

Good luck with it. It's time consuming but they look great when they are done.

 

[renaissance79]

This is the order that it worked out for me:

#1 stripper to get the lacquer off the covers

#2 wet sanding to get natural alloy to shine up

#3 buffing wheel to get them to look like glass

Good luck with it. It's time consuming but they look great when they are done.

Cool, I will take your advice and work with this order. That is, when I get 20 hours to work on this project.

 

[renaissance79]

I actually came across a product that I want to try out first. It's called 3m Marine metal restorer and polish. All the rewiews say that it removes staining, tarnish, and oxidation from metal (boats, motorcycles, pretty much any metal). So hopefully that does the trick and saves some time and effort.

 

[Roger]

I don't think that will work where the clear coat is still intact. It will probably do fine where the bare metal is exposed. Let us know how it goes.

 

[renaissance79]

I looked into it a bit. The product claims to work on metal even with a clear coat. I'm letting it sit in overnight before I buff it off. I'll post the results.

 

[renaissance79]

3m product worked a little, but not nearly enough. Onto sanding, etc. This will be a long term project. Will post pics at conclusion.

Thanks everyone for advice and guidance.
-Adam

 

[Roger]

Try not to do all of it at once. Maybe one cover at a time. Also, this from another thread. There's a couple of ideas for buffers here. You can thank the boss for that one.

thearcticsea .. thought you would enjoy this site: http://www.homemadetools.net

Edit: Ya, one at a time is the way I would do it if you don't want to lay-up the bike for too long. I would start with the sprocket cover and see how involved it's going to be. At least you can put the sprocket cover back on if you decide it's too much.

 

[renaissance79]

That was my exact thought today. I removed the sprocket cover just to see how easy it would be. It was easy. I'll probably take my time. Do a little here and there, when the weather is bad.

I got a dremmel, so that should be helpful too.

 

[renaissance79]

The weather was pretty grim today so I decided to work on one of the covers (in the pic, the one on the left). I used 220, then 400, then 600, then 1500 sand paper. The 220 took the longest - everything else was easy.

I think I'm pretty satisfied with how this came out - I don't need it to be perfect. I know that there could be many more steps to get a mirror finish, but I'm a little lazy.

Compared to what it looked like before, the two hours I put into it was totally worth it.

 

[Roger]

Looks pretty good in the picture. Nothing wrong with a brushed finish. Polishing is gravy though. I would probably go the same route if it comes to refinishing the covers.

 

[renaissance79]

Looks pretty good in the picture. Nothing wrong with a brushed finish. Polishing is gravy though. I would probably go the same route if it comes to refinishing the covers.

Yeah I kinda dig the brushed alum. look. And a friend mentioned that I could add a clear coat for protection, which I may do.

 

[Roger]

Someone with paint experience needs to chime in here. Aluminium is tricky to paint. I used to work in a boat builder shop where they manufactured some real nice jet boats for river running. Most of the boats were painted and I know that there is a special primer used on aluminium. For a clear coat, things are a little different. I'm not sure if the fine scratches in the surface are enough to hold onto a clear coat or not. Also, the surface needs to be super clean and I would use lacquer thinners (not paint thinner) to clean the surface. That stuff is nasty.

Like I said, would like to hear from someone that knows how to do this properly.

 

[Flaco]

I strip and polish a lot of aluminum. Strip w/ aircraft quality stripper), If the surface is powder coated it needs to be bead or sand blasted for best results. Sand (Yes 220 to 1500) then buff w/ a 6" bench buffer w/ jewlers rouge (truck stop West Chrome is the best) them my Mothers Mag and Wheel polish do the rest.
I don't recommend clear coating if following the above advice. If you do (and will) scratch or mar the surface, you cannot easily remove the blemishes w/o clear coating again…
Hear me now and believe me later…
Allin…