TOPIC:

The cases, block, and head are bead blasted. The covers are polished to a mirror finish. After three seasons of riding the covers have lost much of their luster and should be removed so that they can be cleaned and polished again.

Ron

I like to say that a motorcycle's like a whore....
Nobody likes a dirty one.
Ron G, that's the cleanest motor I've ever seen.

But, for a restoration, Kaw didn't put that kind of finish on the cases when the bike was new. I't not too hard to get a 'like new' look, but it won't be like Ron G's mirrors.

Ron G wrote:

The cases, block, and head are bead blasted. The covers are polished to a mirror finish. After three seasons of riding the covers have lost much of their luster and should be removed so that they can be cleaned and polished again.

Ron

I've also bead blasted head and jugs - in this case 3 years ago when I did the top end, and *nothing* matches the raw finish of beading to raw aluminum. But, being too damned lazy to want to pry the motor out of the cases for spring cleaning, I've found that a soft wire brush on a die grinder/dremel and a liberal application of brake cleaner while brushing comes close enough to keep the average tire-kicker happy...



The dyno and countershaft covers were done by hand with successive grits of wet sandpaper and cheap-o amonia-based glass cleaner - seems to remove oxides a tad more efficiently. Final polish with Blue Magic paste metal polish.

Rather than going for a total mirror finish, I left it just a tad buff to approximate the best an *original* factory job might have looked...

For maintenence, I give it a good cleaning and re-polish with Blue Magic on the average of 2 or 3 times a season, depending on miles and whether I get caught in the rain. A bit more work intensive than chrome, but darn well worth it.

Post edited by: Pterosaur, at: 2006/11/08 16:39

I've been using mothers aluminum polish, sorry for the crappy picture!

Ron G wrote:

Polished aluminum is higher maintenance than a beautiful woman.

All this maintenance is so tiring. Somedays I feel like I'm 100 years old.

Thanks Ron, I am about to bead blast a KZ750 engine with hopefully the same results. Curious - did you apply any protective clear coatings to the freshly blasted surfaces - if not, have you had any trouble with corrosion coming back on the raw aluminum, or do you just keep it really clean and dry

danB wrote:

Thanks Ron, I am about to bead blast a KZ750 engine with hopefully the same results. Curious - did you apply any protective clear coatings to the freshly blasted surfaces - if not, have you had any trouble with corrosion coming back on the raw aluminum, or do you just keep it really clean and dry

Raw blasted aluminum exposed to air will gradually dull as a film of oxide develops. Keeping after it with brake cleaner and a soft wire brush keeps the sheen pretty well intact. Also have heard interesting thin gs about treating it with stuff like "Easy Off" oven cleaner, but never tried it myself.

The big issue with raw aluminum is staining. Oil, gas, what-have-you will seep into the pores given enough time, and can discolor the metal. If you want that shine to stick around, better plan on a little upkeep time. Not bad if you stay after it, but let gunk build for months and it ain't a good idea to expect miracles.

Because of UV and thermal shock issues, ANY clear coat is at the very best, a temporary solution. It flakes, chips, yellows, stains, and generally just gets to looking like shit. And you'll play hell getting it off once the motor's in the frame.

The plain facts is that there's no free and easy way to get and keep a motor looking like that - it's gonna take time, and it's gonna take effort.

Pterosaur wrote:

danB wrote:

Thanks Ron, I am about to bead blast a KZ750 engine with hopefully the same results. Curious - did you apply any protective clear coatings to the freshly blasted surfaces - if not, have you had any trouble with corrosion coming back on the raw aluminum, or do you just keep it really clean and dry

Raw blasted aluminum exposed to air will gradually dull as a film of oxide develops. Keeping after it with brake cleaner and a soft wire brush keeps the sheen pretty well intact. Also have heard interesting thin gs about treating it with stuff like "Easy Off" oven cleaner, but never tried it myself.

The big issue with raw aluminum is staining. Oil, gas, what-have-you will seep into the pores given enough time, and can discolor the metal. If you want that shine to stick around, better plan on a little upkeep time. Not bad if you stay after it, but let gunk build for months and it ain't a good idea to expect miracles.

Because of UV and thermal shock issues, ANY clear coat is at the very best, a temporary solution. It flakes, chips, yellows, stains, and generally just gets to looking like shit. And you'll play hell getting it off once the motor's in the frame.

The plain facts is that there's no free and easy way to get and keep a motor looking like that - it's gonna take time, and it's gonna take effort.

Yep.
But I tell you what... a good looking motor turns as many heads as a great paint job. I'm not talking about $2000 worth of bolt-on chrome, but a stock motor that's been cleaned an polished by someone that loves their bike. Hand rubbed, and .... Great. Now I need a cold shower.