Triumphrat

quagmire · 06-24-2005

Interesting article on the electrolysis! Will it work on any metal? I have a 1970 TR6 im rebuilding and the stanchions are rusted, can this work on chrome. They seem too far gone, or I'm too lazy, to sand them with 600 grit.

tbone16 · 06-25-2005

Im not sure how good it works on stuff other than steel. Dont use it on treated steal, supposedly it creates toxic waste. It worked great on the steel VW parts i used it on, its almost free if you have a battery charger laying around. I just used detergent, I dunno were you get laundry soda, Im sure that makes it work a hell of alot better too.

papereng · 06-27-2005

Nothing substitutes for Elbow Grease on Aluminum. For polished castings: Try rubbing down with 0000 Steel Wool and any regular bar soap. Apply the soap to the wetted steel wool like you would with a washcloth, and rub out the casting using plenty of water as you go. After this is done, use a good aluminum polish like Simichrome to finish up and put on your sunglasses.

Nothing beats taking the shiny stuff to a professional polishing house. They get out all the nicks and scratches.

I use Mag Wheel cleaner on my aluminum rough castings like heads between rebuilds for cleaning the pores up. It has Muriatic Acid, which is a little safer to use than Sulphuric Acid.(i.e.: battery acid). Just spray it on, agitate it with a little brass brush, and rinse it off. Be careful what else you let it get on, like your tank or frame paint. Watch where you spray it and don't let it sit there very long before rinsing.

If you have the head apart for rebuilding, either glass bead or vapor blast the casting to deep clean it.

There are 2 grades of aluminum on Triumph motorcycles: 1962 and prior, the castings were "virgin aluminum", which means they were pure aluminum and had no recycled content. These castings will polish up like chrome with no haze at all. 1963 and later - they used "pot aluminum", which is a slang term to mean that there is a percentage of recycled aluminum in the composition ("pot metal" to mean melted down cookware, I guess). These castings don't polish up quite as well and will hold a little bit of milky haze in the finish. Any of them (any European casting for that matter) are a better quality casting than you'll find on any Harley or Jap bike.

Pretty wordy answer. Sorry! Have fun.

[ This message was edited by: papereng on 2005-06-27 09:42 ]

shortys · 06-27-2005

plastic media blasting. look for it in the yellow pages in your area.

quagmire · 06-27-2005

I bought a desk top one for $100.00. Used it to clean the rockerbox covers. They look great. media blasting is $70-$80 per hour in MA. This saved myself a lot of money. Besides I told the wife I can clean off all her door hinges and other stuff (which I'll never get to).