Triumphrat

02trumpet

Any one know of any ways to do a satin finish on the engine covers? the clear coat on mine is pitted and looking crappy and i have to take the covers off to fix a leak anyways so figure i might as well polish up the covers while they're off. I want to get allmost a brushed look. I was thinking strip em and scotch brite them?

88blkbird

What material are they.. I would assume they are aluminum.. if so the scotch brite will work great but you may want to consider clear coating them with a matte clear coat to protect the look you are after. If you scotch brite them to a brushed finish and leave them they will corrode and you will continually need to redo your work.

CAPTDON

Yeah too bad they arent aluminum!! All I have seen (except chrome & BB) pit!! You can strip them & satin coat them like mentioned. I would change the bolts as disimilar metal corrosion happens ! I put chrome ones on mine 4+yrs ago &they still look new. 1 problem is the white metal engine casings also get pitted & corrode! If you got blk engine casings, then it will be OK! You can also "feather the corrosion & re-coat? I guess thats why the make all blk engine cases now? If you re-coat, make sure to change the bolts!!

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CAPT D

02trumpet

i was planning on replacing the stock hex head bolts with cap screws. The white metal thing was one of the other questions i had. I was hoping they might be some sort of aluminum alloy as i work at a place that does a fair bit of aluminum anodizing, i was hoping i might be able to hit them with the scotch brite and them have them clear anodized ( should be near indestructible finish) Any one know what color scotch brite would be good for the satin finish... some where in between the brushed looked and polished?i was thinking either white or red

88blkbird

Have you considered powder coating and then scotchbrite? It may be just what you need. You can strip it, coat it, and scuff the coating.. it will be good quality, and will be able to withstand the scuffing without exposing any metal and therefore avoiding any corrosion.

Dave

biker7

You are losing me there. Never heard of it done that way...powder coating and then scuffing? What color powder coat? Clear? Why?

What I suggest:
-Strip covers.
- Polish the covers which the media you want to achieve the look you are after. Use a wheel with fine compound if you want a higher shine and use a fine Scrotchbrite if you want more of a satin look.
- Shoot either a high (or semi) gloss clear enamel or powdercoat over the cases to seal them from oxidation.

Good Luck,
George

XLXRider

...have the cases blasted with some "gentle" media, such as egg shells, walnut shells, polyester beads, baking soda, or something like that, to get the finish you're after. Then clear-coat with either a 2K urethane or powder, as others have suggested.

There may be a few board members who are very familiar with different grades of blast media that could make an intelligent recommendation... keep in mind that "blasting" isn't necessarily that, fine art restorations are done with specialized media blasting.

Good luck, hope you find the finish you're after!

XLXRider

Iceseven

I just polished out my aluminum clutch cover due to a little off-road scuffing. I used a fine sand sponge and matched the original brush look, really the only option for the clear is to have it clear powdercoated, I had an estimate of around $60, you will have to take out all three bearings for the baking process and these seem to be pressed in so I tried auto type clear high temp in a can and it looks pretty good but when you start to tighten bolts the clear will crack.

As far as the stripping goes I used ace hardware paint stripper in a spray can, most of the original clear came off with just a hosing then the rest with another coat, that original coating comes off super easy with stripper.

I plan on going with the chrome over the winter so the fix will work for now.

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2006 Scrambler, Previously had 2004 Bonnie Black, 1995 T-Bird, 1974 Trident, various street and dirt bikes.

Lazyrider

There's an easy way to get a true satin finish on aluminum that won't leave it looking like you ran it through a belt sander. Just fill a glass or ceramic container with a solution of lye and soak the piece for a couple minutes. When you wipe off the black coating that results - Viola! Wash it down, spray it with clearcoat (I prefer real lacquer to Krylon), and you're done.

Jack

'08 Blue/White America