Refinishing Fork Legs

[Nessism]

Lower fork legs on my GS550T have corrosion under the clear coat. Stripped off the clear with chemical stripper and noticed that the metal has a bright shinny finish, in areas away from the corrosion, that looks like bright anodizing. I’m wondering if anyone has noticed this same surface finish under the clear? I took some abrasive emery cloth and removed the corrosion but now the brushed finish does not look the same as the original finish. I want to clear over the freshly sanded lower legs but I’m wondering if they will look good this way compared to the original bright finish?

[rustybronco]

try buffing on the back side with 0000 steel wool and see if you like the results (around to dia. not length wise) first.

[Nessism]

I'm pretty sure now, after spending a fair bit of time sanding out the corrosion with a couple different grits of abrasive cloth, that the forks were origionally bright anodized before being clear coated. The sanded surface is smooth and clean but not as bright as the anodized areas, such as around the caliper lugs, that I didn't mess with. I'm going to hit the legs with some clear to see how they look after the shine is normalized with the paint. I'm trying to replicate the origional look but short of sending them out for plating, that seems unlikely now.

Ed

[rustybronco]

i'm pretty sure they were not anodized just polished on a buffing wheel and cleared

[Big T]

Just polish them up and clear coat. Search for polishing tips

The originals may have had some type of aluminum colored paint on them

[Nessism]

Finished up the legs today. Wound up sanding progressively down to 600 grit. No polishing since I wanted the brushed look. Three coats of clear urethane top it off. Looks pretty good but just a little off compared to stock.

[rustybronco]

Looks pretty good but just a little off compared to stock.

pain in the butt being a perfectionist isn't it?

[Nessism]

pain in the butt being a perfectionist isn't it?

I’m struggling with my mission statement on this bike. It’s a 1981 GS550T with less than 700 original miles on it. So far I’ve cleaned the carbs., adjusted the valves, rebuilt the rear brake caliper, and changed all the fluids. A few people suggested I don’t ride it but that’s not my style. Ordered some modern tires (at least more modern that the Flintstone’s that came on the bike) and a new X-ring chain. So now the big thing is cleaning up the surface corrosion – fortunately, there isn’t too much. I’d like the bike to look as stock as I can reasonably make it – thus my desire to replicate the factory look on the fork sliders. At any rate, the forks look good so that project is done. Next thing is polishing the chromed parts, some of which are peppered with rust. Worst parts are the plastic turn signals, which have a green cast to them. Might just leave them for now and watch ebay for some new ones. At any rate, I love my GS and all the support this forum provides for people like me with too much free time on my hands.