Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

best way to clean and make aluminum shine again

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    best way to clean and make aluminum shine again

    for the engine section of my bike im wondering the best way to clean all the aluminum, try to make it all one shade, and make it shine or if it doesnt really shine then brand new, i can use whatever tools, a pressure washer, whatever as the motor would be apart and it would simply be cases at this point getting cleaned.

    also, anything for chrome? if theres an in depth cleaning and shining process to chrome i would also like to know that.

    also plastic? anything to make it not so dull and old looking?
    Last edited by timebombprod; 01-23-2022, 05:50 PM.
    Ian

    1982 GS650GLZ
    1982 XS650

    #2
    As suggested by many other GSR folks, I used aircraft stripper to get the clear coat off of the case covers. It's super nasty stuff so don't breathe, open your eyes or let the kids play near you while using it. After spraying the stripper the clear coat just scrapes off with a plastic putty knife or credit card.

    I bought a couple of polishing wheels for the drill and a few flavors of compound from Harbor Freight, setup shop in the yard and in an afternoon polished this stuff up. Not nearly as good as some others I've seen here, but I'm happy.


    I masked off the area around the letters and sprayed some gloss black over it, wiping off the excess with acetone before it dried. Again, not as good as others, but good enough. I initially forgot about the circle around the perimiter but did eventually paint that too.

    Chrome and plastic I haven't tackled yet.

    Before
    20210501_202759 by Roger, on Flickr


    Masked and ready to paint
    2022-01-23_03-11-52 by Roger, on Flickr



    After
    Polished covers by Roger, on Flickr


    20210611_150442 by Roger, on Flickr
    Last edited by Burque73; 01-23-2022, 06:31 PM.
    Roger

    Current rides
    1983 GS 850G
    2003 FJR 1300A
    Gone but not forgotten 1985 Rebel 250, 1991 XT225, 2004 KLR650, 1981 GS850G, 1982 GS1100GL, 2002 DL1000, 2005 KLR650, 2003 KLX400

    Comment


      #3
      Wow that's a huge difference, definitely what I'd be looking for, what do you think about doing it to the cylinder walls aswell?
      Ian

      1982 GS650GLZ
      1982 XS650

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by timebombprod View Post
        Wow that's a huge difference, definitely what I'd be looking for, what do you think about doing it to the cylinder walls aswell?
        arent cylinders painted silver?
        If not vapor blasting would be the way to go I think
        1983 GS 550 LD
        2009 BMW K1300s

        Comment


          #5
          im honestly not sure how the cylinder walls are done, i wish i knew that much about my bike
          Ian

          1982 GS650GLZ
          1982 XS650

          Comment


            #6
            I painted my GS1100's entire engine with VHT but left the GS1000's cylinder barrel bare since it looked fine to me. Not sure what the purists prefer, but both look OK to me, I am not entering concours restoration contests. I did paint the 1000's head and for some reason the paint has a bit of gold tinge to it, maybe I used a different VHT than the GS1100. Oops! Oh well. The nu cast aluminum is the brighter and more original one I think.

            For chrome it depends, is it rust and pitting you are trying to solve? There are many ways to approach that, some chemical, some mildly abrasive but be careful.

            Plastic is tricky, such things as airbox and switches get sun bleached and I don't know of any permanent fix other than painting them with plastic paint. You can treat them with stuff like Mother's back to black, it will help for a while.





            Tom

            '82 GS1100E Mr. Turbo
            '79 GS100E
            Other non Suzuki bikes

            Comment


              #7
              No rust or anything on the chrome, there's minimal scratching on certain bits and just wondering if there's anything you do about it and also to get it to shine the best.

              Honestly, how does painting the engine black go? Sorry there's alot of ideas going on right now in my head I just wonder the best way to approach them.
              Ian

              1982 GS650GLZ
              1982 XS650

              Comment


                #8
                Hard to imagine nobody's mentioned "Semichrome Polish" & "NeverDull". All bike shops carried it in yrs. past, I'd guess polishing alum. is what it was for. Been working pretty good since the late 70's.
                1983 GS1100E, 1983 CB1100F, 1991 GSX1100G, 1996 Kaw. ZL600 Eliminator, 1999 Bandit 1200S, 2005 Bandit 1200S, 2000 Kaw. ZRX 1100

                Comment


                  #9
                  ill have to check all these out, but im wondering if im going to paint the motor black, im planning to really make this bike mine.

                  full rebuild, bore, full repaint, a proper aftermarket intake setup and tune, replacing or greasing all bearings, replacing any seals or gaskets that need it, deleting any unnecessary to me parts and wires, rerouting wiring, electronic units, cables, all that. ill be fine with the engine rebuild as i have done a few now and two being DOHC inline fours, but i definitely need help on the cosmetic side of things and the smaller stuff. there will be before and after pictures forsure, not sure when this will all start but ofcourse it all really starts with an idea.

                  does anyone have a downloadable template of a GS by chance, like a stencil type drawing of one of these thats not coloured in? does anyone know where i could possibly find one?
                  Ian

                  1982 GS650GLZ
                  1982 XS650

                  Comment


                    #10
                    My older brother would pay me a buck to polish his Triumph cases with Simichrome when I was a kid in early 70s. It's great stuff. At one point I had Autosol, some watery stuff for gun cleaning that people swore by but I forgot the name, Simichrome and Mothers mag and aluminum polish so I did an unscientific test with them all. The Mothers was my favorite and the cheapest as well by far. I never liked the NeverDull wadding but people seem to. It's almost like an oil thread The Mothers tub lasts me for ages.

                    Originally posted by rphillips View Post
                    Hard to imagine nobody's mentioned "Semichrome Polish" & "NeverDull". All bike shops carried it in yrs. past, I'd guess polishing alum. is what it was for. Been working pretty good since the late 70's.
                    Tom

                    '82 GS1100E Mr. Turbo
                    '79 GS100E
                    Other non Suzuki bikes

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by oldGSfan View Post
                      My older brother would pay me a buck to polish his Triumph cases with Simichrome when I was a kid in early 70s. It's great stuff. At one point I had Autosol, some watery stuff for gun cleaning that people swore by but I forgot the name, Simichrome and Mothers mag and aluminum polish so I did an unscientific test with them all. The Mothers was my favorite and the cheapest as well by far. I never liked the NeverDull wadding but people seem to. It's almost like an oil thread The Mothers tub lasts me for ages.
                      Oh, far gawd's sake, you had to go and remind me of Brasso Finger.
                      ---- Dave
                      79 GS850N - Might be a trike soon.
                      80 GS850T Single HIF38 S.U. SH775, Tow bar, Pantera II. Gnarly workhorse & daily driver.
                      79 XS650SE - Pragmatic Ratter - goes better than a manky old twin should.
                      92 XJ900F - Fairly Stock, for now.

                      Only a dog knows why a motorcyclist sticks his head out of a car window

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Originally posted by oldGSfan View Post
                        My older brother would pay me a buck to polish his Triumph cases with Simichrome when I was a kid in early 70s. It's great stuff. At one point I had Autosol, some watery stuff for gun cleaning that people swore by but I forgot the name, Simichrome and Mothers mag and aluminum polish so I did an unscientific test with them all. The Mothers was my favorite and the cheapest as well by far. I never liked the NeverDull wadding but people seem to. It's almost like an oil thread The Mothers tub lasts me for ages.
                        mothers is superb al lot finer than some others ive used.

                        Some youtube vids of people buffing auto paint with it to glass-like shine.
                        Ive used it after a multi grit wet-sand progression 400-800-1000-2000 and it turns suzuki cases and fork tube into mirrors.

                        ive used nevr dull and never liked it thought it was crap. probably used it wrong as it may be more of a coating than a polish
                        1983 GS 550 LD
                        2009 BMW K1300s

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Hard yellow wheel on my Eastwood buffer machine with BLACK MAGIC rouge. Paint stripper any clear way before polishing. Do all the covers and forks on 2 or 3 hours. Then clean with acetone and buff in WIZARDS POWR SEAL to seal the raw metal from oxidation. See any of my project threads for dozes of pictures.
                          MY BIKES..1977 GS 750 B, 1978 GS 1000 C (X2)
                          1978 GS 1000 E, 1979 GS 1000 S, 1973 Yamaha TX 750, 1977 Kawasaki KZ 650B1, 1975 Honda GL1000 Goldwing, 1983 CB 650SC Nighthawk, 1972 Honda CB 350K4, 74 Honda CB550

                          NEVER SNEAK UP ON A SLEEPING DOG..NOT EVEN YOUR OWN.


                          I would rather trust my bike to a "QUACK" that KNOWS how to fix it rather than a book worm that THINKS HE KNOWS how to fix it.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by chuck hahn View Post
                            Hard yellow wheel on my Eastwood buffer machine with BLACK MAGIC rouge. Paint stripper any clear way before polishing. Do all the covers and forks on 2 or 3 hours. Then clean with acetone and buff in WIZARDS POWR SEAL to seal the raw metal from oxidation. See any of my project threads for dozes of pictures.
                            omg hi chuck whats up?
                            1983 GS 550 LD
                            2009 BMW K1300s

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Use 000 grit steel wool on chrome. Been using it for 30 years cheap at home depot.
                              Current Rides: 82 GS1100E, 00 Triumph 955 Speed Triple, 03 Kawasaki ZRX1200, 01 Honda GL1800, '15 Kawasaki 1000 Versys
                              Past Rides: 72 Honda SL-125, Kawasaki KE-175, 77 GS750 with total yosh stage 1 kit, 79 GS1000s, 80 GS1000S, 82 GS750e,82 GS1000S, 84 VF500f, 86 FZR600, 95 Triumph Sprint 900,96 Triumph Sprint, 97 Triumph Sprint, 01 Kawasaki ZRX1200, 07 Triumph Tiger 1050, 01 Yam YFZ250F
                              Work in progress: 78 GS1000, unknown year GS1100ES

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X