• Required reading for all forum users!!!

    Welcome!
    Register to access the full functionality of the GSResources forum. Until you register and activate your account you will not have full forum access, nor will you be able to post or reply to messages.

    A note to new registrants...
    All new forum registrations must be activated via email before you have full access to the forum.

    A Special Note about Email accounts!
    DO NOT SIGN UP USING hotmail, outlook, gmx, sbcglobal, att, bellsouth or email.com. They delete our forum signup emails.

    A note to old forum members...
    I receive numerous requests from people who can no longer log in because their accounts were deleted. As mentioned in the forum FAQ, user accounts are deleted if you haven't logged in for the past 6 months. If you can't log in, then create a new forum account. If you don't get an error message, then check your email account for an activation message. If you get a message stating that the email address is already in use, then your account still exists so follow the instructions in the forum FAQ for resetting your password.

    Have you forgotten your password or have a new email address? Then read the forum FAQ for details on how to reset it.

    Any email requests for "can't log in anymore" problems or "lost my password" problems will be deleted. Read the forum FAQ and follow the instructions there - that's what we have one for...

  • Returning Visitors

    If you are a returning visitor who never received your confirmation email, then odds are your email provider is blockinig emails from our server. The only thing that can be done to get around this is you will have to try creating another forum account using an email address from another domain.

    If you are a returning visitor to the forum and can't log in using your old forum name and password but used to be able to then chances are your account is deleted. Purges of the databases are done regularly. You will have to create a new forum account and you should be all set.

engine beautification

  • Thread starter Thread starter mortation
  • Start date Start date
M

mortation

Guest
A lot of these bikes in here look sweet! I wanted to get some tips and tricks on the engines. Some of them looks so shiny they almost look chromed. Do you have to take the engine out and apart to get it that clean? I know side covers and such come off with little trouble (provided the screws arnt rusted shut) but other than that I am not sure how to get the rest of it looking tip top without pulling it.

So does it have to be pulled and disassembled? What do you recomend to clean and polish? What chemicals and methods?
 
On my Skunk, I didn't remove my engine, but I did take alot of stuff off to get to everything. I used simple green and toothbrushes and baby bottle brushes to get the engine clean. I removed and polished all the side covers, cam cover, forks, etc. I used S100 Engine Brightener on all the black stuff.... wire looms, plastic rear fender, etc.
Here's a link to my project:

http://s19.photobucket.com/albums/b182/renobruce/GS1000/

Depending on your bike, it takes time and patience to get it to look good. Keep scrubbing!!
 
Last edited:
If you don't have strong fingers now, you will in a year!
 
renobruce said:
On my Skunk, I didn't remove my engine, but I did take alot of stuff off to get to everything. I used simple green and toothbrushes and baby bottle brushes to get the engine clean. I removed and polished all the side covers, cam cover, forks, etc. I used S100 Engine Brightener on all the black stuff.... wire looms, plastic rear fender, etc.
Here's a link to my project:

http://s19.photobucket.com/albums/b182/renobruce/GS1000/

Depending on your bike, it takes time and patience to get it to look good. Keep scrubbing!!
Click to expand...


WOW! You got your engine that clean with it still in the bike? Thats AWESOME! I can't wait to get started! I will check out the S100 Engine Brightener thanks! Are those new pipes or just cleaned up?
 
mortation said:
WOW! You got your engine that clean with it still in the bike? Thats AWESOME! I can't wait to get started! I will check out the S100 Engine Brightener thanks! Are those new pipes or just cleaned up?
Click to expand...

The pipes are new. V&H 4 into 1.

You can get the S100 online or at the Harley dealership.
 
For polishing I used a combination of methods I got from Bruce and Keith. Here is the before and after of my sprocket cover.
CIMG0096.jpg

CIMG0029.jpg


The entire process went 400 grit wetsand, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000, polish, white rouge. It was very time consuming but worth it I think.

My engine overall isn't as nice as bruce's, but I removed it fromt he frame and powersprayed using a jet stream attachment on an ordinary garden hose. I used engine degreaser to remove the grime and then a mild descaling/degreasing agent and a flexible copper brush to get off most of the tough baked in stuff. Don't have any up to date pictures unfortunately.
 
Gun bore brushes work nicely between the fins. I had to use them on my exhaust flanges between the fins on them. I have never used it but "maas" metal polish has a very good rep for cleaning metal of all kinds. I think that is the right spelling.
 
Did you polish the carbs by hand? Could you tell me the process involved?
You have done a wonderful job on the bike, you should be very proud.
Are you a professional builder or a keen amateur?
Regards,
Chris
 
Chris Bohane said:
Did you polish the carbs by hand? Could you tell me the process involved?
You have done a wonderful job on the bike, you should be very proud.
Are you a professional builder or a keen amateur?
Regards,
Chris
Click to expand...

Oh, definately an amateur! The carbs were done by hand. Most all the stuff I polished started with wet sanding. 400, 800, 1000, 1500, and 2000 grit. Then followed by polishing. I used Mother's aluminum polish either by hand or with a pad on my hand drill or with a dremel tool.
 
I cleaned mine with a mild solvent called blanket wash 533.It's used in printing to clean the ink off of the rubber follers and blankets.Then I wd-40d the engine to get the blanket wash off then mothers chrome and aluminum polish on everthing followed by s-100 engine brightener and wahlaa!!!Took a week to do.Close to 20 hours. I have done nothing to the cases as they still have the original clearcoat on them.The bike has been taken good care of it's whole life.Original paint on the engine also.
 
Last edited:
J_C said:
For polishing I used a combination of methods I got from Bruce and Keith. Here is the before and after of my sprocket cover.
CIMG0096.jpg

CIMG0029.jpg


The entire process went 400 grit wetsand, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000, polish, white rouge. It was very time consuming but worth it I think.

My engine overall isn't as nice as bruce's, but I removed it fromt he frame and powersprayed using a jet stream attachment on an ordinary garden hose. I used engine degreaser to remove the grime and then a mild descaling/degreasing agent and a flexible copper brush to get off most of the tough baked in stuff. Don't have any up to date pictures unfortunately.
Click to expand...

I got the same results with slightly different approach: I used aircraft stripper (aerosol) to strip off the old, fuel stained dingy coating on the sprocket cover, and used 000 steel wool to apply Mother's aluminum polish, and voila! Awesome results! Took about 30 mins...
 
I'm a trucker and drive a 05 Peterbuilt with a Heil drybulk semi trailer.
There is a ton of polished aluminum on this truck and it can be really labor intensive to keep up(when your staring at the prospect of polishing 14 24" aluminum wheels,a 100 gal fuel tank and assorted shiny bits,you look for the easiest way out!). In 20 years of driving the easiest compound I have used is Coopers Aluminum Polish and Coopers Maintain Polish. The Aluminum Polish is green and great for cutting to get down to color. The Maintain Polish is white and great for keeping the polished aluminum up. With the green,wet the polish rag,wring it out,squirt a little compound on it and go to town. The buff rag is kept dry and a small amount of corn starch worked into its surface before buffing. With the white,the polish rag is kept dry. Coopers also makes a combo wash/wax spray thats works real well. These products can be found in most truck stops.
On my 90 1100 Katana all I did to get my fork sliders to gleam was spray them down with aircraft paint remover to get rid of the clear coat then hit it with the green then the white. They looked like chrome afterwards.
For serious pre-polish grinding,www.eastwoods.com has the necessary products to do a professional job.
For cleaning,I have used S100 products and highly recommend them. Pricey,but worth the reduction in labor. I also use Castol Super Clean on the really nasty bits,BUT under NO circumstances allow it to get on polished or anodized aluminum as its high in alkali and with turn them white. An old trick I've used on OEM black engines is to wash the bike,warm the engine slightly,then spray the engine with Armor All,then hose it off. Looks like new.
 
RIFLEMAN said:
An old trick I've used on OEM black engines is to wash the bike,warm the engine slightly,then spray the engine with Armor All,then hose it off. Looks like new.
Click to expand...

Try the S100 engine brightner. It works even better than Armor All. It takes the heat much better, and will bring back any faded areas. Awesome stuff.

DSC0216.jpg




I've never heard of Coopers... I'll have to give it a try.
 
Rifleman,
i can't find anywhere online that sells the Cooper's polish. :( any suggestions?
 
I have some old CM case covers lying around so I thought I would experiment.

Step 1 aircraft stripper...

Well it mostly did the trick, but there will still areas that I wasunhappy with so they are soaking in the stripper now.

Before pictures:

cmsidecovers.jpg


After pictures to follow when I am done.
 
Just hosed them off... But I am still very skeptical that I will be able to get the black areas and chalky white areas out. What are the black and chalky white areas?
 
I dont know about the black areas but I think the white areas are just leftover clearcoat that didnt come off.
 
It'll sand out. Try the wet sand paper or steel wool. Might even polish out
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top