Cleaning old alloy (motorbike engine)

[taslucas]

Does anyone know of any products that are good for cleaning old alloy? I want to clean up my xr and being air cooled, it has all those fins so it's a pain to try polished them all. A mate got a product designed to de-oxidise for his bike but won't use it again because its effectiveness was limited and the alloy started oxidising again quicker and worse than before....

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[Cuppa]

Patience, elbow grease & lots of solvol autsol followed up by regular attention.

[MudRunnerTD]

I'd get that sand blasted mate then start from scratch, Dremel will be your friend.

[threedogs]

Why not paint it matt black and then file the fins for an alloy look.
Looks pretty corroded to bring back to mirror finish, other engine
covers like the clutch and alternater could be done on a grinder
with a buffing wheel and a bar of buffing soap.
Looking again I'd use some wet/dry on it. lol

[taslucas]

Patience, elbow grease & lots of solvol autsol followed up by regular attention.

That's precisely what I'm trying to avoid haha

I'd get that sand blasted mate then start from scratch, Dremel will be your friend.

Im not keen on pulling it down just to clean. If something let's go and I have to pull it apart then I'll go with that option.

Why not paint it matt black and then file the fins for an alloy look.
Looks pretty corroded to bring back to mirror finish, other engine
covers like the clutch and alternater could be done on a grinder
with a buffing wheel and a bar of buffing soap.
Looking again I'd use some wet/dry on it. lol

That would look pretty trick but I think it would involve removing the engine etc.

I've just done a few bits and pieces to it ie: bars, grips, lights, brakes, cleaned the plastics, new clutch cable etc... So im ready to start riding again soon. I think I'll ride for a while and then look into a bit deeper restoration. For now Im just looking to clean it up a bit.....

My elbow grease reserves are pretty low :-(

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[NissanGQ4.2]

Its a Honda XR, it don't need cleaning, ur only going 2 get it dirty again.

GO HARD OR GO HOME

[Cuppa]

I think I'll ride for a while and then look into a bit deeper restoration. For now Im just looking to clean it up a bit.....

Good plan. Even getting it blasted wouldn’t stop it re-oxidising, although some mediums are better than others in leaving a smoother surface. Always hard to know what is the best course of action. Cleaning up one part only results in the daggy parts looking even daggier.

It’ll still do it’s job as is. If you do get keen & polish up bits of alloy don’t succumb to the temptation of clear coating it. When the clear coating starts wearing off it looks worse than oxidation.

Whilst there are suitable paint coatings available I’d doubt if the cost would be worthwhile on Jap dirtbike which will be used. Different on classic bikes for the show ring.

Might be worth a little cleaning up around the tappet inspection covers, just so you can get them undone when you need to. In my experience, the longer they are left untouched, the harder they become to undo, & in worst case scenario the centre gets ripped out of the inspection cover. Undoing them now, if you can, & applying a dab of never seize on the threads would be good preventative maintenance.

Had an XR350 & an XR185. Not sure which was more fun. Great bikes.

[taslucas]

Yeah I think they have some kind of finish or coating on them to start with. As I said above, a mate used a product that was specifically for De oxidising and he said it came up good but started oxidising really quickly so he thought maybe there's something on it from the factory. Another mate has an immaculate xr400 Motard and his alloy looks more than just polished but the original owner said it had only been kept clean, not had anything sprayed on it. Hmm.

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[taslucas]

Its a Honda XR, it don't need cleaning, ur only going 2 get it dirty again.

GO HARD OR GO HOME

I do one then the other... At least I still own mine!

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[NissanGQ4.2]

I do one then the other... At least I still own mine!

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Yeh wish I still had mine, but got what I believe was a price that I doubt I would of got again so was 2 hard 2 pass up