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.... http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/images/imported/2016/01/139.jpghttp://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/images/imported/2016/01/140.jpg

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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

[taslucas]

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
But then you have no bike :-(

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[threedogs]

Ive matt blacked heaps of road bikes over the years , all you need to do is mask off the barrel from the cases.
Remove and polish tappet covers, spray and either wipe wet paint off the fins or use a file, not that hard.
As you said looks trick too, just like a later model

EDIT::: and it sticks, as you basically oven bake it on.
If you spray with the motor warm and not hot it will open the
pores a tad and fill in with paint better,
Never had one peel off ever and I rode bikes for a very long time
Main reason I did it was to make my bike different to one anyone can buy, lol

[Sprock]

If you just want to 'clean' the alloy -ie get rid of the dirty grey look -get some aluminium acid like chemtech blitz - white bottle / black label from super cheap , or septone aluminium cleaner -green bottle with yellow label ( from memory) dilute either of em 50/50 with water & spray on , let sit for 5 mins then hose off , repeat until clean - you can help it along with a toothbrush in the hard to reach bits & a normal scrubbing brush on the bigger areas - you don't need to scrub it hard it will simply wipe off with your finger, like anything if you spray soap on and just hose it off it will be clean but leave the residue this stuff is the same. after a couple of goes it will be clean but very bright - not quite white but very light & bright . Not sure if that's what you're after or if you really want to polish it that is a bloody big job


2002 GU wagon 3.0lt , auto , piranha dual batteries , 3" lift , chip , needle & Dawes valves - just gettin started

[Avo]

yep what sprock said,works a treat,just don't leave it on to long.....

[Sprock]

http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/images/imported/2016/01/142.jpghttp://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/images/imported/2016/01/143.jpghttp://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/images/imported/2016/01/144.jpghttp://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/images/imported/2016/01/145.jpghttp://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/images/imported/2016/01/146.jpghttp://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/images/imported/2016/01/147.jpg
Here is some of my sanding / polishing - like I say it's a BIG job - especially on something as intricate as that head ....


2002 GU wagon 3.0lt , auto , piranha dual batteries , 3" lift , chip , needle & Dawes valves - just gettin started

[Sprock]

Sorry I got a bit carried away there ! Went looking for a picture to show the work that goes into cleaning , sanding and polishing alloy for a Mira finish if that's what you're after but I think you just want to clean that head up to look more respectable ?


2002 GU wagon 3.0lt , auto , piranha dual batteries , 3" lift , chip , needle & Dawes valves - just gettin started

[taslucas]

Sorry I got a bit carried away there ! Went looking for a picture to show the work that goes into cleaning , sanding and polishing alloy for a Mira finish if that's what you're after but I think you just want to clean that head up to look more respectable ?


2002 GU wagon 3.0lt , auto , piranha dual batteries , 3" lift , chip , needle & Dawes valves - just gettin started
Haha no worries! Thanks for the info. Yeah there's no way I'm going for a mirror finish. Just a clean up will do.

Edit: that bumper looks mint!!

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[Sprock]

Thanks mate [emoji1360]


2002 GU wagon 3.0lt , auto , piranha dual batteries , 3" lift , chip , needle & Dawes valves - just gettin started

[taslucas]

Hey threedogs, do you have any pics of the bikes you painted black?

tappin from tassie

[threedogs]

Hey threedogs, do you have any pics of the bikes you painted black?

tappin from tassie

Ill see what I can dig up
Found some but puter is playing up for some reason.
For early Honda superbikes I had some rippers
refused to buy a kwaka 9 cause I could get a 750 to eat them

[threedogs]

Here we go red one is a K1 very sought after in their day
Black on is a 10sec bike in stock guise he he it had dual disc brakes from a honda 6 fitted
the other is my V4 but I didnt like it front wheel too small for racing imo
Dont be fooled by the stock look those OE pipes were opened and the guts removed
and tig welded back up. They say you could hear me coming for miles and I mean miles
especially at full noise lol, rear foot pegs raised to above the pipes better for cornering

[taslucas]

Yeah cheers. It's a pretty cool look. I reckon I'll just clean it up for now and then look into a bit deeper restore in a while.

tappin from tassie