Clear coat on aluminum fork lowers...removal?
KMYRONMAC
lowers? I have a '90 FXRS that looks great except for the fork lowers...going
to be my winter project to clean them up. Any comments on fimal finish?
Polished aluminum...chrome...powder coat?
Thanks
Painter John
Here's a repost:
The straight dope on clear coated aluminum:
Painted aluminum parts are to treated like your painted sheet metal.
If your experiencing stubborn water spots, or dulling, you may have to wet sand and buff them out.
Water spots are cause by hard water drying on your paint. If they are left alone too long, the
minerals in the water will go to work on the paint and actually etch the
effected area.
The Factory clear coats the aluminum to keep it from corroding.
Most aluminum's are alloys. The two dissimilar metals have
unequal electrical balance... it's an anode cathode thing. Aluminum alloys
corrode all by themselves when exposed to the electrolytes (salts)
in the air. This is why the factory clear coats, chromes, or otherwise coats these parts.
Unfortunately, their clear coat methods are not always quite adequate.
If your experiencing corrosion (which appears as a white powder) under the clear, the parts have to
be stripped. Paint stripper does the trick. Spray on is a little easier to use, and most of your
gasket removers will work as they're basically the same thing (methylene chloride). Now that you
have them stripped.. you need to do something to protect your aluminum from corroding again.
To do this, they need to be treated with an aluminum prep or Ospho works just fine
Ospho is a self neutralizing metal conditioner ( meaning you don't have to rinse it off but do wipe
the excess off) which can be purchased at most hardware stores or automotive paint suppliers. The
active ingredient is phosphoric acid which is a mild acid ( it won't burn you on contact but will
irritate the skin so you should wear rubber gloves). It's the same ingredient that's in navel jelly.
Phosphoric acid converts rust or ‘red oxide’ into ‘iron’ or black ‘oxide’ which is a stable
compound. It does actually kill rust and corrosion on aluminum in it's tracks! Then they are ready
to polish and/or re-clear.. Any good clear urethane will do such as Imron or I prefer House of
Kolor's UC1 clear. If it's done correctly. it will far outlast what the factory does and will save
you many hours of polishing... Whatever works for you..
As for polishing, one of my customers turned me on to a product to puts the others to shame. It's
called X-treme Metal Polish (no I don't have stock in the company but I should). X-treme come is
two parts.. the polish itself and then a sealer.... I don't know what they put in that stuff but it
makes your aluminum look like your ol' ladies best polished silver. Then the most important
part.... the sealer.. X-treme Metal Magic Metal Sealer.. The sealer wipes on like a liquid wax ....
you know... wipe on... wipe off... <heh Heh>
I've tested these products on a piece of rough aluminum stock and left it outside my shop for over
one year... It works.
X-treme can be hard to find so here's the company info taken off the product containers though
I believe you can purchase this product thru the CCI catalog..
Hulcher Enterprises, Inc.
611 Kimberly Dr.
Denton, Tx 76201
1 940 898 1400
Part # 02001
Part # 3001
Made in the USA
Ride Free,
Painter John
e-mail to pntrjohn at mediaone.net (iow's remove the vowels from painter)
<http://users.leading.net/~painterj>
mo
>
> Anyone know an easy way to remove the clearcoat off of the aluminum fork
> lowers? I have a '90 FXRS that looks great except for the fork lowers...going
> to be my winter project to clean them up. Any comments on fimal finish?
> Polished aluminum...chrome...powder coat?
>
> Thanks
for finish I like 40% black powdercoat, or sandblast & powdercoat clear
(matte)
--
mo
we ride out tonight
Lee
will run you around 180 bucks.
Nicer look, less work.
Onion
Painter John wrote:
> On 19 Nov 1999 16:46:12 GMT, kmyr...@aol.com (KMYRONMAC) frantically typed:
>
> >Anyone know an easy way to remove the clearcoat off of the aluminum fork
> >lowers? I have a '90 FXRS that looks great except for the fork lowers...going
> >to be my winter project to clean them up. Any comments on fimal finish?
> >Polished aluminum...chrome...powder coat?
> >
> >Thanks
>
Cuz
clear coat removed, but I will tell you how.
Start by removeing them fron the scooter. (I don't understand the
letters, but if the bike is a narrow glide you will find removeing the
fender much easier after the removal of the lower legs.) Start with 400
sand paper and remove the paint. Then go to 600, 1200, 1600 grits. Once
your done with that use some ruse and buff wheel #36. Now the fun
begins. Get some metal polish (I like Semi Chrome) And use 000
stealwool untill super smoth. Next a genaic used dryer sheet from the
wash as an aplicator realy gives it a glossy look. I awalies follow
this with a polish I get from Wallmart that has a sealent in it.
I did mine as the paint was wearing through. But it is a real bitch
every time you get it wet.
* Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet's Discussion Network *
The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet - Free!
Hawgflst
>From: Painter John paint...@mediaone.net
>Date: Fri, 19 November 1999 01:03 PM EST
>Message-id:
<snip>
Painter,
Does this work for primary cases too? Will the clear coate come off that
easily? Mine's an 88 and in serious need. I was going to do my forks and case
this winter.
Need something to do, its to damn cold and windy for my else around here in Jan
and Feb.
Brian
Keep the rubber side down.
SteevenB
kmyr...@aol.com (KMYRONMAC) wrote:
> Anyone know an easy way to remove the clearcoat off of the aluminum fork
> lowers? I have a '90 FXRS that looks great except for the fork lowers...going
> to be my winter project to clean them up. Any comments on fimal finish?
> Polished aluminum...chrome...powder coat?
> Thanks
years ago i used a scotch brite pad, paint thinner and about an hours
worth of elbow grease
for removing that shit clear coat off two legs on my fxr
the clearcoat came off nice and i had a matte finish that oxidized real
nice (my intention)
rode it like that for two years and then painted the lower legs black
-that works good too
painter john is right tho - if ya like the shiny look? use the xtreem
shit, it does work
IMSHO -but at some pint your gonna have to do something that is waay
durable if you dont
want to have to dick with it again
--
SteevenB#43
KMYRONMAC
Painter John
<snip a lot>
>Does this work for primary cases too? Will the clear coate come off that
>easily? Mine's an 88 and in serious need. I was going to do my forks and case
>this winter.
>Need something to do, its to damn cold and windy for my else around here in Jan
>and Feb.
>
>Brian
>Keep the rubber side down.
The clear coat will bubble right up with spray bomb stripper and wash off easily with a hose. If do
this repair while on the bike, be sure to protect your paint and every thing else, including the
rubber boots and seals.. It's better to disassemble the front end but it can be done ob the bike
with the front wheel off.
Good luck and let us know how it works out for you..
Painter John
>Thanks for the info John, you really covered all bases
No prob..
Hawgflst
John,
Thanks for the advice. I'll let all know how things work out.
Bill Ferguson
alum.....
BF
"Painter John" <paint...@mediaone.net> wrote in message
news:3kI3OCzGGWghaQ...@4ax.com...
> On 20 Nov 1999 02:42:19 GMT, hawg...@aol.com (Hawgflst) frantically
typed:
>
> <snip a lot>
> >Does this work for primary cases too? Will the clear coate come off that
> >easily? Mine's an 88 and in serious need. I was going to do my forks
and case
> >this winter.
> >Need something to do, its to damn cold and windy for my else around here
in Jan
> >and Feb.
> >
> >Brian
> >Keep the rubber side down.
> The clear coat will bubble right up with spray bomb stripper and wash off
easily with a hose. If do
> this repair while on the bike, be sure to protect your paint and every
thing else, including the
> rubber boots and seals.. It's better to disassemble the front end but it
can be done ob the bike
> with the front wheel off.
>
> Good luck and let us know how it works out for you..
>
Painter John
>ahhh better test on old part or broken part to see if it will discolor the
>alum.....
>
If what will discolor the aluminum?
Bill Ferguson
what i did to my aluminum parts to remove the clear coat is to use polishing
the aluminum
1st stage cut / remove and initial polish
Use spiral sewn wheel with tripoli brown compound
2nd stage final polish or luster
Use loose cotton wheel with white compound
Note: (((be sure do not mix both compound on same buffing wheel, get one for
brown and one for white compound)))
once you have complete it will look real nice.
be sure you use protect the aluminum.
BF
"Painter John" <paint...@mediaone.net> wrote in message
news:=ao3OIAI2hW3I5...@4ax.com...
Painter John
>discolor on alum will be ruin.
>what i did to my aluminum parts to remove the clear coat is to use polishing
>the aluminum
Bill, this sentence makes absolutely no sense!... although i think I know what your trying to say..
but you haven't answered my question.. what is it that you are saying will discolor the aluminum?
A conversion coating will give it a yellow tinge but that's only used prior to painting..
So what *are* you talking about?
Bill Ferguson
on aluminum like chrome is what i talk about...
if you use that remover off the clear coat on alum and the alum will may get
discolored.
if you are going to paint color on it then it should be fine to use that
remover...
i just want to let them know that alum may get discolored if they want it
like chrome.
BF
"Painter John" <paint...@mediaone.net> wrote in message
news:IzU4OLVu3oQzTv...@4ax.com...
Painter John
>yeah my langauge sux...
>
>on aluminum like chrome is what i talk about...
>if you use that remover off the clear coat on alum and the alum will may get
>discolored.
>if you are going to paint color on it then it should be fine to use that
>remover...
>i just want to let them know that alum may get discolored if they want it
>like chrome.
Thanks for clearing up you statement... I've stripped more clear coated aluminum than I can remember
and have never seen it get discolored... In fact.. the manufacturers of clear coated wheels, like
that on Corvettes, for instance, recommend a spray-on stripper... The stripper washes off clean...
and doesn't disturb the polished or machined aluminum the clearcoat is designed to protect. By
sanding the clear off, you create an awful lot of extra work, and it the aluminum is machine
finished, you'll never get it back to an oem look..
Just my take... from combined years of experience in the refinish industry..
Bill Ferguson
BF
"Painter John" <paint...@mediaone.net> wrote in message
news:qoA4OPdhhjXmheSwyFpZdt=B+...@4ax.com...