Cleaning aluminium engine parts

[Ian]

I have a Yamaha (sorry...) engine that I'd like to clean up. Taking it out of the frame and dismantling it isn't really feasible at the moment. The aluminium is just looking dull and dirty.

Can this be achieved using readily available cleaning products, wet and dry paper and a mop on a power drill? Or can it be steam cleaned? Or do the parts need to be acid dipped or blasted in a cabinet?

How do people achieve this kind of finish?




Any advice appreciated!

[merlin]

I would not use any acid or alkali as that with etch the surface.You could start with fine pumice powder and then a good polish like Auto solve and elbow grease.

[Dogsbody]

To achieve that kind of finish requires the engine to be dismantled to its component parts. If you want to clean in situ you could try a good alloy wheel cleaner, polishing with Solvol etc is usually ineffective as the alloy will be lacquered which has to be stripped off before polishing. British bikes didn't use lacquer so polishing worked well. Dogsbody

[gribley]

To get that really stubborn baked on "R" and other gunge off, I use Mr Muscle oven cleaner. Spray it on, leave about 1/2 hour and hose off. aluminium comes up like new. WARNING do not use on blue smooth hammerite paint, it will turn pink

[Dick F]

Cleaning alluminium engine parts

Now that looks a good motor to fit in a greeves,? what are you considering this to go in an off road or street bike!.

[John Wakefield]

The XT500/SR500 is an excellent motor, I campaigned a XT500 in enduros including the Welsh 2 Day back in the late 70's & it was the most reliable bike I have ridden after I had changed the original Mikuni carb for an Amal Concentric Mark 2 to cure poor starting. I never did dismantle the motor and apart from a bit of smoke on start up it was still running well when I sold it. And I also used the bike a lot on the road & trail riding two up with the missus on the back.
The only draw back using it in a Greeves (if it is a draw back) is the need for an oil tank. The Yamaha has an oil bearing frame.

[Guest]

The XT500/SR500 is an excellent motor, I campaigned a XT500 in enduros including the Welsh 2 Day back in the late 70's & it was the most reliable bike I have ridden after I had changed the original Mikuni carb for an Amal Concentric Mark 2 to cure poor starting. I never did dismantle the motor and apart from a bit of smoke on start up it was still running well when I sold it. And I also used the bike a lot on the road & trail riding two up with the missus on the back.
The only draw back using it in a Greeves (if it is a draw back) is the need for an oil tank. The Yamaha has an oil bearing frame.

Hi John. I had a MZ Mastiff about 6 years ago. What a manic road bike, great fun. That engine was brilliant. Would it fit a Greeves road bike?

Keith

PS I wish I knew how to clean alloy as well. I know how to remove rust with electrolysis. Would this work on alloy?

[Guest]

Alloy cleaning

This looks interesting. Bead blasting works but you have to do a careful clean up afterwards.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQV0cpIZkak

All these preps are really for repainting preparations. Chemicals will leave the surface even more prone to corrosion.

Hope this helps

[aa will]

paint it black just like a racer, it is bound to be at least 10 mph quicker, will.

[dave higgins]

Soda blasting is a good way, plenty of vids on youtube, common soda crystals, fired through a compressed air gun, it leaves a perfect finish, safe to all other components, & leaves a nice clean floor afterwards....everybodies using it...

[Brian Thompson]

Cleaning/Polishing Metal Bike Components.

Spot on Dave, as ever. Soda blasting is very much 'the new thang' isn't it, and far less 'messy' than bead/grit/shot. Best of all, no nasty glass beads getting into all your 'nooks and crankies'... Ideal for cast and polished parts, to get a 'base' finish.

As far as the 'traditional methods go, as refered to earlier in this thread, there's a lot to be said for hand polishing if you want a more 'factory' type finish, coming up through the grades (emery paper or 3m/Scotcbrite type pads.) Labour intensive, but you've got more 'control'. For an example, see post #47, here; http://www.greeves-riders.org.uk/for...p?t=524&page=5

For those new to polishing alloy (for the shiny bits) have a look at this excellent website(http://www.thepolishingshop.co.uk/). The Polishing Shop supply all manner of stuff to make things easier, cheap too, and even provide a guide; http://www.thepolishingshop.co.uk/ac...ing_Guide.html An extremely helpful company, always willing to give sound advice over the phone, usually from one of their in-house workshop experts, I can't recommend them highly enough.

One recent product I've used in restoring my old boss's classic Japanese bikes are their satin lap mops, a real time-saver; http://www.thepolishingshop.co.uk/ac...-Mops-New.html For alloy, start with 'medium' (no courser!!!), then progress to 'fine' then 'very fine'. This gives a really nice 'factory' type satin finish, and busts through the lacquer a treat.

I used to use Nitromors to remove lacquer prior to polishing, but the stuff they sell these days doesn't seem to work, since 'elf and safety' got hold of it....Note; on some more modern Jap casings it's actually clear powder coating so even tougher to remove....These are like 3m/Scotchbrite in 'mop' form, but if you want to do it by hand, this is what you need; http://www.thepolishingshop.co.uk/ac...ls___Pads.html It tends to last a bit longer than emery too in my experience, and you can use it dry. For grades, give the guys a call and tell them what you need it for and they'll point you in the right direction.

Another excellent product I've used extensively over the years are grit impregnated flexible rubber blocks. They used to be called 'Loybloxs' back in the day. Anyone remember them...? I've still got mine but they are nearly worn out now, so I save them for 'specials' and use these instead for day to day stuff; http://www.thepolishingshop.co.uk/ac...Abrasives.html The good thing with these is that that they can be cut to shape to reach awkward areas, and being flexible, conform to the shape of the work peice (no rounded-off corners/edges, all too easy to do with mops if you aren't careful....)

If you want 'really shiney', (but where they ever really that shiney?), then it's out with the mops and various grades of buffing soap. Sisal/Calico/Lambswool is the usual sequence, with appropriate soap at each stage. You only really need a basic kit, and they're so cheap (a tenner!) and will last for years; http://www.thepolishingshop.co.uk/ac...hing_Kits.html If it turns out too shiney for your tastes, you can always take it back with some fine scotchbrite. One of my old work colleagues who's classic (and rare) Yamahas regularly win at Stafford always does it this way - mirror finish on the mops, then 'tone-down' to suit with fine Scotchbrite. Incidently, you can get such a fine/mirror finish this way that if you polish with Solvol Autosol it will actually scratch it! Solvol is quite abrasive, so try something like Peek metal polish, or even Silvo, and use a decent polishing cloth. I've found that yellow dusters can be scratchy and leave bits everywhere. Old t-shirts are really good (decent cotton.)

In the absence of a bench mounted motor, if you're using a drill 4" mops will be more managable, and a drill clamp is essential. These from Frost Automotive work well, and are cheap but serviceable; http://www.frost.co.uk/universal-drill-clamp.html

A couple of final tips from me then.....with Villiers primary chain cases (especially), polish BEFORE facing off the gasket face with a sheet of glass and some fine grinding paste....the heat generated by polishing can produce slight distortion....Also, and most important of all....ALWAYS WEAR EYE PROTECTION, A MASK, AND SUITABLE CLOTHING!!!! Loose sleeves, jumpers et al and fast spinning things 'aint a good combo....It's a really dirty, messy business and will cover your nice clean pristine workhop in dust and muck....so try and do it somewhere appropriate. Practice on some scrap metal first, before attacking a rare/hard to find/expensive component, and get a feel for the materials/abrasives.

Finally, here's another link to an excellent website with lots of useful info, pics and descriptions of the current finishing media avaialble; http://www.icmhome.org.uk/

Hope this helps (Ian!)

Brian.

[Brian Thompson]

A couple of examples.....

As a follow-up, I thought I'd post a couple of examples of 'in-situ' polishing + valeting jobs I did recently (...ish) at work (see attached pics.)

The '72 Kawasaki H2 cases were done with those rubber grit blocks I mentioned, cut to shape as required, then working through the grades and finished with 'Peek' metal polish. The boss was happy (his bike, from his own collection, now sold) as it was shiney, but not TOO shiney....

The Harley was a 'mare though...they always are.....! It had never been cleaned or polished from new, but thankfully it hadn't seen too many miles.... The chrome was time consuming, but easy ('Peek' metal polish again), but all the alloy parts required serious attention, especially that solid rear wheel/rims. Then there was the fork yolks, foot controls, cylinder heads, etc etc...Hard work, and lots of elbow grease, but just to show that some parts 'can' be done in situ, as long you don't have lacquer to contend with as DB mentioned earlier in the thread.

The final pic shows a Honda CL360 import, again one of the boss's bikes. That cover had a great big gouge in it where the gear lever had been pushed into it during an off. He was going to source a replacement, but I managed to chase it all out and 'blend' it back nicely with files, then emery to remove the 'evidence, and then onto the mops to finish with a final go-over with some 'Peek'. The paint infill was just black Humbrol enamel. I don't 'wipe-on/wipe-off' though, I give it two good coats, letting them both dry off rock-hard, then carefully skim back the excess with a very fine rubber grit block and a polish with Solvol. It works on Greeves badges too! Try Humbrol 'Oxford Blue', looks great....

Brian.

[Sean Bowers]

Cleaning/Polishing

Hi Brian / Dave

Thank you for the very helpful hints and tips on cleaning and media types etc.
I am just in the process of cleaning the barrel, head and casings at the moment so this advice could not have come at a better time for me.

Thank you all again
Sean

[Brian Thompson]

'Rubbing!'

Hi Sean,

Glad it was appreciated and helpful to you mate.

Thanks to everyone who chipped in as well. Much more interesting than 'International Bun Fighting, Live, From Scunthorpe!' Well, at least if you like polishing that is....I call it 'rubbing'.....

Let us know how you get on.

Brian.

[Guest]

Shiny!!

Amazing job on the Harley Brian. Beats Brasso + flannellete + black fingers any day.

Old skool polisher ..

Nice one