Valve Covers (Polished brushed aluminum)

[Piper]

I know there was another post on this subject somewhere but I couldn't find it offhand so I will start a new one.
One of the things bothering me about my GW was the peeling clearcoat or plastic coat or whatever that stuff is on the valve covers. It seems to come off way too hard to be regular clearcoat and I don't think they had clearcoats back in 81.
But anyway, I took them off and using a small soda blaster that I got from Harbor Freight some time ago, I blasted all the plastic junk off which left a kinda nice looking brushed aluminum look which looked 1000 percent better, even if I just left them that way, but I decided to polish the sides. Using a buffing wheel with regular fine rubbing compound I polished the sides and left the fronts with the brushed aluminum look. Kind of a nice contrast, I think, but my SO doesn't agree, She thinks it looks like I was just too lazy to polish the whole thing. Of course she might be just a little right. (the polishing is the time consuming and dirty part of the job)
The whole job took about three hours. The timing belt covers will be next when I get time.

 

[dan filipi]

I think that looks damn nice!

 

[thewhiterhino]

Here is a recent thread.

https://www.classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=1139&hilit=polish+cover

I'm with Dan I think they look great.

 

[joedrum]

some times going past a certain point obscures the intension of the job at hand ....clean is clean ....ilike polished show bikes but i like riding more ......so clean and ride is what i strive for and thats pretty hard for me to live up to :mrgreen:

 

[lew1701]

The coating you are refering to is an anodizing process used to protect the aluminum from the elements. I'm sure everyone has seen the resulting "scale" which attacks the metal after this coating has worn away. Bare polished aluminum looks great until mother nature starts taking her toll. Now that you have got your covers looking good they need to be protected. A good product that I use is called Sharkhide. It's not the cheapest stuff but it lasts for years. Damn, I sound like an infommercial.

 

[Piper]

It looks like really good stuff, based on the reviews I found. It looks like the polish they make is really good as well. It looks like it is really big with the Airstream trailer guys. Geeez, I can't even imagine polishing a whole Airstream trailer. Maybe a liitle overkill for my little valve cover job at $59.99 a qt., although it says it can be used on just about everything, even fiberglass. Very tempting.
As Joe suggested, I think, It's pretty easy for some people (yea, me included) to get carried away with these things trying to make them perfect and forget the riding part. I have to try hard to overcome that urge and find a middle ground.

 

[jdegase]

great job
A few thoughts...
the finer the polish the better it will withstand the elements...
and simple wipeing it down when you wash the bike will keep it in very good condition.
when choosing a coating for your polished aluminum valve covers you have to consider the wide range of heat the cover endure. and a huge amount of road debris and junk..

 

[Tomahawk]

A little carnuba wax will help keep them nice and shiny. Buff now and then with a microfibre cloth

Cheers

 

[joedrum]

hey tomahawk good to hear from you .....i was wondering how you were doing :mrgreen:

 

[Tomahawk]

hey tomahawk good to hear from you .....i was wondering how you were doing :mrgreen:

Hey.

Riding slowing down a bit now as fall is approaching so what do all wing nuts do when we aren't riding? Well we start to look at tuning tweaking and all that good stuff.

So I come back to the best forum going for frienship and maybe steal a few good idea's from you guys LOL

 

[paddy.shadow]

Shiny, my favorite color is shiny! :good:

 

[slabghost]

I really like shiny.......on the other guys bike. I really don't like to polish. For me a nice satin black whisper quiet bike is the way to go. Some day I will have one. :head bang:

 

[Tomahawk]

I have done some polishing on aluminum bike parts and the coating from the factory is nasty to get off. It will turn black under a power buffer and is harder to get off.

To remove the "clear coat" put on at the factory go to the grocery store and buy the cheapest oven cleaner you can find. Not easy off or any of the good one's but the cheap stuff as it has a wee bit of caustic soda in it. Spray the part down and let it foam up real good and soak for 15 to 20 minutes then rinse off. This will remove all but the worst of the old stuff making buffing easy. Tape up any seals gaskets or any other parts that you don't want the oven cleaner to attack

Then if you really want to make her shine use a buffing wheel on a bench grinder with polishing compound. I use the red compound but if need be you can use black or brown which is very aggressive. The red is not as agressive and should be your last step in the process. Don't mix your buffing wheels once used with a certain color compound only use it for that color to avoid contamination . Depending on how dedicated you are you can buff aluminum this way to a chrome like finish in a short amount of time. If you just want it clean an not so shiny a hand buff with autosol will work Okay

Then like I say a little carnuba and a microfiber cloth will keep it nice with minimal effort

Cheers.

Tom

 

[slabghost]

I have done some polishing on aluminum bike parts and the coating from the factory is nasty to get off. It will turn black under a power buffer and is harder to get off.

To remove the "clear coat" put on at the factory go to the grocery store and buy the cheapest oven cleaner you can find. Not easy off or any of the good one's but the cheap stuff as it has a wee bit of caustic soda in it. Spray the part down and let it foam up real good and soak for 15 to 20 minutes then rinse off. This will remove all but the worst of the old stuff making buffing easy. Tape up any seals gaskets or any other parts that you don't want the oven cleaner to attack

Then if you really want to make her shine use a buffing wheel on a bench grinder with polishing compound. I use the red compound but if need be you can use black or brown which is very aggressive. The red is not as agressive and should be your last step in the process. Don't mix your buffing wheels once used with a certain color compound only use it for that color to avoid contamination . Depending on how dedicated you are you can buff aluminum this way to a chrome like finish in a short amount of time. If you just want it clean an not so shiny a hand buff with autosol will work Okay

Then like I say a little carnuba and a microfiber cloth will keep it nice with minimal effort

Cheers.

Tom

Yep! What Tom said!