Topic: Clear coat and polished aluminum pieces...

[russouno]

I've run into a situation here.  I have taken my engine to the machine shope and had dipped and sandblasted.  Painted with DupliColor high heat 500` aluminum just fine... perfect. (i've done it before and it lasted for years and years.) Ok, so now my problem. I've buffed and polished my parts that would stand out on the bike. (ie. valve cover, stator cover so forth.). I then bought some of the Duplicolor "Wheel paint" in clear.  I have used this stuff in silver beofre on STEEL wheels and the stuff is like baked ceramic, tough as nails and looked great.
I figured, well, i'll use the same stuff on my aluminum pieces... painted, waited a day or so... and then checked them out... what i found was disturbing.. it looked great...but I could scratch off the clear coat with my fingernail with almost no pressure!!!.. what the hell? Has anyone else come across this problem with clear coat?  Is clear coat ONLY made to be used on top of primer or paint?? Please help.
I have since stripped off the stuff and now tried applying DupliColor High Heat Ceramic Clear Coat. (500`)  I am wondering if this will have any effect?  I am really REALLY going to be dissapointed if this stuff has to be used ON TOP of a color coat paint !!!! 

[Blaize]

When you polished the alum. you made it so smooth that the clear cannot stick to it. In fact the better a job you do polishing the smoother it is and so the less it will stick. There really isnt anything you can do at this point but strip it all back off and leave the alum bare.

[dminner]

If you really want to protect the peices you can get them anodized clear.

[Jinxracing]

Eastwood has a clear for polished aluminum that they claim works great; I have no personal experience with it but plan on trying it out on some of my polished aluminum pieces. Clear powdercoat is also an option that lots of people seem to like.

[seaweb11]

I picked up some of the Eastwood stuff. It worked on a couple of pieces, but wrinked on some others. I'm not sold on it yet!

[TwoTired]

You've now discovered why Honda "brush polished" the covers originaly.  The tiny scratches give the paint/coating something to grab onto.

Also, realise the aluminum and the paint have different expansion characteristics.  The surface of the aluminum and the bottom of the paint interface, becomes a part line like a casting in mold. Any coating you wish to apply to a polished surface is going to have to be soft and remain so when the aluminum changes dimension.  It at least has to remain more soft and pliable than the aluminum alloy.  Still, if the paint has no hand holds it can still fall off with little provocation.

Cheers,

[edbikerii]

I think it was called Nyalic.  I bought some several years ago, and used it on my polished sprocket cover.  It really didn't work worth a damn.  It basically washed away with the first sign of gasoline from the fuel inlet directly above.  Of course, every time you pull the tank on a 550, you spill the last few drops out of the fuel line right onto that sprocket cover.

I just stripped it and polished it again.  Every once in a while I hit it with aluminum polish on an old cotton t-shirt, and it looks fine. 

Eastwood has a clear for polished aluminum that they claim works great; I have no personal experience with it but plan on trying it out on some of my polished aluminum pieces. Clear powdercoat is also an option that lots of people seem to like.

[ddrink]

I've got a buddy down in KY that uses Zoop Seal, I personally have not tried it, but he says it works great.

http://www.zoopseal.com/zoopseal.asp

Dan

[nteek754]

Hey all they have that new clear stuff in a rattle can that has hardner in it you have to activate it then have  just so long to use it  but no matter what you put on it other than the anodize if you marr a spot you cant just clean it or rub it out like the bare stuff I tryed it but went back to just bare polished alluminum and buff it up  with some mothers or 3m  stuff good luck have fun seven fifty four ever  Craig in Maine