Topic: First attempts at Polishing Aluminium

[Johnie]

Well, I too did not want to clear coat a set of forks on a 1980 bike I did in 2006.  I polished and used Maas metal protector on them.  They look as good as the day I polished them.  I am doing the same with my 750KO forks pictured below.

[Terry in Australia]

Well as nice as all that polish is, it won't protect your metal parts from stones, bugs, road salt etc, so why not do what the factory did and clearcoat after polishing? I use 2K clearcoat, and I did a pair of K3 legs in 2004, I haven't touched them since, but they still look like new now. Cheers, Terry.

[Johnie]

I guess I did not clear them because I did not want them to yellow again.  Plus, I never did much with painting and was worried I would mess up what looks pretty nice at the moment.  Never know how thick to apply, etc.  How many coats Terry?  I could always change my mind and give it a try on the KO fork legs here.  I will not be installing them until the tins are back from the painter.  This 2K Clearcoat...is that around the USA too?  Or is there another brand you guys really love too.  I would give it a try if you can give me some clearcoat pointers.

[Terry in Australia]

G'Day John, well "2K" is a system, not a brand, it's also known as 2 pack, (no relation to dead rappers) and is a hardened enamel, you add a hardener to the clear and it has a pot life of around 20 minutes, but for a pair of fork sliders you only need a couple of coats, as it goes on really thick. It won't "yellow" like the original clear acrylic laquer coating, and should last for many years, as it'll be the toughest finish on your bike.

You may need to check with your local body shop to see if they use it, it's deadly stuff full of isocyanate's, and you need to wear at least a mask to spray it (and best to do it outdoors with plenty of ventilation) and if you do a lot, (i.e., a car) you need a booth, breathing equipment and full body covering. I know some systems have been banned in the US, hence the development of water based automotive finishes and HVLP guns etc, so I'm not sure what you guys have at your disposal, but "2K" is the standard finish on most European and Aussie built cars nowadays. Cheers, Terry.    

[Dave-and-his-550]

Like this

How exactly did you do the cylinder head black and aluminum like that? Did you paint it all black, then just sand the ends of the fins to a nice luster? Did you clear coat it after that? Wont the bare aluminum oxidize over time? You must of clear coated it!

[seaweb11]

Here is the story. I wet sanded the fins to a nice finish and then painted with Black Dupli Color Engine Enamel.
Next day I dipped a rag in varsol and with a finger just wiped off the fins. Looked great in the shop
I then used Same brand of clear Engine Enamel.

I had a lot of gas dripping issues before it could cure on a hot engine, but basically this type of clear coat seems to suck!
I really like the paint these guys make, but not the clear over aluminum.

Here is what it looks like now.... stored inside never been in the rain.  Yellow, yellow, yellow

I will wet sand them back down to bare and just use polish.  The other covers were just polished, not cleared.

[Dave-and-his-550]

Ouch, sorry about the horror story. So just say 'NO' to Duplicolor Clear Engine Enamel 

[seaweb11]

No Horror story, just a lesson.
 I just read a post about a guy who is having problems at 5000 rpm and mine does fine at 13,000