Author Topic: For those that have painted their engines... (Read 2227 times)

robdrobd · « **on:** November 16, 2009, 06:53:14 PM »

How the hell long did it take to clean the thing, and do I have to worry about getting anything wet during the cleaning process? How clean is clean enough? It seems like no matter how much I clean, I can always find a spot I missed.

mystic_1 · « **Reply #1 on:** November 16, 2009, 07:08:13 PM »

I've never painted an assembled motor. I degrease and wash the outside as much as possible before disassembly, then everything gets re-cleaned after disassembly. Once clean I sand, file, etc as necessary. Final wipe with acetone or prepsall or whatever, then spray.

All in all I'd say I put several hours total into each individual part.

mystic_1

CycleRanger · « **Reply #2 on:** November 16, 2009, 07:14:01 PM »

All those same questions went through my mind this last Saturday as I contemplated the engine suspended on the stand.
But it was getting late and I did yard work the next day so I put off finding the answers until this weekend.

(I actually decided I needed to replace the valve cover gasket before I did the serious cleaning so now I have to wait for the gasket to arrive.)

78whiteorbs · « **Reply #3 on:** November 16, 2009, 08:06:48 PM »

Three cans of engine degreaser and a couple of bucks at the car wash plus one tooth brush. Worked great! pulled it around in the trailer to dry her off then a couple hours of direct sunlight. bada-bing~

seaweb11 · « **Reply #4 on:** November 16, 2009, 08:24:56 PM »

I put a bunch of newspaper under it.

I start at the top with a tooth brush and a small can of varsol for dipping for a few days on and off and you've done er.

It takes a while.

cookindaddy · « **Reply #5 on:** November 17, 2009, 02:41:15 PM »

I had taken off the head and jugs to service the valves, so the head, valve cover and the jugs got cleaned, painted and baked. The rest of the engine got cleaned with toothbrushes and small round wire brushes, painted but no bake. It was all a lot of work, but came out pretty well. At least I am pleased.

Gregorymoto · « **Reply #6 on:** November 17, 2009, 06:21:43 PM »

Nice motor cookindaddy.

CycleRanger · « **Reply #7 on:** November 17, 2009, 07:01:05 PM »

Yep, that's what I'm shooting for!

vanillagorilla · « **Reply #8 on:** November 17, 2009, 08:16:42 PM »

We'll see if I can come out lookin that nice! Still got a fair amount of cleanin before I am ready to paint though...

robdrobd · « **Reply #9 on:** November 17, 2009, 08:19:54 PM »

It is really hard to prep these bikes for restore. It seems to take soooo loooong to clean and only an hour to paint. I think it causes mid build blues.

tater · « **Reply #10 on:** December 28, 2009, 07:28:55 PM »

mystic_1: Did you split the crank case for painting; or was it a partial disassembly?

tater · « **Reply #11 on:** December 28, 2009, 07:34:12 PM »

... is it necessary to even split it at all? Had to split the crankcase on my '69 Westie once. It was a royal pain to say the least.

mystic_1 · « **Reply #12 on:** December 28, 2009, 09:00:26 PM »

Strictly speaking, you don't need to disassemble the motor at all for painting. I just feel you can do a better job with it all apart. Painting the case halves while they're assembled should be do-able so long as you can get everything clean enough, and mask everything thoroughly enough, without getting crap inside the motor.

mystic_1

1080 · « **Reply #13 on:** December 28, 2009, 09:28:09 PM »

My '78 engine without taking it apart.

I took a lot of prep time.

Sanded all the parts and burrs for a smooth finish. The ones that always would snag my cleaning rag or cut me when cleaning the engine.

rustrocket92 · « **Reply #14 on:** December 28, 2009, 10:32:39 PM »

Man I cleaned off and on for 3 days with everything from Simply Green to Alcohol! Some of the covers were off for painting but for the most part it was a complete engine on a stand. I did have a couple of spots when the covers back on that the paint chipped when torqing the stainless bolts but other than that it has held up good.

bucky katt · « **Reply #15 on:** December 28, 2009, 10:58:59 PM »

i didnt split cases when i painted my 750 motor. i just cleaned it up real good. heres project fuzzycycles' engine before reinstalation

robdrobd · « **Reply #16 on:** December 29, 2009, 04:30:28 AM »

I didn't split them either. I am trying to figure out how to get this thing in my basement so I can work on it all winter without freezing to death.

rhos1355 · « **Reply #17 on:** December 29, 2009, 05:44:17 AM »

I initially spent a happy sunny afternoon brushing the whole engine with liberal amounts of Gunk ( glamorised terps) then jet sprayed it. When I got the engine off the frame and disassembled it did the whole thing all over again with all the bits in one of those wire baskets you get at the supermarket.
Then I took the crankcase halves, cylinders and cylinder head together with the hubs etc to a guy who does vapour blasting. He said he'd washed all the bits thoroughly once he'd done the job, but I jet sprayed and hosed everything down again.............twice. then about 6 months later as I was about to rebuild the engine, I got the heebie-jeebies and jet sprayed everything again!!
I think I've got one of those obsessive syndrome thingies all the filmstars are on about.

But that's my baby we're talking about!!!

Calflash · « **Reply #18 on:** December 29, 2009, 01:15:51 PM »

Rustrocket, what paint did you use to paint the black on your motor?

Hush · « **Reply #19 on:** December 29, 2009, 02:19:29 PM »

Damn I'm not looking forward to taking the motor out of a perfectly running motorbike just to paint it!
OK so the head gasket leaks alittle and the base gasket needs replacement too.

Roll on winter.....once we get past all these horrible hot blue sky perfect riding days of course.

blackhog02 · « **Reply #20 on:** December 29, 2009, 05:26:58 PM »

Cleaned the motor b/4 i pulled it out of the bike. Cleaned it when it was out of the bike. Cleaned it some more. then used a popsicle stick wraped in sandpaper to get inside the fins and sand the old paint and left over grit.

Some people can watch TV for hrs on end I on the other had prefer to polish parts or clean an engine.

http://www.mptrackclub.com/photos/cb550/cb550.htm

rustrocket92 · « **Reply #21 on:** December 29, 2009, 05:49:33 PM »

I believe it was duplicolor low gloss engine enamel.

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Author Topic: For those that have painted their engines... (Read 2227 times)

rhos1355