Topic: Refinishing aluminum engine covers

[Johnny5]

Hey,

I like the worn but uniform look of matte aluminum and was wanting to get my engine side covers of my CB350f done. I heard you can use a lubricant and a scotch brite pad to get the desired dullness, and then follow up with Alodine 1001 to protect the bare metal. I suppose I could get the covers bead blasted as well. But the most important thing for me is keeping the look for a long time, avoiding oxidation. Has anyone done this? If so, how it'd go? Thanks,

[754]

There are scotchbrite brushing wheels that can get that stock looking finish. They can spiff up the covers fairly fast.
 A bit tough to find, often in large sizes...

[754]

You can brush on a drill,  the big wheels mount like a buffer..
 The new model CB? 1100, one of the articles showed a pic of them, brushing one of the sidecovers for the bike.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

You can spray the covers with a matte clear coat after brushing them to help protect from oxidation.  On my fork lowers, I polished and then powder clear coated.

[Johnny5]

Awesome, thanks for all the suggestions. I have a spare side cover that I'll experiment with.

[754]

Factory is brushed finish with clear applied.