Topic: paint or pollish CB750 engine

[Scott]

Hello
I have a 1971 CB750 engine(think it may have come out from factory painted but not sure)
Wondering if black engine paint stays on for years and years these days if done correctly.
Or is pollishing an easier option to keep looking good.
The prep work will be done with profesional soda blasting, then the next step I'm not sure of yet.
I like the look of both finishes and am wondering if pollished is hard to maintain compared to paint because that would sway me towards paint
Thanks for any info or thoughts
Scott

[Gordon]

Polished aluminum without something to protect it requires a pretty decent amount of maintenance to keep it from oxidizing again.  Your engine came painted from the factory.  Everything except for the chrome points, clutch and starter motor covers. 

[nayto550]

I was asking myself this same question not too long ago about my 750F engine .  I decided to paint the engine, mostly because of the ease of maintenance over polished aluminum, but also because it gives me such a wide range of colors to choose from  .  Right now, I'm thinking black cylinders, red cases and head... that will probably change 3 or 4 more times before I actually paint it though  . 

[lordmoonpie]

Vapour blast for me - the process cleans up the cases and then the small particles peen the surface over so you are left with a slightly satin shine that doesn't need polishing up every five minutes. The finish like this lasted 7 years on my CB450 racer until there wa sany noticeable dulling of the surface...

[dodieninja]

so along with this would painting an engine painted black be a bad thing? like raise the temps or something?

[nayto550]

so along with this would painting an engine painted black be a bad thing? like raise the temps or something?

Like painting over existing paint??  I would highly recommend removing the old paint before repainting an engine.  That's just me though, I'm sure others may have repainted over old paint without incident.

[Gordon]

so along with this would painting an engine painted black be a bad thing? like raise the temps or something?

Flat black dissipates heat the best of any color. 

[dodieninja]

so along with this would painting an engine painted black be a bad thing? like raise the temps or something?

Flat black dissipates heat the best of any color.

ok good cause i dont like shiny polished metal.

[Gordon]

so along with this would painting an engine painted black be a bad thing? like raise the temps or something?

Flat black dissipates heat the best of any color.

ok good cause i dont like shiny polished metal.

That's only comparing different paint colors, and not factoring in the insulating effect of layers of paint as opposed to bare metal. 

[dodieninja]

so along with this would painting an engine painted black be a bad thing? like raise the temps or something?

Flat black dissipates heat the best of any color.

ok good cause i dont like shiny polished metal.

That's only comparing different paint colors, and not factoring in the insulating effect of layers of paint as opposed to bare metal.

ok so if i stripped the engine then painted would that work alright?

[phil71]

This is clearly a case of wanting to do a thing and hoping others will agree, but knowing you'll do it no matter what because it's the look you want. In later years honda painted that engine black right out of the factory.. so just ,make it look how you want it!

[xsmooth69x]

you can always just polish it then clear coat it......

http://www.caswellplating.com/vht/vhtclear.htm

its high temperature clear coat