Topic: I like to make my bike's engine look like new

[onlyfinol]

This topic might had been discussed before but could not find it. Anyways, I am trying to figure out how to clean my engine, and get rid of old oil and gas stain. I am planning to pull off the engine from the bike, but not sure what to use to restore its original color. I kind spray a little bit of brake cleaner by accident the other day and noticed that took off the varnish with not effort. Is this safe for gasket and engine paint? if not what should I used that will work better? should I better powder coated and paint it? or soda blasted? if this last option is the best way, do I have to take the engine apart to do so?
Any input will be helpful !

Thanks

[FrankenFrankenstuff]

I just cleaned my engine with the "Purple Power" degreaser (same stuff as Greased Lightning. You can get it anywhere, wont make you high, wont kill a budget, goes on easy....and power wash off.

3M scotch bright pads
misc. steel wool grits
mild buffing/polish
Just do it by hand, take your time and make that motor clean. Dont try to use a frigging Dremel or hand drill with a steel brush attachment because it just leaves the obvious marks that you cheated by using a power tool.

Dont paint the whole motor flat black with grill spray paint.









*first*

[Dyrden]

To expand the above post you can use a dremel, but use it with the scotchbrite pads.  There are green and red that are pretty damn safe to use on aluminum.

[CycleRanger]

You'll need engine degreaser, acetone, simple green, scotchbrite, a couple of brass brushes, a buffing wheel, Duplicolor Hi-temp silver, elbow grease, and patience!     The engine stand really helps too.
The carbs & hardware were soda-blasted.

[Dyrden]

Thats a good looking lump!

[Stev-o]

BBQ grill paint would be easier!

[Retro Rocket]

BBQ grill paint would be easier!

More time for beer eh Stev-o   

[Elpresidente]

What's the best to expect cleaning while still on the bike?  Same principles apply?  I've got some of the yellowing in areas and just some regular old dirt/grime.

[CycleRanger]

Thats a good looking lump!

Thank you. I've got a lot of hours into this bike. Someday I hope to be able to actually ride it!

Steve-o, the jugs on the original motor that came in this bike were painted with BBQ grill paint!

[KingCustomCycles.com]

I envision a rack to cook hotdogs on the back of the fins while I ride.  At that point, I am justified painting it with grill paint.

[ACVWguy]

Don't use purple power unless you plan to repaint and reclear. The purple power is too strong for just cleaning - it tarnishes the clearcoat on the aluminum and discolors the original paint on the tank/sidecovers. And if the aluminum is bare or polished, the purple power will etch it and turn it black. Also carb cleaner will remove the original paint on the engine if you let it sit for more than a few seconds. I recommend using simple green mixed with hot water. 50/50 mixture. You can soak your entire bike with it, let it sit, then power wash off with no worries of damage.

[Rgconner]

I envision a rack to cook hotdogs on the back of the fins while I ride.  At that point, I am justified painting it with grill paint.

Lotta space back there, I think you could cook up a fine meal back there!

http://www.wisebread.com/cooking-great-meals-with-your-car-engine-the-heat-is-on

Personally, and it is just personal taste here, I like the less-than-polished patina look. Not grease, just patina.

Here I am, I am a Honda with a lot of miles with stories, not a show bike with pretty ribbons. Now love me, or get the hell out of the way!

[FrankenFrankenstuff]

True that. I have been cleaning up my S90 for the past few weeks and it is a real test to try and just clean things up...and not just polish and repaint everything. I really wanted to make the bike look more 'survivor original' rather than a restore repaint job.

[Stev-o]

After some deep thought, I may paint the jugs of my K7 with grill paint! But no hot dog rack for me, I wanna smoke some baby back ribs!!

[Dyrden]

CycleRanger:
   I'm pretty good with polishing aluminum, but can you detail how you cleaned the jugs? Im after an engine that looks similar to yours I've already soda blasted once, but probably need to go for round two. It was such a mess and so hot outside, I only lasted an hour or so.

[cb750f-2010656]

Wurth brake parts cleaner isn't hard on paint.  Expensive, though.  Used it in Harleys at the local dealership.  It was thier method, not mine.  I wouldn't have done it on my own.

[CycleRanger]

CycleRanger:
   I'm pretty good with polishing aluminum, but can you detail how you cleaned the jugs? I'm after an engine that looks similar to yours I've already soda blasted once, but probably need to go for round two. It was such a mess and so hot outside, I only lasted an hour or so.

Well I was lucky, that motor came out of a 6000-mile bike and there wasn't much oil on the fins.
(Actually the bottom of the engine was the worst, it was covered in road tar!)

Mostly I used engine degreaser, spray carb cleaner, scotchbrite, and a couple of different size brass brushes.
(The spray carb cleaner is mostly acetone and great for removing grease down in the spark plug holes and between the fins.
I buy it 4 or 5 cans at a time at Walmart. Actually, it's great for removing grease from anything!)

I plugged up all the holes and wheeled it out to the driveway on the stand and scrubbed & rinsed & scrubbed & rinsed.
The stand was really helpful since it allowed me easily rotate the engine around to get the best angle for cleaning.
I pulled all the covers off for polishing since I wanted to change all the gaskets anyway.

[Magpie]

If you have a machine shop nearby and your motor is apart, the shop may have a large parts washer similar to a dishwasher. That's how the one I used described it. They called it a "jet clean" and did a great job for about $70 for both the head and cylinders.
Cliff.

[rbmgf7]

If you have access to a high CFM air compressor, get a siphon sandblasting kit (usually $20). Bags of sand are about $5 for a 50lb. bag.

When I removed my engine, I blasted it as a whole. Plugged the ports and left all the covers on (I removed them afterwards to polish).

Blasted away and made sure to take it easy around the gasket areas. Came out looking great. Made sure to hose it down with a pressure washer and went over the nooks and crannies with a air nozzle. I just left it bare aluminum. Once it starts to oxidize, it leaves a finish to my liking.

[Dyrden]

Good info. Thx. CycleRanger: did you leave your jugs bare after cleaning? Any tips for painting the cases?

[CycleRanger]

Good info. Thx. CycleRanger: did you leave your jugs bare after cleaning? Any tips for painting the cases?

Yep, the jugs and head are bare.

As for painting the cases I scrubbed away most of the original paint with scotchbrite & brass brushes & acetone. (Wear gloves!)
Other folks here have used aircraft stripper.
I suppose that might have worked better but most of the original paint was already peeling when I got my motor.
Then I cleaned them thoroughly with acetone and then shot it with the Duplicolor hi-temp silver. No primer.

It looks great now, it remains to be seen how well the silver paint will hold up.

And if you wanted to have any of the parts blasted I'd use glass beads or soda instead of sand, and as was mentioned above avoid the mating surfaces.

[cb750f-2010656]

Ooooh.....  Aircraft stripper.  DANGEROUS stuff.  Would rather get sprayed with battery acid than to get that $#!T on me!

[onlyfinol]

Thanks for your replies guys, and sorry for being disconected from the forum so long, school has to do a lot with it.
 I tried Brake cleaner and end up using aircraft paint remover. The latest one worked well to get rid of the old paint, it is hard s$%# and it burns when you get some on your skin, but it works!
The engine now it sitting in my garage waiting for me to decide whether to leave it as is now or paint it. I would like to be able to polish everything, but I do not know what to use to polish the block. The covers I could remove them and polish them but the rest I don’t know how I am going to do it

[alacrity]

paint the block and cylinders with (as suggested above) duplicolor high temp silver.  I just did it and it came out really nice.  Then you can polish the covers and get a duo-tone thing going, or just smooth em out with 400 then 1000 then (if you're really persnickety) 1500 grit emery cloth.  Then you can paint those too.

[Magpie]

Paint and polish, in my opinion. Cliff.