aluminum deoxidization?

[jakebass12]

my bmw r65 rims and parts on my engine are oxidized from the previous owner letting it sit outside for years. so i was wondering if there was a product that i can get to remove it. or do i just have to polish or sand it with very fine grit sandpaper. i dont need it polished to stock beautifulness   i just want the oxitization gone. and the black paint ob the top of my engine is kinda flakey and some of it doesn't want to come off. is there an easy way to remove the exes paint and is there a pant thats good for that area that you would recommend?

any and all responses are highly appreciated.

[Dugald]

Hullo Jake,
Same problem down under... Glad of any suggestions
Doug

[Barry]

There are various options from Scotch Brite pads and elbow grease to phosphoric acid based aluminium cleaners followed by rub-n buff silver polish.

I used Scotch Brite polishing mops to speed up the work and you get a reasonably even finish with the finer grades of mop.  There are a whole range of Scotch Brite pads and mops which differ in  colors according to the abrasive grade.  I used Green,  Maroon and light grey which were medium to fine in that order

[Bob_Roller]

Chemical paint stripper, is the easiest way to get paint off .

Do this before going after the oxidized aluminum .

It's probably one of the more messy ways to do this, but baking soda blasting is probably the quickest and least labor intensive ways to remove oxidation form aluminum surfaces .

But just remember, that when you get the metal nice and new looking, it always tries to revert back to aluminum oxide, it's what alloyed aluminum does best (tarnish and corrode).

If you can find an engine paint locally, use it, I used a satin black rattle can automotive trim paint about 14 years ago on the engine and it still looks decent, for the effort I put into it .

I've worked on military aircraft and commercial aircraft for 36 years and it's amazing what can happen to aluminum in the wrong conditions .

[Barry]

Here's a picture of mine taken just after the alloy was cleaned and painted. The flash photography flatters it some and except for the starter cover it wasn't too badly corroded to start with.

As Bob said you have to seal the surface with something afterwards.  I can highly recommend Waxoyl or something similar. I put it on in the autumn and it survives all winter including being washed. Then I clean it off with white spirit in the spring.

[Adrian]

Hi from South Australia Dugald - my R65 is in totall pieces att he moent so I've done some hard work to clean up the alloy bits - mostly I've cleaned up the alloy with a scothbrite green pad and WD40 or similar - gently scrubbing removes all the dirt and leaves the alloy looking really good. The rotary scotchbrite is great too but some things you just cant get to unless its a finger or bit of stick wrapped in scothpad. I have sometimes used a combination of phos acid - wirebrush scortch pad WD 40 etal to geta finish thats really bright - depends on the object needing cleaning.
engine casings I use polystripper and a fine scraping tool - sometimes the casings also need a wirbrust or rotary scoth pad to finish off the paint removal. I use a primer and top coat made by VHT Engine Enamel - follow the instructions to the letter - this stuff can and should be baked in the oven between applications as instructed - I got a hard and smooth finish. There are lots of fotos of my work so far in the Restoration sectio under "Sprucing up the Old R65" if you're interested in seeing some of the results. Good luck with it all guys .... Adrian

[jakebass12]

i ended up going and getting some scotch brite and removing most of the old paint. i just got it to a smooth finish.(should be good for paint) was the starter cover a gloss black or matte black? here are some pictures. and some pictures of my whole bike and my table of parts.
and ive finaly got a hang on how to edit pictures to a good size.
first picture is before and 3rd picture is after. and the 2nd is just what i have to do next. 4th picture is just my bike as it is right now. 5th is picture with my bike and my dads bikes in the background. and the 6th picture is my table of parts.

[montmil]

Neither gloss nor flat black. A satin black will be pretty close to OEM. I have used Ace Hardware's Premium semi-gloss/satin in a rattle can with good results. The valve covers on my Airheads are painted with this material and the paint shows no signs of heat distress. Your top cover should be easy.

Skip the frustration of trying to mask off the BMW letters. Paint the cover, then use an old t-shirt rag and a dab of lacquer thinner to carefully wipe the paint off the letters. Works same all-same all for the wide edges of the cooling fins.

A little love with some 400 Wet-or-Dry will finish off that top cover paint removal. Don't quit now, you're almost home.

[Barry]

was the starter cover a gloss black or matte black?

I think Satin black. You might be able to tell from the original sales brochure.

While you have the starter cover off it's a nice touch to polish up the BMW letters to a real shine even though that's not original. Precious little else on an R65 to polish.


http://www.beemergarage.com/documents/83r65ls.pdf

[jakebass12]

 how's this?

Don't quit now, you're almost home.

the second picture is the stuff i used to get the paint out between the letters and some tight spots. i got it at my local Wal-Mart for $9. i tried fallowing the instructions on the can but it just didn't work. i found that if you hold it about 2-3 inches away from the part your trying to remove the paint then it will instantly cause the paint to bubble then with a old credit card of something similar scrape it off then spray it down with a hose. i had to do that a couple of times to get it the way it was. i also found that if you use scotch brite or something similar that works well to get it out easier on bigger areas.

and the scratching on the left side of it was there when i got it. i guess the previous owner decided to take 5 grit sandpaper to get rid of the paint. im going to touch it up with a fine grit and that should make it look better.