front cover factory finish

[Luca]

My front cover has some grease splotches and oxidation on it.  I had used some engine cleaner on it before but had pretty poor results.  Gave it some soda blasting today (with a homemade rig made with some brass fittings... works decently), which took the awkward shiny spot off from the engine cleaner, but the finish is still pretty poor.

What is the factory finish that was put on the front cover?  And how do you folks with the spotless front covers get them that way?

[Tony Smith]

The "factory finish" was bare clean alloy.
 
I too am seeking the magic solution or process that will restore that look without using vast amounts of elbow grease or expensive chemicals.
 
I have tried:-
 
hydrofluoric acid - initial results positive, cannot buy high strength concentration easily due minimum buy requirements.

commercial mag wheel cleaner - waste of time and money.
 
phosphoric acid - cleans up the metal but leaves a dull, dark and lifeless finish.
 
Marvels magic oil - looks great when you finish, but needs to be redone weekly - way too much work for me.
 
Sulphuric acid - sort of works, but is just too damm dangerous.
 
Immersion in strong detergent - cleans off oxide after a week or os, but leave dull, dark finish.
 
Immersion in coca cola - same as Phosphoric acid (as so it should be) just slower.
 
Bi-carb blasting - works perfectly in small amounts, to do larger parts I will need to buy both a proper gun (sand blaster too wasteful) and a MUCH bigger compressor.
 
Krylon "Dull Aluminium" rattle can paint - just about perfect, except for the time taken for surface prep, the need to disassemble and unsuitable for hot bits.
 
Magic Wand - need one, prepared to go halves.

[nhmaf]

There are a variety of approaches one can try -
Soda blasting can work pretty well but one must be sure to do it off the bike (the soda gets into every little nook and cranny and it is not good to leave those deposits).  Also, it usually takes the seriously powered soda blasters to do a really good job (plus using the industrial soda, not the stuff from your kitchen cabinet which is too fine).

Many folks use scrubbing pads (think nonmetallic scotch brite) and/or scotch brite cleaning/buffing pads attachments on rotary tools combined with a general degreaser like Simple Green, or even WD40.    This will get things clean and somewhat shiny but not reflective (as in the chrome-like appearance some people go for) which requires polishing compound and a buffing wheel.   In any case, the alloy engine parts will gradually oxidize again as this is the natural process for bare metal.   Repeating the process periodically is needed to maintain the look.  How often depends upon the environment/climate in your area.

Some folks do paint their engine cases with a gray/alloy colored paint after a good scrubbing/cleaning.  This tends to fill the pits and pores of the surface and makes it easier to keep clean, but it isn't the "normal" thing and I'd suggest that it does reduce the engine's heat dissipation capability (more of an issue if the cylinder fins are painted) to some extent.   Probably not enough to seriously impact the engine, though.

[Barry]

I use a fine grade of scotchbrite rotary mops.  There are some pictures in a previous thread here:

Once they are clean it's not that hard to keep them that way. Application of waxoyl or something similar will protect the surface in the winter even against salt.

http://www.bmwr65.org/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1265582712/2#2

[steve hawkins]

I would go for a 'scotch brite' wheel in a drill.  

Expect to now be disappointed with the nice clean front of the engine, when the rest of it is a different colour....

In time it will fade.

When you wash the bike, degrease the engine, I then use some scotch brite pads on the bits I can get to, and then finally spray on something like GT85 to keep the finish for just a little while.

Try washing you bike more than just once a year.

[AlfromNH]

After cleaning my engine cases with Simple Green and a Scotchbrite pad, the castings still looked real splotchy. I read about this stuff and it's cheap enough I thought I'd give it a try
http://www.amazon.com/AMACO-Metallic-Finish-Pewter-0-5-Fluid/dp/B00081HYFU/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1403776001&sr=8-4&keywords=Rub+n+buff

It really worked great. Just a very small(1/2 a pea sized) dab on the tip of my finger, and rub it in to the aluminum. It's basically carnauba wax with metal particles. From what I read, it has stood up well. My experience is limited to 3 months and 1700 miles.

[jamestnewsonr65]

Ive had mine vapour blasted recently and it now looks like new. Just a quick wipe with WD40 gets it clean again.
It is worth looking into. Front case was £18, but I had a load of other bits done too.

[arvo92]

Reading this made me itchy... I used steel wool on my bing carburettor tops and the results in 2 mins were so incredible I am thinking of taking it on full time. But I guess you are right - something rotary on a drill is more likely to take the challenge as steel wool attached to a finger does not really get in between of anything.

[nhmaf]

The problem with steel abrasive pads is they often leave bits of steel particles/dust in the tiny pits in the casing's surface, and then the steel rusts...

[montmil]

Small detail to consider... If using actual steel wool on alloy parts, if even a speck of the wool becomes lodged in the aluminum -usually way down in a crevice or other tight spot- the wool will rust leaving an ugly spot that will remind you to, next time, use something else.

[arvo92]

Note taken. Not only does the steel wool leave a particle or two, the stuff flies everywhere like a swarm of midges in Scottish highlands!

[Justin B.]

I found the Eagle 1 Mag Wheel Cleaner for non-clear coated wheels (contains phosphoric acid, I believe) does a good job of bleaching things out.  BUT, don't let it dry or things will look ugly.  I have also had good results with Greased Lightning concentrate at full strength - also do not let dry and follow up with a milder soap...

[Luca]

Thanks for the suggestions.  I was avoiding scouring pads in case the cover had some sort of hard finish on it.  I'll work up to more aggressive chemicals if I need to.

A finish soda blasting would probably take things back down to a nice satin finish.  I don't know how many cfm it flows, but the compressor in the shop where I've started working is big.  My hacked together blaster has cleaned up some old SU carbs, a set of Dellortos, and vintage kart engine parts with satisfactory results.

Front cover comes off the bike before I even bother trying to clean it up.  Not going for showroom quality, but it is becoming a bit of an eyesore.

BTW, how about the valve covers?  Are they bare aluminium too?

[montmil]

... BTW, how about the valve covers?  Are they bare aluminium too?

Most of the old adverts I've seen for the R65 show the rocker covers as satin black with the ribs being natural aluminum.

[Luca]

No black paint on mine