Refinishing the Handlebar Housings

[Crossrodes]

The parts I'm speaking of are the black painted aluminum (I'm guessing) housings next to the grips...the ones that the throttle cable and levers attach to.  Even though mine have probably been repainted at some time they are pretty ugly looking.  My guess is that the bike was ridden during the winter and salt did it's thing on these housings.  They have multiple pock marks in them.

What I want to know is has anyone found a way to refinish these housings such that they look new?  Did you simply sand them down or use some type of fill and sand them?

Any ideas are welcome.

[montmil]

You may wish to consult with a local auto body supply store regarding your rehab ideas.

If the pitting is rather small, auto body glaziers putty or spot putty, available in a small tube, might meet your needs. If the paint is still solidly attached, a light wet sanding of the components with 400/600 wet-or-dry should provide a good base for primer-putty-primer-paint.

BMW handlebar elements appear, to me, to be something like a semi-flat black. Neither glossy nor flat. On my R65, I have found the rattle can Semi-Flat Black Ace Hardware brand spray paint to be a very good match for chassis components.

The final paint is the easy part. Prep work, and lots of it, will ensure you only paint once. BTW, there's perhaps the option of powder coating... if it'll adhere to filled and primered parts. I dunno 'bout dat..

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

The nice thing about the size of the parts, is, you could try powdercoating them yourself, at home, using the wife's oven...  

[Bob_Roller]

You need a clean metal surface for powdercoat to work, and the common temperatures used to cure the powercoat is in the 400 F. area, so I doubt any filler would survive that high of heat.