'81 CB750C "Rock-It"

[shinyribs]

    niiiiice! Carry on!

[Hoosier Daddy]

Earlier, I picked up some Shinko 712 tires and got the 30 year old rubber off the rims without too much hassle. I have been waiting to mount them until I got the next step finished and tonight committed myself to some tedious work ahead...
First wheel first side. Two coats of the regular "Premium Zip-Strip" barely phased it, so out came the Aircraft Stripper.

MUHH-HA-HA-HAAA!!

[masiste]

Cool

   Love the 16 in Comstar wheels. Allow mounting a monster tire. What is the plan. Powder coating? Bear Aluminum?

   Cool.  I have an "F" 750.  Would like to get a sibling for my bike. A "K" or a "C" for sure.

[Hoosier Daddy]

 Plan is polishing and leaving it bare. I have never liked a clear-coat over aluminum... too easy to get nicks / chips then once the coating is compromised the aluminum starts to oxidize and creep under the clear..no way to repolish it without stripping it all back down.
 Even the rock hard factory coating, whatever the hell it is, had this problem. Take a look at the engine covers or front forks on "well used" bikes.  Powdercoating has the same issue, altough it's much harder to chip or scratch in the first place, once the aluminum starts to oxidize it peels off in small sheets.
 I know I just opened a Big Can-O-Worms, long debate on to clearcoat, what to use, or not. But I personally would rather hit it with Mothers and a coat of car wax every spring and be able to maintain it than have something "maintenance-free" that I can't fix.

[Lucky 1]

I also do not like stripping all that black spray paint off.

My first CB750 engine was covered with black spray paint.
 It took two weeks to get it all off.

Great job you are doing on the restoration. If you could get some two part clear spray paint
and put a coat of that clear over it would make it gas proof.

It is called Spray Max 2K. Make sure to wear your mask with this paint!!

[easyrider12]

Hey Hoosier Daddy, project is coming along, looks like you have the true spirit of Burt Munroe(good avatar, good story)  by the way, welcome to the forum    ha!

[masiste]

 Cool.  I like the look of bare aluminum. My only concern would be protection against elements. It could get  daubed, stained with oils or chemicals.

 I hear you, hate the look of clear coats peeling off aluminum, makes it imposible to polish. And polishing a Comstar wheel on a bike is a very difficult proposition at least. I like a lot the look and potential of a 16 in Comstar wheel. But I better get a bike that comes with it. Swapping that 16 Comstar into my bike would force me to relinquish the disc brake.

  Working on my bike too. I comitted a mistake in trusting some guy that said he was a good painter. He showed me some ok jobs, and for a reasonable price we agreed on painting my gas tank, fender, tail and side covers.

  It came out ok, ( tank needs a bit more polishing, looks dull in some areas )... but tomy horror, without him ever asking, he went ahead and painted the black engine just like that, all assembled, and I did not like the result. I am against painting over assembled parts/bolts and such. Invitation to paint peeling in case of bolt removal.  But the worst part came upon ridding home, the cylinder / Cylinder Head paint begun to fry ! I told the guy.  He says he will fix it, but I have my reservations going back. I am no pro painter but have painted plenty parts and I am not that bad. Besides I never intended on painting the engine, not unless disassembled for repairs, so now I am stuck ! Any advise would be appreciated.

  Other than that it is all fun. Got some parts to connect my oil pressure gauge and today took them to a shop for powder coating black ( to match the engine)

  I will post /open a thread soon with photos. Work and family have hindered in on my progress.

[masiste]

What about "Anodizing"  I am planning on powder coating my Comstar wheels in black. Would anodizing be a better solution?

[Piute]

<quote author="Hoosier Daddy">
Plan is polishing and leaving it bare. I have never liked a clear-coat over aluminum... too easy to get nicks / chips then once the coating is compromised the aluminum starts to oxidize and creep under the clear..no way to repolish it without stripping it all back down.
 Even the rock hard factory coating, whatever the hell it is, had this problem. Take a look at the engine covers or front forks on "well used" bikes.  Powdercoating has the same issue, altough it's much harder to chip or scratch in the first place, once the aluminum starts to oxidize it peels off in small sheets.
 I know I just opened a Big Can-O-Worms, long debate on to clearcoat, what to use, or not. But I personally would rather hit it with Mothers and a coat of car wax every spring and be able to maintain it than have something "maintenance-free" that I can't fix.

[masiste]

I read that post. My question regards "Anodizing".

[Piute]

<quote author="Hoosier Daddy">
Plan is polishing and leaving it bare. I have never liked a clear-coat over aluminum... too easy to get nicks / chips then once the coating is compromised the aluminum starts to oxidize and creep under the clear..no way to repolish it without stripping it all back down.
 Even the rock hard factory coating, whatever the hell it is, had this problem. Take a look at the engine covers or front forks on "well used" bikes.  Powdercoating has the same issue, altough it's much harder to chip or scratch in the first place, once the aluminum starts to oxidize it peels off in small sheets.
 I know I just opened a Big Can-O-Worms, long debate on to clearcoat, what to use, or not. But I personally would rather hit it with Mothers and a coat of car wax every spring and be able to maintain it than have something "maintenance-free" that I can't fix.

[shinyribs]

Anodizing is very tough. Tougher than powder coat in some ways. Neither of them can be easily touched up ( at home) if scratched. Anodizing would be a fine choice but most likely more expensive. But anodizing does not protect quite as well from the elements as powder coat does. Powder coating will actually seal the part in an epoxy,polyester....(whichever compound you choose)shell,whereas anodizing is actually absorbed into the part. Think staining your deck vs water sealing it. Same basic idea. Anodizing is just staining of aluminum. And only aluminum. If you have other metals you want to match whatever you get anodized it can't be doneBut it sure does look good!

[masiste]

  I hear you.

  Anodizing looks good.  But for those reasons you mentioned (protection from elements. Water Sealing vs. Staining a deck. ) ... I am going in the direction of Powder Coating.

  Anodizing in case of automobile wheels seems more plausible to me. But motorcycle wheels are subjected to oil ( chain and engine grime) and all sorts of debri flying across the wheels. ( automobile wheels by design and function preclude any debri from flying across, and the face of the wheel is protected  by location from oil and other elements.)

  I like to keep the chain well lubed. Impossible to avoid  occassional oil splatering.

[Hoosier Daddy]

 I must be wired differently than most.
 I'd rather have a polished aluminum piece, that I can sit down in front of and hit with Mothers mag polish, then a coat of car wax, and keep it nice shiney for a very long time. It's part of the spring ritual of getting the bikes ready for the season.
 I realize that powder coating is tried and true for its durability, but eventually it does get compromised, be it 5 years from now... even 10. Once it is chipped / scratched it starts to peel and it's going down-hill fast.
Anodizing is another good option. Looks great for a while and very durable, to a point. Take a look at a Mag-light (that's the best example I can think of). The finish looks awesome when new, but eventually, years down the road gets buggered / wears thin. I have several OLD Mag-lights the color is almost gone.
 Now to restore the appearance of either of those would be a HUGE undertaking. With raw, maintained polished aluminum you hit it with a buffer again, maybe a little scotchbrite, and viola... back to pretty.
 All suggestions a greatly appreciated and I know you have my best intrest in mind but I'm not new to this... here is the bits I polished on the 'oldWing. It was rough, white chalk under factory clear coat. Next summer will be it's 4th season, and still am happy with my choice to polish and leave raw with a little annual maintenance.


 

[shinyribs]

You're preaching to the choir bud :) polished rocks!

[Hoosier Daddy]

Spent most of my free time over the weekend getting the wheels stripped of all the black. Was quite the job to get into the nooks and crannies. I used some 1/8" wooden dowel rod with the ends sanded down to a bevel point.
Now onto the polishing!

[shinyribs]

You're seriously gonna Polish those inverted comstars!?!?  I have.the upmost of.both respect and pity for you at this point. :) Good luck man. Can't wait to see them!

[Piute]

       Polished aluminum is best always had been in my book ,
   chrome looks tinny and to hard to keep bright the mag look has strength in the look.
                                                    But

                            Chrome wont get ya home BUt can get ya laid


                                                                                             my previous bike

[Hoko]

GWing engine looks nice.  I was considering acid etching my carbs and using gas resistant 2k clear on them but polish looks less risky in the long run also looks good.

[Hoosier Daddy]

The initial first pass on polishing revealed I need to do some more sanding on the outer rim... Spoke sections were pretty darn smooth under the black paint, but that outer rim portion that was clear coated from the factory has some serious rough ground texture. Proving to be a PITA to get smooth.
 Ah well, it is looking better each step.