TOPIC:

Closely watching the outcome of these experiments. Keep posting really looking forward to intell.

newOld_kz1000 wrote: My '78 Z1R engine is oxidized and I'm trying the technique someone else on the board here recommened to remove the oxidation -- "Simple Green." Bought 3 spray bottles at Wal-Mart today, only $2.99 each, wow.

HERE'S THE RIGHT OF THE Z1R MOTOR TODAY *BEFORE* SIMPLE GREEN DOUSING:

THIS IS ABOUT 1 MINUTE AFTER SPRAYING LIBERALLY THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE MOTOR WITH SIMPLE GREEN -- LOOKS MUCH BETTER AFTER ONLY 1 MINUTE -- LOOK AT HOW THE FACTORY BLACK ENGINE PAINT LEAPS OUT NOW:

(the points breaker stuff is rusted junk, I have a brand new points breaker contacts ready for install, later.


LEFT SIDE, BEFORE SIMPLE GREEN SPRAY-DOWN....

LEFT SIDE OF THE ENGINE, 1 MINUTE AFTER SIMPLE GREEN WAS LIBERALLY APPLIED....

As per the suggestion, I'm going to leave it soaking all night then see what it looks like tomorrow.



HERE'S MY PAINT REMOVAL SECRET -- AEROSOL PAINT REMOVAL -- BUY IT AT ANY AUTO PARTS STORE -- TO REMOVE THE AWFUL BLUE PAINT FROM THE BACK WHEEL OF MY Z1R:

I LEAVE IT ON FOR ABOUT 1-3 HOURS THEN IT JUST FLAKES OFF, THEN YOU HIT IT AGAIN WITH THE AEROSOL IF THERE IS STILL PAINT ON THE WHEEL...

FRONT WHEEL BEFORE....

FRONT WHEEL AFTER.....NIIIIIIIIIICE. I will paint it later. Trying to get the bike back on the road first, then cosmetics.

That stripper worked real well on that wheel

LarryC wrote: That stripper worked real well on that wheel

Yep, I am finding that if I really douse the wheel one time -- and let it sit overnight -- I can next day take a stainless steel kitchen scouring pad and in 45 minutes have it nearly clean. I give it one more coat of strip, I'm using the aerosol can not the 'paint-it-on' liquid, I can douse the whole wheel both sides in 45 seconds with the aerosol stripper spray can --

after a 2nd 'final strip' the wheel is ready.

UPDATE ON MY ATTEMPTS WITH THE PHOSPHORIC ETCH: after a couple hours those whitish deposits are coming to their senses and yielding to the explosive power of the phosphoric acid. I scraped a lot off and doused the entire motor again and will let it sit overnight. Looking much better though, the phosphoric etch product is a badazz meanole sumbidge.

We have a harbor Freight solvent tank with 10 gal of Simple Green in it for cleaning engine parts.

APE Jay wrote: We have a harbor Freight solvent tank with 10 gal of Simple Green in it for cleaning engine parts.

Simple Green gives good results, just look at OMR's photos above, but it seems to have limits. The whitish oxidation? or whatever it is on my aluminum took everything Simple Green had and did not yield despite wire brushing. For now I'm categorizing my engine's covers as "disfigured", as they are deeply mucked up by this whitish crud.

I bought a soda blaster from Harbor Freight but I'm slowly admitting to myself that I underestimated the degree of oxidation damage that has been done to my aluminum engine covers. If the Phosphoric Acid doesn't get me to a decent starting point for a normal resurfacing/polishing effort, I may just skip even trying my soda blaster and go buy a glass bead blaster to get the job done once and for all.

Based on the toughness of the whitish deposits -- they just don't want to break up or budge -- I'm starting to think that a high-pressure flow of abrasives will have to be done.

If it's not raining tomorrow, I hope to have a check of the success of my attempt with Phosphoric acid and will post photos with the results.

As oxidized as it is , will take more than one overnight treatment.

One thing I didn't think of is in your covers being being chromed, not sure what difference that would make if any.

Soft nylon brush wheel would take the heavy oxidization off but seems your covers have some kind of design in them (see fork legs). Going to be a bitch no matter what.

Drill attached NYLON wheels for harder build ups followed by SG....



Keep at it and definitely post Pre & post images once completed....

Old Man Rock wrote: As oxidized as it is , will take more than one overnight treatment.

One thing I didn't think of is in your covers being being chromed, not sure what difference that would make if any.

Soft nylon brush wheel would take the heavy oxidization off but seems your covers have some kind of design in them (see fork legs). Going to be a bitch no matter what.

Drill attached NYLON wheels for harder build ups followed by SG....

Keep at it and definitely post Pre & post images once completed....

Dude, you are a font of righteous help here -- I've never used the nylon drill-attached brushes you mentioned and likewise didn't know there was a color coding system to help figure out which ones to buy -- thanks for that -- I have been using all the following handheld tools on the whitish deposits on my aluminum engine bits:

- wire brush
- stainless-steel pot scrubber, the roundish hand-held wad of stainless (akin to a brillo pad) you find at any kitchen sink for scrubbing pots and pans, very coarse
- metal-blade scraper on the thicker parts of the whitish deposits

I don't know much about the chroming process, but I'm wondering if the whitish deposits that are hard stuck on my aluminum engine covers are remnants of the chroming process.

In any event, I've doused the motor a few times yesterday with phosporic acid and today I'll rinse it off, take my drill and those nylon wheels to it and will post pictures.

where is a good place to find the nylon wire wheels(cheap)?









/

I've seen those nylon wheels for about $12 at Ace Hardware

Be careful with steel wool for aluminum. You can embed some of it into the aluminum and you will wonder why you have tiny rust spots. For a good scouring, I use 3M burgundy colored scrub pads. I get them at the auto parts store. They are a great first pass. Sometimes I just leave that finish as is. It is a bit dull, but I am not a slave to polishing.

Those scrub pads are also great for when you redo your master cylinder and caliper. They gently hone the piston barrels.

that stripper didn't eat through the tire?

donthaveakawman wrote: that stripper didn't eat through the tire?

Tires on the bike are no-go. The bike sat since about 1982 near the ocean here in Sunny California so those tires are now 31 years old. Only reason I put the wheels back on at this stage is to be able to move the bike around a bit. The 31 year old tires are serving as rim protectors right now.

I'm not finished with the wheels, once I pull the motor and take the frame out for a weld issue and stripping/powdercoating, I'm removing the old tires, blasting the wheels, then polish then paint.