Clear coat for aluminum?

I recently found a pair of NOS fork lowers for the KZ440.

Which clearcoat would make the most sense to protect these? Rattle can would be ideal as I do not have a good sprayer.

(Yes, I know aluminum forms a thin layer of aluminum oxide which inhibits corrosion. I want to keep the lowers looking new.)

- Spraymax does not appear to make a product for bare aluminum.
- Sharkhide (mostly a marine product AFAICT) is not available in spray cans.
- Nyalic might be a good candidate but I had not heard of it.

The Eastwood 2K Aerosol High Gloss Clear looks like it might be a winner. Any other ideas?

Thanks!

Clear powdercoat would be ideal.
I use Por-15 Glisten clear.

I did not know clear powdercoat was an option - sweet. Thank you!

I was already planning to have both alloy wheels media blasted and powdercoated, and have found a local shop which (I think) will be suitable. Maybe I'll ask them to do the clear on the lowers as a test and then bring them the wheels (and the swingarm and the center stand) if they do a good job.

Been doing it for 20 years! Cheap powder coating! Back when PWDer started! I did it all the time! fresh glass bead! wash with hot soapy water, dry it with hand held propane flame! Spray it down with lacquer thinner! then Clear It! Simple and easy for me!
Here is a few pics of stuff cleared!

If they are really new old stock I would not coat them with anything because they come from Kawasaki with a clear coating already on them. All you need to do is use a non-abrasive wax on them from time to time to keep them looking like new. Ed

By nerdy: I recently found a pair of NOS fork lowers for the KZ440.

Are they clear coated already? just wondering. My 81 650 forks had a factory clear coating on them that yellowed & became crackled.

Interesting. I wonder if Kawasaki changed the formula for the clear coating somewhere along the line. Ed

Factory used Lacquer

martin_csr wrote: Are they clear coated already? just wondering. My 81 650 forks had a factory clear coating on them that yellowed & became crackled.

I don't actually know; they were just shipped by the seller so I don't have them yet, but will take a look when they arrive.

If they have the factoey plastic coating on them, that is fine for years. Best look and shine is no coating. Just polish the bare aluminum from time to time. My clear plastic coating went bad 30yrs back or whatever, and I used paint stripper to rid the forks of the cheapo plastic coating, then polished to a mirror shine. No shine beats bare aluminum polished, not even chrome.

If they have the factory plastic coating on them, that is fine for years.

I assumed it was clear coat paint on my 91 650 forks, but it did look kind of like a plastic coating.
Polyurethane clearcoat is basically a plastic coating, so perhaps Kawasaki used some sort of polyurethane. ???

And speaking of what kind of coating...

Anyone know what sort of paint Kawasaki used on the engine? Several of the engine castings were painted before machining, and there is paint on areas that are inside the engine yet whatever coating they used, it never chips or peels. Amazing paint...whatever it is.