question on alluminum restoration

this winter im going to completly restore mt 1974 z1b 900 back to bone stock orignal. My question is i want the alluminum on the engine to look like it did in the show room. I know that it was polished and a clear coat put over it to protect it. What kind of clear coat should i use on it? And how would i get the little nicks and imprefections out of the engine covers? Thanks

The engine parts will need to buffed by someone
who knows how to do aluminum.I did not clear coat
mine.I just hit them with the "mothers" once and a
while.I figure rebuffing them will still be easier
than getting a yellowed clear coat off later.

I've been restoring the aluminum wheels on my '82 GPz. If the surface has small nicks, the polishing isn't going to work right away; you'll have to use a very light grit wet or dry sandpaper (start with 400 grit, then work your way up with finer grades of grit, 600, 800, etc.)...using lots of water. Then finish with Simichrome paste or Mothers Aluminim polish (I like Simichrome). I wouldn't clear coat it. In any case, you'll still have to polish it about once a month. Does end up looking very good.

Hey! I've been using 0000 steel wool on the enginge covers of my 77 kz650 with excellent results but it's too aggressive for the chrome:whistle: it just leaves light buff marks on chrome but the softer aluminum shines up great. I also hit everything with rainX after? Think I'm being too harsh on the old girl?

Just passing on what I have read in various sources; never use steel wool on aluminum because very fine pieces of the steel wool will break off embedding itself in the softer aluminum surface, causing slight rust effects over time. Don't know if that's true or not, although it sounds logical.

Myself, I had very dulled, coroded, and nicked-up engine covers and sundry other aluminum parts. I'm with redrkt; use wet/dry paper with lots of water, started with 400, then 600, then 1200, and finished up with 2000. Capped it off with Mothers Mag & Aluminum polish and lots of elbow grease. Results are remarkable, looks great.

On a side note, I read on this forum about using Mothers Mag & Aluminum polish on ehaust pipes. My pipes were a splendid rainbow of blue and gold due to both lean and rich conditions being consistently run by PO. Well, I corrected all that (long story, lots of work, forum-suggested mods, return to airbox, and investing in the Morgan Carbtune, etc,), and thought I'd try the suggested Mothers.

It worked fantastic, pipes are back to looking new, no discoloration whatsoever, I'm thoroughly impressed! Warning: it involves lots of rubbing, but it was worth it!

Anyway, just my 2 cents...

Steel wool is only good for a first step if you have some major damage to the cases, but you should always follow up with sandpaper.Wooling chrome will remove rust quickly and even get rid of some pitting, but it will also increase the areas of rust, which will return much more quickly.I've seen WD slow down this process, but not by much.

I have dropped as far as 100 to repair scarring, though it took a lot more time to bring it back.Love that joint pain afterwards...

Invest in a variable speed dremel for those hard to get to places and you save yourself hours of work.

i spent 2 months polishing an all aluminum 4-wheeler frame. it wasnt polished originally and it was rough forged aluminum. easiest way is to use a 320 grit sandpaper to sand the big rough spots out, then keep stepping up till you use a 2000 grit wet sandpaper. after that i used a die grinder with a polishing wheel and i used some green crayon like polish. heres a pic before and after...

s82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/cannibal...current=cannon10.jpg

i82.photobucket.com/albums/j253/cannibal...stalled/DSC02041.jpg

this is the first 4-wheeler ever to use an aluminum frame. also it has no auxillery oil reservoir. you actually put the motor oil inside the frame and it circulates through both sides and through the motor. wierd setup but works great as a heat exchanger.

I agree, gmokage. The variable speed Dremel works great and saves lots of time. I finally broke down and got one last week. I used the 1-inch felt wheel with Simichrome (just enough grit but not too much).

Cool job, Cannibal440. Having spent a bit of time with the small amount of aluminum on my GPz (just the wheels), I can appreciate the effort! Very satisfying when you see the results.

They didn't use clearcoat over the aluminum. I don't know what process if any was used to protect the bare aluminum, but it wasn't clearcoated. You'll never see a yellowed clearcoat on a Z1, KZ650, KZ1000 because they didn't use clear. You can always polish out your covers and make them look new if they are not excessively scratched or otherwise ruined with clearcoat or paint. Others have argued over the years, but in all the Zs I've ever had, none had any clearcoat on the engine.

Post edited by: RonKZ650, at: 2007/07/25 23:54

ya, i never seen a z1 or kz 650 with a yellowed engine, but i heard from szeveral people that they were clear coated. Maby they were refering to when people actually painted the motors a different color.

the reason that you clearcoat polished aluminum is because the first moment you get it wet the water leaves deposits in the aluminum and gives it a milky color. the 4-wheeler that i spent so long polishing wont see any kind of weather. its a showbike or i wouldnt have wasted my time.

oldkaws4ever wrote:

ya, i never seen a z1 or kz 650 with a yellowed engine, but i heard from szeveral people that they were clear coated. Maby they were refering to when people actually painted the motors a different color.

I'll see if I can get a picture of a few this weekend.