painting forks - advice *(not going to paint! shine!!)

Hi All...

i used to come around here A LOT last year...

at the time i had a KZ305 (my ride) and then got a KZ400 (project bike)...

i have sinse sold the KZ305 (got a different "ride") and only now am getting a chance to tinker again with the KZ 400...

it is a 1978 KZ400...

i've taken the fork legs off... they are pretty well coroded up and i'm considering painting them, rather then bringing them back to a shinny finish...

i've already sanded them down (to get the crud off of them) using grit ~#150-200....

before painting (not sure which color yet), should i do anything other then giving them a nice "wash down" and dry?

thanks...

- prime

Post edited by: primemover, at: 2007/01/20 21:39

wipe it down with grease/wax remover, make sure its not petrol based otherwise it shall bubble up in the future, usually only autobody supply shops carry alcohol based cleaner.

make sure during the sanding/painting process you dont touch anything oily or greasy, french fries, potato chips, penetrating oils, dont use any silicone cleaners or sprayable lubricants near the soon to be painted surface either.

Depends on how tricky you want to get.

If you want to use direct-to-metal hi-temp paints, progressively sand the pits out, do a finish sand with #600 wet to a buff finish, wipe down dry, wipe down with any generic brake cleaner, let dry and start shootin'.

If you wabt to shoot an Imron or otherwise catalyzed enamel, have a look at this stuff:

www.aircraftspruce.com/menus/cs/metalprepsupplies.html

...specifically the Alumiprep No. 33 and the Alodine 1201...

Because of the chip & ding factor, I'd seal the paint with a decent epoxy clear as well, but don't expect that perfect finish to last much longer than your first suare' down a gravel road behind another bike or a car...:pinch:

----

If you must paint, which I highly discourage, at least use a wheel type paint which should be a more durable paint. The forks on my MKII were black coating from the factory which I think was a powdercoat, but may have just been a very hard paint. After a while they were no longer black, but a wonderful 2 tone black/aluminum thanks to the black slowly chipping away. I just sanded them down to the aluminum which was easier said than done since that black was rock hard and wouldn't come off, then polished them. Paint came off just great in regular riding though
Of course you're probably not going to be crosscountry on a KZ400, so slower speeds in the city, paint would fare better I'm sure than mine did. You might want to get the legs powder coated instead of painted which would be much better.

hi all...

thanks for the tips...

only interested in getting in "presentable"....

thanks...

- prime

Who are you presenting them to? I'd say polish & wax them if you want them shiney or just wax them if you want clean but matte. I think both will be "presentable". If you paint be prepared to do it all again 1/2 way through riding season. Chipping paint is very ugly. Either way I think you will have upkeep but I think less upkeep than if you paint. Just my 2 looneys worth!

Hi All...

while i was working on the forks today (more sanding in prep for the painting i had PLANNED on doing), i realized that...

Heck.. these things really are not that bad!

so...

this is what i have done and i am looking for some advice to simply shine them up a bit more...

i have already hit them with:

220 sand paper (2x)
scotach pad (2x)

320 sand paper (wet) - 1x
400 sand paper (wet) - 1x
800 sand paper (wet) - 2x

steal wool (wet) - 3x

they still are a little on the dull side...

is there something more i could do to shine them up a bit more

you have to keep going with each grit till scratches are gone then move to next finer grit,this can take a lot of sanding depending on how carried away you want to get.then get out the mothers aluminum polish and start rubbing!:evil:

One all the pits are out, go to #1500 wet paper, use an ammonia-based glass cleaner instead of water, keep sanding until the glass cleaner dries up. The the forks will be covered by a layer of fine black oxide at that point and the paper will be really smooth. Keep rubbing with the dry paper, and you'll see the aluminum shine under the oxide. Repeat until you get the gloss you want - there's a practical limit, but it's waaaay, waaay up there, shine-wise.

Finish with Mothers, Blue Magic or any low-abrasive polish. Simichrome is good stuff, but it seems to have a somewhat higher abrasive content.

Top it off with a good wax job.

These forks by Sandy from this thread were also impressive


kzrider.com/component/option,com_joomlab...mit,20/limitstart,0/

And here (see Jan. 20th post by ltdrider)


kzrider.com/index.php?option=com_joomlab...7186&catid=11#107186