Polishing the engine casing

I had some more time today. I finished filing the case and proceded to wet sand. Here is the case sanded with 400 grit paper. The slight discoleration is water still on the case.



For the polish I used fine steel wool and some Mothers polish. I think they turned out pretty good. There are a few blemishes still but I'll get them this winter. I have to ride nowB)


I kinda like this picture.


Now I get to put on my brand new case protector bars:)

Later, Wes

That is an awesome job! I cheated and removed all my covers and used a bench grinder with a polish wheel. I also used Mothers, just can't beat it. I've tried others that claim to be easier or faster but I think if you want it to be top notch it's not going to be fast or "easy".

The engine paint is Duplicolor Engine Enamel with Ceramic. It worked pretty good. The engine was out of the frame, and I just used a degreaser from Home Depot, a liquid concentrate. After the engine has run for a while and heat treated/cured, it seems to be pretty durable.

Powder Keg, those engine cases look great, good job!

S.O.S. soap pads - readily available at any grocery store in the cleaning supplies aisle.
they are a fine steel wool pad impregnated with soap.
Dont know what kind of soap they use in the darn things, but sure cuts thru some of the nastiest grime and oxidization on aluminum real quick. had an old lincoln with aluminum dish wheels that looked pretty nasty. went after them with the s.o.s. pads and followed up with some mothers polish - darn things looked GOOD! still had a couple of spots that the aluminum was severly oxidized and pitted, but overall - what a difference...

Thanks!! Now I just need to get the rest of her polished up. Just takes time;)

Could someone post an image of a SOS soap pad?

I know this sounds a little strange but I'm not sure we get them in the UK.

Only thing I can find are Brillo Soap pads and they look like they could do some serious damage if applied to my bike in the wrong hands!!

Here a piccie

yep, brillo pads are the same thing as SOS pads.

Cool, I'll pinch some off the Mrs and have a go on the weekend!
Cheers

yup, Brillo is basically the same thing - as i said before tho, just dont get to aggressive with them, let the soap and the steel wool do the work for you.