Polishing or cleaning engine

What is the best way to brighten up that old 82 engine of mine. I had a friend liken it to anothers rat hardly. I can't have that! Everything else on the bike looks good, but the engine is pretty crappy looking.

Check out this thread it covers this subject pretty well. I just spent the better part of yesterday morning removing the 25 year old "patina" from the sprocket cover on my 81 650 CSR. It is a heck of a lot of work but the results are worth it.

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

Post edited by: The Gringo, at: 2006/07/28 10:29

Hi spark363. Here is what I did to bring a heavily oxidized engine up to near show condition.

I removed the cases and covers and cleaned the oxidization off them with a fine steel wool. Then I used 180 grit wet sandpaper keeping the paper very wet at all times by dipping it into a little container with water in it. I probably spend at least half an hour with the 180 before moving to 320, then 600 and finally 1000 grit fine wet sandpaper. It take time and patience but you will see the metal's finish come back to life very slowly. Wipe the cases off with a dry cloth between each step of wet sanding.

My final stepw were to use Autosol metal polish that I rubbed in by hand. You will notice the more you rub the polish in the dirtier it gets. Finally I used a soft buffing wheel on a drill to bring the cases to a mirror finish.

All total, I spent about 16 hours doing the cases and covers including the valve cover. The fins I had bead blasted because the motor was apart for a rebuild.

Here is a pic of the finished polished motor.

Cheers-Colin Firth-Ontario Canada
'77 Kz 650 Custom/810 Kit and tons of go fast goodies.

Post edited by: reborn650, at: 2006/07/29 01:24