Polishing valve covers

[dthomso1]

Hi All, any ideas on how to get rid of the discolouration on my valve covers (and some other engine pieces)? I have seen a suggestion that paint remover and steel wool be used, but that seems awfully aggressive on these soft aluminum parts. Any suggestions?

[emtdouggood]

I have used a acid base cleaner on some of my things in the past. The cleaners are made just for this use but be very careful. I think it is called JB cleaner. I use to get it at a chemical cleaner warehouse.I used it on diamond plate quit a bit. The only other thing i can think of is sos pads. Good Luck. Doug

[Condor]

I just take them to a professional polisher. $40 bucks and they look liked they're chrome. And I don't even get dirty. Another alternative, if you want to keep them looking stock, is soak them in acetone. The yellow grunge will come off in about 15 minutes. The surface will look like new. Reshoot them with a clear metal spray to seal them back up. Unless you plan on polishing them yourself, I'd suggest not using any abrasive type material to clean them off. You'll get scatches everywhere. There was a thread about using baking soda as a blaster medium that sounds like it might work.....

[84xj1100]

Personal experience here.......whatever you do DON'T use steel wool. It will get imbedded into the aluminiun and will rust.

 

I use a buffer with an abrasive stick compond. Patience is key...once you start to peel back the yellow clearcoat things like autosol metal polish will keep them sparkling.

[GigaWhiskey]

Depending on how shiney you want to get, aircraft stripper to remove the yellow coating, wet sand (start with about 400 grit) your way down to 2000 grit and then polish on a buffer with compound.

 

Everyone will seem to have ther own method but most of it it is about the same and come to somewhat similar results.

 

Need an education, check out https://www.caswellplating.com/buffs/buffman.htm

 

I added a before and after of the rear hub. Not that great but a nice difference. That hub was very wavy and has tons of casting marks. Then I added the upper triple tree. I was able to see my fridge in that piece when it was off of the bike. Then the front fork tubes of a before an after.

 

I do not claim to be great, I think I do a fairly good job. I surprised myself on that stuff.

[Snaggletooth]

I found out......by accident.....that the NAPA spray gasket remover takes that coating that has yellowed off in minutes. I was installing the new stator and the gaskets were pretty well baked on. I flipped the cover over and sprayed a light coat of the remover and let it sit about 5 minutes. The gaskets peeled right off and when I turned it over the coating had blistered up and was peeling off. Worked out fine for me as I was going to polish them anyway.

 

To mask off a section use a couple of layers of masking tape and aluminum foil. Don't leave the tape on long or it will be sliding off to.

[warthogcrewchief]

I tell you what looks even BETTER than new and even easier than everything listed:

 

Duplicolor makes an Engine enamel that has ceramic stuff in the paint and is good up to 500 degrees F. The aluminum color followed by the clear (high heat Engine as well) looks just like the stock Yamaha aluminum. I haven't found any other brand that can match as closely as Duplicolor for the aluminum look. I've used it on another bike ('85 XJ700 Maxim) that I restored over 10 years ago and it still looks new!

 

I also used the same process for the rear fender braces as they were too damaged to try and "buff" out. I sanded the scratches smooth and repainted...still looks great!

 

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b160/warthogcrewchief/1985XJ700-1.jpg

 

 

EDIT: I forgot to add that if you paint the parts, you should probably scuff the metal up with a 400 (or even better 600) grit sand paper to ensure there is no old paint peeling up (as I've found on my '89 VR that I'm STILL restoring).