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General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> Cleaning Up Corrosion On Aluminum
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Message started by DaveinFL on 01/26/19 at 04:12:39

Title: Cleaning Up Corrosion On Aluminum
Post by DaveinFL on 01/26/19 at 04:12:39

Just bought a 2009 S40 with 8000 miles on it and appears to be stock, I plan on leaving it that way for now. It has its share of rust and corrosion apparently from sitting outdoors. I’m going to be busy for awhile cleaning it up. There are spots of corrosion on the forks, triple tree, etc… I polished a few spots which came out fine but then there is anodize? on the parts which makes it impossible to match. I’ve read about several ways to take this off from sanding with 300grit then progressively finer sand paper to 1500, or oven cleaner or lye then polishing. I’m not sure which method to use, has anyone done this? Any advice would be appreciated.

Title: Re: Cleaning Up Corrosion On Aluminum
Post by Fast 650 on 01/26/19 at 07:56:08

You can get pretty good looking results using a palm sander with coarse paper to strip the clear and corrosion first. 400 will probably do it. I had a few places on mine that required going to 280 grit though. After that you can move up to 600 and 800 to clean up the coarse grit scratches. From there it will buff up okay with polishing compound and a drill with a buffing pad. The faster the drill can spin the better. Then a final polish with Mother's or similar polish will give you the gleaming "looks like chrome" shine. A Dremel with a polishing wheel makes short work of the tight spots on the engine side covers too.

Title: Re: Cleaning Up Corrosion On Aluminum
Post by verslagen1 on 01/26/19 at 07:59:59

I would take the clear coat off with aircraft stripper 1st.
Then go at it with the paper.

Title: Re: Cleaning Up Corrosion On Aluminum
Post by Gary_in_NJ on 01/26/19 at 10:21:29

Once the clear coat on the aluminum fails, corrosion begins. The only remedy is to remove the clear coat (use aircraft stripper) and polish the surface to a shine. If the bike is garage kept and doesn't see the rain you'll need to spruce the polish up but once a year. If the bike is kept outdoors or in a damp location, you're fighting a loosing battle. The alternative is to polish the parts to a shine, then remove any trace of the polish, followed by a new coat of clear. To be honest, I haven't seen a good (lasting) result from this method.

Title: Re: Cleaning Up Corrosion On Aluminum
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 01/26/19 at 13:44:43

Once you have the clear off, put a green 3M scrubby pad on an orbital, kept slightly damp with a squirt bottle.
Then see about a higher quality clear coat than rattle can. Talk to the paint store that sells to body shops.

Title: Re: Cleaning Up Corrosion On Aluminum
Post by Fast 650 on 01/26/19 at 17:52:43

There is a clear powdercoat too if you want something more durable. Get someone who has used the clear before because it can come out cloudy if it is their first attempt with the clear powdercoat.

Title: Re: Cleaning Up Corrosion On Aluminum
Post by Zook on 01/28/19 at 06:46:25

I use clear powder coat on silver jewelry that I make. It holds better on a brushed finish than it does on a polished finish. I think I will strip mine and do a brushed finish and some hand engraving and then a clear powder coat.

Title: Re: Cleaning Up Corrosion On Aluminum
Post by hotrod on 01/28/19 at 14:31:47

I roughed mine up and just painted it with aluminum colored engine paint. It's cheap, easy to re apply, looks good, and seems to hold up fairly well.

Title: Re: Cleaning Up Corrosion On Aluminum
Post by DaveinFL on 01/29/19 at 03:51:22

Thanks for all your suggestions. I’ve been working on it as I have time, experimenting a little. Fast 650’s works best for me. On the pieces I’ve taken off so far, paint stripers and oven cleaner won’t touch the finish and it comes off fairly easily by sanding. It has to be sanded anyhow to smooth out the pitting from corrosion. I didn’t step up in sand paper grit after 400 though. I found that a buffing ball made of scotch bright to get around all the curves works great to take all the sand scratches out. I followed that with polishing compound, mothers aluminum polish, then a stick of Jewelers polish? Not sure what it is I had it sitting around my garage so long the paper it’s covered with deteriorated. It looks like chrome after the last step. I kinda doubt if any paint type clear coating will stick to it for protection. I’ll cross that bridge when I’m finished with the task at hand.

Title: Re: Cleaning Up Corrosion On Aluminum
Post by Dave on 01/29/19 at 06:51:54

44617665696E464C000 wrote:

Fast 650’s works best for me. On the pieces I’ve taken off so far, paint stripers and oven cleaner won’t touch the finish and it comes off fairly easily by sanding.

If you are buying your paint stripper at Lowe's or Home Depot or Walmart......they are worthless on the paint/coatings on motorcycles.

You need a real stripper.

http://www.kleanstrip.com/product/aircraft-paint-remover

I buy this at the local supplier where body shops get their paint and supplies.

Title: Re: Cleaning Up Corrosion On Aluminum
Post by verslagen1 on 01/29/19 at 08:34:14

yup, everything else is meant for stripping varnish off of wood.

for getting real paint off of metal you need aircraft stripper.

and it will tear the skin off of you too, so wear gloves.

Title: Re: Cleaning Up Corrosion On Aluminum
Post by Zook on 01/29/19 at 08:47:57

I used an automotive paint stripper that I bought from the same company I buy powder coat products from. I used it to strip the tank, front fender and few other pieces. It was amazing and dangerous. Not only should you wear gloves, eye protection might be a good idea. The odor and or fumes was not too bad though.