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Message started by jonathans on 06/28/24 at 15:37:07

Title: ALuminum Engine Covers
Post by jonathans on 06/28/24 at 15:37:07

I've been bouncing around this forum since I got this old ls650, and haven't seen anything about the finish on the gearbox sidecovers. I plan to overhaul the engine this winter, and am thinking of having these covers sandblasted. They seem to come with a coating that's hard to get off but easily wears off.
Has anyone dealt with the finish on these?

http://https://i.postimg.cc/YqNRkZWB/IMG-3723-copy.jpg

http://https://i.postimg.cc/rwBwJnfz/IMG-3724-copy.jpg

Title: Re: ALuminum Engine Covers
Post by Dave on 06/29/24 at 03:45:37

Doing a proper and lasting repair is pretty labor intensive.

The clearcoat is not very durable on the Savage. To do a proper job you really need to remove them from the engine. You can remove the clearcoat pretty quickly with "Aircraft Stripper". (Do not get the stripper with the green label that says Non-Methylene Chloride....it does not work well).

Once you have removed the clear coat you have several options. You can sand/buff/polish the aluminum until it is shiny, or you can use Scotch Brite Pads and get a brushed finish. If you have the aluminum bead blasted the finish will be porous and stain easily and be impossible to keep clean.

You can paint the aluminum with a clear coat, you can use an engine enamel paint that comes in a spray can, or you can get the cases powder coated with clear or a color.

Most recently I have used Cerakote and it is more durable than paint or powder coat. It is very labor intensive to get the aluminum ready to apply the finish - it has to be cleaned really well as the oil needs to be baked out of the aluminum for the finish to stick well (true of both Powder Coat and Cerakote as the finish needs to be baked in an oven which can make the oil weep out of the pores in the aluminum).

If you leave the aluminum bare and have a polished or brushed finish it does require periodic maintenance to keep it looking good.

There are lots of previous threads about this - if you search you can find lots of discussion. Here is a link to one that is most recent:
http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1718223767

Title: Re: ALuminum Engine Covers
Post by zevenenergie on 06/29/24 at 04:07:32

That doesn,t look to bad.

On my previous Savage, the paint was partially worn off and therefore oxidized.

I had quite a bit of work to get it all of and was able to remove the paint with a rotating wire brush and also most of the oxidation.

I then wanted to polish it to a high gloss, but there were too many pits in the aluminum for that.

I then matted everything with steel wool.
But there was too much difference between the places where oxide had been and where the paint had been.

And then I turned the aluminum gray with sink unblocker and it looked quite nice and neat and easy to maintain.

And then I live happely ever after. :)

Title: Re: ALuminum Engine Covers
Post by jonathans on 06/29/24 at 17:39:56

thanks both for the advice, and I'll check that thread I hadn't seen now. Thanks for that.