Has any one had any success refinishing the engine cases.  Stripping and polishing doesn't seem to be a problem.  I'm just not sure what to put on for a clear coat...auto paint clear coat?

I stripped my clear with paint stripper, sanded a bit with 320 on the corroded parts, then 400, 600, etc. - then buffed them and left them without any clear.  My bike is stored inside, gets ridden in the rain a couple times a year, gets washed about 6 times a year, and is mostly ridden in nice weather.  I never put the bike away wet - after washing it gets a thorough blow dry with the leaf blower in all the nooks and crannies, a towel dry, and then a 10 minute ride to get the engine warm and shake the water out of the wiring connectors and any place that holds water.

My aluminum is holding up fine, I do apply a polish a couple of times a year.  If your bike is stored outdoors in a humid area, you might want to clear coat.

I also stripped my triple trees, wheel hubs, and the forks will be stripped and polished this winter.  I have a lot of aluminum to keep clean - but it looks great when shiny.

I have been trying to find something that can help to keep them from corroding - but so far every polish works about the same.  I bought some polish and sealer at an auto show a few weeks ago.....$ 35 for the show special that had two bottles of polish and one bottle of sealer.  The sealer is supposed to be applied every 6 months.  I had an extra pulley hub I polished and I used the new polish and sealer on it, then set it outside.  A flock of Starlings flew over and it got some "Bird Poo" on it....and it was etched under the poo.  I cleaned it up again, then applied a normal polish to half and the new sealer to the other half.  It has been sitting outside for a couple weeks....and I believe it is water spotted where the rain dries on the beaded up water - but I don't see any difference between the normal polish and the expensive sealer.

The good about not having any clear coat is that if you get a scratch...you can just sand it out and buff it away.  The bad is that you have to keep up with the polishing a few times a year to keep the aluminum from getting corroded and dull.  The aluminum castings on the Savage do have some color variation in the aluminum....so even when shiny you can see some swirls and color difference in the polished aluminum.

Next time I have a bit of clear mixed up for the base coat/clear coat paint, I will spray this pulley hub, set it outside, and see how it holds up.  Some of the aluminum polish I have says it has silicone in it to seal and protect the aluminum....so I have to be sure not to use that before I spray the clear.

Dave:

Did you strip and polish the engine cases "in place" ?
Or did you remove them from the engine to do the work ?

Thanks for the detailed responses.  I will probably leave it unfinished.  Besides I think it gives it more of an "old School" look and will compliment my bobber project nicely.  BTW: the paint remover works great at removing the old finish.

Dave wrote on 01/29/15 at 03:23:57:
Dave is the pic of your motor a old one or have you pulled it out again?