There has to be a pony somewhere in all this sh..

[Uncle Bryan]

Oh lawrdy Jesus, there has to be a pony somewhere in all this horseshit.
So now that I've gone and started it, there's no turning back.
Are these the worlds worst castings or is it just me?

 

[jd750ace]

The form follows function tax!

 

[deadchef]

mine look like that (the unfinished part). is the yellow color from factory clear coat? oxidation?

looks very nice by the way. what's your procedure?

 

[jetmechmarty]

It looks to me like you failed to remove the clearcoat before you started sanding/polishing.

If you remove the clearcoat with this prior to going after it mechanically, you're going to find it a whole lot easier to do that job. That stripper should be available at your local auto parts store.

 

[Uncle Bryan]

It looks to me like you failed to remove the clearcoat before you started sanding/polishing.

Marty, my local auto parts doesn't have anything even close to that. Can you give me the brand? I'll have to get it online.

And yes, this is our vanity tax

DC: I'm sanding with progressively finer grits and then polishing with progressively finer grits..not fun. And yes, it's the factory clear coat that is yellowed and pitted. Add the factory badass sanding and castings + decades of nicks and scratches and it really turns into a project.

 

[payaso13]

Mine look like that to...hopefully this winter I can take care of that...but damn...that's gonna be a lot of work!!!

 

[payaso13]

Which way you sanding by the way around or lengthwise? Polished part looks good no scratches

 

[jetmechmarty]

Marty, my local auto parts doesn't have anything even close to that. Can you give me the brand? I'll have to get it online.

Uncle Bryan,

The brand on the paint stripper is Klean-Strip. Where I am, almost every parts store has it, especially if they sell paint. You shouldn't have too much trouble finding it. It also comes in the Rustoleum brand, but I haven't tried that one.

This stuff will certainly get your job off to a better start!

 

[jd750ace]

The Klean Strip brand is a superior product in my own experience. YMMV.

 

[gggGary]

Aircraft stripper comes in gallon jugs (the way I buy it) it's thick body so it stays on the parts. I start with

Then a strip of coarse paper cut from a belt sander Clamp the leg in a vice so you can hold both ends of the strip and use a "sawing" action. I am also REALLY big on these.

They come in gray 60 grit, orange medium, and blue fine, orange is plenty coarse. I buy the Dico brand, the chinese knock off's aren't as good, the wheels last nearly forever follow orange with the blue wheel, then black compound on a sisal wheel. Finish with white on cotton.

 

[rusty rocket]

I used my d.a. sander with 600 to get the factory clear coat off. I shaved my forks so I used grinders, files, sanders and alot of elbow grease hand sanding.

 

[Jerm]

The company in the following link sells very good stripping products. They ship via UPS as well. #215 is for non ferrous metals.

http://www.kwickkleen.com/index.php/paint-removers-c-109

 

[payaso13]

gggGary...why use a file...wouldn't that gouge it all up...never tried it just gathering ddifferent info

 

[gggGary]

"gggGary...why use a file...wouldn't that gouge it all up"

because it looks SO good when you do a subtle clean up.....




Overheard while two guys were looking at the bike at the last slimy crud run

1st guy; Wow all that chrome really makes the old XS look sharp!
2nd guy; That's not chrome, it's polished aluminum.

 

[payaso13]

Nice!!! Looks good

 

[RFLIVES]

oven cleaner in the yellow can takes off clear anodize / clear coat on fork legs and rims in a snap just make sure you rinse it off once it eats through the the clear.

 

[Uncle Bryan]

Well I'll be. Turns out that my local O'Reilly's has that stripper.
I sprayed the crown and the paint instantly started boiling off. The forks were a bit more stubborn. After 30 minutes they still weren't all the way through the clear coat. I washed them off, gave them a quick sanding to break the surface and soaked them a second time. After another 30 minutes it still hadn't eaten through all of the clear coat but a bit of scrubbing with a plastic brush got almost all of it off.

Thanks a million for the tip Marty, this cuts tons of time off this part of the project!

Here they are now with just a couple minutes of sanding with 400 grit paper.
The second shot is the rough casting that I was talking about. The dark area is where the factory didn't sand and it's a real bear to get that part smoothed down. Oh well, that's why they call it a hobby

http://www.xs650.com/media/albums/1658/

 

[5twins]

I'm a big fan of the Roloc discs in a die grinder. The medium grit (maroon color) will remove those rough areas and smooth the seam lines on all the mounting tabs in a jiffy. The fine (blue) and extra fine (gray) will remove corrosion and give a rough shine. Then it's on to the buffing wheel. Very little, if any, sanding is required with these things.

 

[Uncle Bryan]

When I asked if these where the worlds worst castings or what? This is what I was talking about..
Yes, that black groove really is a fold in the metal.

Yeah, like I'm just gonna blend this in.

This thing that looks like a bulge, really is a bulge.

The dimples and left-right scratches are from the factory.

I'm about to give up on the sliders and just paint them.
However, the left slider looks a whole lot better then this one.

 

[gggGary]

Yeah they aren't shining examples of casting art. It helps me to visualize how they are cast. they are poured in a mold so there is a seam where the mold splits. To help the tube release from the mold it has a lump at the seam. IMHO this is not structural it's a manufacturing "shortcut". I grabbed an aggressive file and worked till the tubes were close to "round", that gets rid of the "fold". But I do agree the tube you're showing looks extra gnarly.
It helps to think about what you can't see when the fork is installed, don't obsess over those "dark" areas.
Finally; change to a beer with some flavor, your work will go smoother!