[unclejohn]

Help please! I am trying to polish the aluminum case parts of my '90 sportster. Is there a trick to removing the factory clear coat? I swear NASA could use the stuff to coat vehicles for re-entry! :dunno: I am having slow success with a wire wheel & steel wool. Thanks![ /B]

 

[springer-]

Sandpaper, what are the parts you are going to polish?

 

[Jonas]

Clear Anodize. I can tell you a couple things that will remove it.
1. Drano - If you can soak a part in a solution.
2. Oven cleaner. If you can heat the part up.
Both are caustic and if you do inside it will probally piss your wife off. At least it did mine.:hmmm:
Either way I would try some old parts first.
The way you know you got the anodize off when you go to polish the aluminium it will turn black. If not the anodize is still on it.

 

[newultraclassic]

Paint remover would work. I would stay away from caustic soda on aluminum.

 

[fresnohog]

I used Jasco to remove the clear coat from the engine cases on a Kawasaki. It is a very thick paint remover I found at Home Depot. It did not stain the cases and was thick enough it did not drip off. Very easy and worked great.

 

[unclejohn]

Removing engine coating

Thanks guys! I never thot of paint remover. I will try it. I am taking the partially disassembled engine to a good mechanic to fix the knock & put it back together. I don't trust myself. I want to have everything clean & shiny so it looks good when it's ready to go back in the frame. If I remove the 4 camshafts are they different from each other so that the mech will be able to re-install them in the proper place or should I mark them somehow?

 

[newultraclassic]

Thanks guys! I never thot of paint remover. I will try it. I am taking the partially disassembled engine to a good mechanic to fix the knock & put it back together. I don't trust myself. I want to have everything clean & shiny so it looks good when it's ready to go back in the frame. If I remove the 4 camshafts are they different from each other so that the mech will be able to re-install them in the proper place or should I mark them somehow?

Definitely I think you will be needing a service manual. Yes, the cams are all in different places. Two of them look alike but they have specific locations. You could mark them but timing them really should be done from a manual.

 

[unclejohn]

success at removing coating

Thanks everyone: The Jasco worked great and didn't harm the metal at all.
I got the extra strong version. I hosed it down, then cleaned up the mess with fine steel wool and Super Clean. I sanded out most of the squiggly etching marks with 400 wet or dry, but it left scratch marks I had to buff out.
I found the best way to polish the case is with fine sandpaper and tripoli grit.?prty:

 

[ToddM]

Clear Anodize. I can tell you a couple things that will remove it.
1. Drano - If you can soak a part in a solution.
2. Oven cleaner. If you can heat the part up.
Both are caustic and if you do inside it will probally piss your wife off. At least it did mine.:hmmm:
Either way I would try some old parts first.
The way you know you got the anodize off when you go to polish the aluminium it will turn black. If not the anodize is still on it.

Be careful with that stuff!!!! Drano and most oven cleaners contain sodium hydroxide (and/or similar bases) which WILL DESTROY aluminum!!!! I remember when I was a kid, I was messing around with my chemistry set (back when they sold REAL chemistry sets), and was stirring some sodium hydroxide with the eraser end of a pencil.... the aluminum band that held the eraser on DISSOLVED!

The other way to tell if the anodized finish is gone is to use a multimeter and check for continuity between two points on the case. The clear anodizing will not conduct electricity. This is the method we used at my last job (QA Inspector) to confirm that a part was anodized.