Clear Coat for Aluminum

Just bought a 78 cb 750 and have it in pieces all over the garage. I have polished the aluminum engine covers (cylinder head, clutch, etc.) and they look awesome.

1. What do I put on them to keep them from oxidizing again?

2. Also, pulled the covers off and the phillips head screws are beat up and look terrible, does anyone have an idea on where to get a set of stainless or chrome replacements or hex head bolts to replace the stock?

3. Has anyone painted the motor itself flat black and what have you used?

Thanks for the replies, as it progresses, I will post pictures.

clear coat for alloy is always a tough one.

you really need a self etching lacquer but its not easy to find.

there are some commercial paints that will do the job but their pricy.

try speaking to wheel refurbers to see what they use.

i've always found them to be a bit secretive but you may have more luck.

gsreimers wrote:

Just bought a 78 cb 750 and have it in pieces all over the garage. I have polished the aluminum engine covers (cylinder head, clutch, etc.) and they look awesome.

1. What do I put on them to keep them from oxidizing again?

2. Also, pulled the covers off and the phillips head screws are beat up and look terrible, does anyone have an idea on where to get a set of stainless or chrome replacements or hex head bolts to replace the stock?

3. Has anyone painted the motor itself flat black and what have you used?

Thanks for the replies, as it progresses, I will post pictures.

First off welcome to the forum, as someone who's just had to sell a CB750 I envy you.

I polished the casings on my old Triumph to a mirror finish, I found using a laquer tended to discolour the finish, so going over them with a couple of coats of good quality wax such as Maguiers kept the worst depredations at bay.

As for the fastners, you can get a complete kit of stainless hex-headed bolts off E-bay, just search CB750 engine bolt kit or similar.

Good luck with build and do please post piccies.

as already said polished alloy aint easy, clear coat will send them yellow after a short period ,what i do is once polished give them a couple of coverings of a quality car polish the shine will last a couple or three weeks then use autosol to bring back the shine and repeat with polish

local fasterner supplier will match any fastener at 1/4 the price of fleabay

PJ1 for your engine paint they do matt or satin i use satin it gives a more factory finish and keep it clean with WD40
allow each coat to dry well as it can react with its self but covers really well as a rule ive got some pics of engines ive painted i can post if you like

looking forward to your build

thanks for the replies. I talked to some guys on a Harley forum (sorry, I own one of those evil V twins) and found out that the way to protect polished aluminum is clear powdercoat. Had that done and they are now back on the motor and look sweet. One of these days I will post the pics.

gsreimers wrote:

thanks for the replies.  I talked to some guys on a Harley forum (sorry, I own one of those evil V twins) and found out that the way to protect polished aluminum is clear powdercoat.  Had that done and they are now back on the motor and look sweet.  One of these days I will post the pics.

I just jumped aboard this forum and have been reading though old threads... saw this one and had some experience with this...

I have a aftermarket supercharger kit on a Mazda Mx-5 Miata... and most of the kits metal bits were poorly painted and already chipping when I got it new.  I decided powdercoating was the way to go...   There were two large cast aluminum portions that were going to be very visible and I just couldn't stomach coating them with the 'body matching' blue I'd found for all the little brackets and fiddly bits.   I broke down and spent serious money to get them polished... and they looked AWESOME when I got them back from the polishing shop.  But I wanted them to stay that way...

I went back to the powdercoating shop and he was seriously hesitant to use clear.  It's bad about showing orange peel, fisheyes, or hazing up.  He knew how happy I'd been with the other parts... and didn't want something that bummed me out. But I insisted.
 
I'll just say the clear powdercoating did knock off some of the shine.  

But, if you hadn't seen the before 'gleam'... you wouldn't know the parts were duller now.  But it did dull the shine of the parts a bit.  There is a slight wavy bit to it... almost like a internal 'orange peel' was trying to happen.  You have to get up close and be a picky bitch about it.  Would I do it again? Hell yes.  This isn't a show car, it's a driver... and the clear coated polished parts wipe off clean with minimal effort.  I'm never embarrassed to open the hood.   I had the parts coated in something like 1995 or 1996 and they still look awesome.  The only bad spot after all those years is where the outlet manifold on the top of the blower rubbed the freaking hood (bonnet for some you!).  I've played with plastic polish and that actually seemed to help.  But screw it, it's under the hood out of sight most of the time, and it's really minor.

Now, if it was a 'hardly ever driven' car or motorcycle that I took to shows all the time...  I'd probably not do the clear powdercoat...  I'd be willing to hit the parts with some polish every few weeks or months to keep that amazing 'just off the buff' shine.  But for a car or bike you use, one that gets the wheels driven off it daily... I'm more than happy with the shine it left visible and the ease of maintenance.