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With the engine off the bike and about to be rebuilt, I’m considering stripping the paint....
Not sure if you mean you want to do it or have it done and if literally stripping or blasting. My experience was awful. It took me a month in summer time, outdoors. It was fun at first, when most of it bubbles up.Cleaning every cylinder fin was a major hassle.I had to soda blast it in the end. Little specs of paint will be noticeable. But now that it's done, the shiny aluminum looks really nice. As mentioned above, ACF50 will keep the chalk at bay.
Appreciate all the responses.If I have someone vapor or bead blast it for me, I was hoping to not have to tear down the gearbox or final drive, or remove seals. Is this doable, or do I need to remove everything?
ACF-50 will keep the bare aluminum bright for years, spray it on, let it sit for a couple hours, wipe off the excess. Seals the surface, best stuff available for protecting bare aluminum, developed for the Harrier Jump Jets to resist salt water corrosion.
Really like that glass bead texture. What will it look like with just the soda treatment?I think I’ll stop by Harbor Freight in the next couple days and grab a gun and some Armex extra large media. I have a pancake compressor, and figure if it’s not big enough for the job, I can rent one.
The raw aluminum casting will get blotchy and gray as the surface oxidizes. It'll still run fine, but look aged. My T3 is proof of this. But if you spray it down often with ACF-50 (or WD-40) and blow off the excess the finish will maintain a reasonably even grey color.More detailed cleanup can follow with an occasional bath with WD-40 and a scrubbing brush.