You could have saved yourself half your elbow-grease, by using some paint-stripper to get the old clear paint off. Then polish. That way you don't have any big marks to buff out.
Exactly, I was going to say the same... Paintstripper everytime, then polish to a mirror finish, using soft cotton cloths and Autosol. I found that running the engine, and getting the cases warm- gives a much faster reaction to the paintstipper atracking the laquer or silver finish. Always use a gel painstripper too.. that way is stays where you want it to be!
This how I started, the more I worked on the better I got and the better products I discovered. It's a progression, with practice comes perfection. We've all been there, stop knocking the guy he's on the right track and he's doing fine. Heck I've been restoring and detailing bikes and cars for a long time and I'm still learning.
I don't understand why people keep turning these older bikes into cafe racers and some weird stuff. I love seeing older bikes restored. I'm working on restoring my 81 Kawasaki KZ750 LTD.
Poor kid. My heart goes out to you and your effort doing this. I wish there was someone around you to help you out. Keep going, learn as much as you can and don't be discouraged by what others say. At least you went out and did it yourself , and that's something to be proud of. Experience can't be bought. Having someone else do the work just means that those with Experience make the money 💰
I'm a profession wood worker and long time rider, I can tell you 100% that you shouldn't skip more then 2 grits when sanding/polishing. You will get a more dull finish if you jump 3 or 4 grits like going from 120 to 500. You need to slowly remove the scratches from each sanding. 120-180-240-320-480 or 500- 750,-then 1000. He's right, it really I'd alot of elbow grease!
I watched both your build series today. Found your channel randomly on here and I'm a subscriber to you man. You've come a long way and yet more to go. You lack the experience but your passion tells me that you'll have a good life ahead of you. Loved both the Vintage Americana and the Scrambler. I wish you from the bottom of my heart all the very best.
@@GoldGuyRides Just an idea: Take off the things u want to polish, and use a column drill. Just put the bike on the side, to prevent draining the oil. Sandpaper just gives u more work, A nylon/polyester sponge is ok, just polish it wet, u can use oil, saves u time degreasing, Brasso can also be used, and of course, If u want to use ur sundays for other things than polishing: lacquer. :-)
Good job, but you did make more work for yourself using such aggressive sanding discs. Also a tip, change to a clean polishing wheel when you change compound, also clean the surface between steps, keeping it free of contaminates will make it much easier to get the desired final finish.Another tip, painting raised letters. Applying vasoline just to the letter with a q-tip(very thin coat) will allow you to spray paint the whole part, let the paint fully cure then later wipe the letters with a soft cloth, the paint will come right off clean, no sanding
Great start on a cool old bike. A machinist friend gave me a pointer a few years ago when I was restoring one of my old FJ1100s that will serve you well. You can combine a few steps by getting scotch brite discs for your arbor instead of sandpaper. There are different abrasive levels; if I remember correctly I used the two finest (green and red) to do my bike. After you clean the engine; use the scotch brite only to get the clear lacquer off of the big parts (that's what is coming off on the side covers); when that is done, load the scotch brite with your buffing compounds (in the same order). Then use your cloth wheels using some MacGuire's metal polish on them, finish up with a hand rub and a lint free cloth. The metal should look like a brand new mirror! A nice metal sealer (not clear) will keep them looking like that for years to come. Every piece of aluminum on my FJ looks like chrome!
Good job. Love your passion. Nice and easy, straightforward for someone looking to make the engine look brighter. The only other way is a complete disassembly and that takes time. Well done.
I know this old,but kudos to you for being into what you are doing instead of like so many of your generation,sitting on their asses in their parent's homes playing video games..proud of you. Also,research before tackling something can help a lot too and really step your game up.👍👍👍👍
Very good job young man very good job. I love watching young people do things their self. That's how I raise both of my sons. That buffing kit that you showed I had no idea harbor freight sold that kit. I have one similar it comes with a little bit more stuff but it also costs a lot more. Normally where I live we have a huge indoor bike show in the beginning of February. I don't really necessarily go to look at all the bikes. I go because there are vendors set up that sell everything you could ever need for a motorcycle. It's this one particular vendor who shows up every year. It's a husband and wife company. They sell anything you would need to detail your bike or your car. Every year I restock my garage from this vendor. That's where I purchased my buffing kit. I was glad to see you using a electric drill. There's nothing wrong with using battery operated drill it's just hard on the batteries and the equipment that you plug in your battery too. Like what you were doing could take a very long time.I'm really glad that you did not use a air power drill. Nobody would have been able to hear you speak after all that sanding. I really love how you use that small space to be able to work on your motorcycle. And it's great that you have some place to put your bike away for the winter. I just leave mine on my left unless I'm working on someone else's bike. I really enjoyed your video I look forward to watching more of them. Again great job turned out pretty damn good.
You´re working on an older motorcycle, I like that. But the way you´re doing it hurts my oldtimer heart :) Okay, anyways thumbs up ;) The bike looks better and you´re satisfied. That´s what counts.
Awesome job young man. It is a really good thing to see a young man spending time on the old and Original Super Bikes. I just purchased a 1982 GS1100G and it is in so so shape. I remember when this bike was released, In fact I had been in the Army 10 years when it came out. I wanted one but deployments interrupted that. So now I have on and I am going to have fun. Thank you for the information.
Just watched 2 minutes of this video. Something tells me this is exactly what I've been looking for and that this young man knows what he's talking about. I'll comment again after I watch. Here we go.
I admire you men, you look like a simple and lonely guy, and without no help you still made this video by your own risk trying to help others. I don't dare to criticise you; be careful with other people's opinion sometimes they just want to laf on you.
Excellent, excellent video. As another poster mentioned, I would be tempted to start with a less harsh sanding disk and eliminate a lot of work getting the deep scratches out. I was worried about sanding off the black paint on some of the covers. But, I think I like the look better with no paint. No paint means more metal shine. A tactic I'm going to try if Winter ever stops up here in Central New York is to use a baking soda blaster. I got the blaster tank from Harbor Freight along with a big bag of medium grit baking soda. What's nice about baking soda is that it dissolves in water and washes off so easily. And, it's not harsh enough to damage anything. It's what they recommend for cleaning carburetors because they are a soft metal like aluminum or pot metal.
You,re learning ! Buy yourself a 4 1/2" grinder. They make quick change sandpaper wheels ( fine ) and also cloth buffing wheels. Save yourself a lot of work. Good job kid.
It's awesome you sharing. The extra elbow grease you put into your bike saved you from headaches. Some people use paint stripper that creates a reaction with aluminum.
Good idea for those unsure. simple for those just want a little better look and go.yes he could of done more, but those who want more pop in the polish etc just do same procedure but as detailed as you choose. The video is appreciated.
Thanks , Snowy here in Detroit too ! Now is the time to clean , as I am building 1st 1978 550CB Honda , watching all the cool videos and getting a lot of GREAT ideas !
Ngl I never expected a fellow teen to do a restoration video. It's nice to see a young face since most of motorcycle restoration vids are done by boomers. I am 18 yo and restoring an old HD sportster thass been sittin for 20 years. Thx for the tutorial it helped a lot!
When I first saw you, I thought, what could this kid know about polishing a dull finish on an aluminum motor. I have to say you impressed me. I have a 76 CB 750 and I polished my engine as well. I went as far as the blue compound and got a mirror finish on my motor and fork sliders.
My ignorance astounds even me, I didn't know what those red & white blocks were for that came with my polishing tool kit. Now I'm gonna go try'em out on my old primary case. Thanks
A couple of points I would like to make if I may. Firstly, Don't put your polishing mops on a cement floor, if they pick up dust or grit they could spoil a lot of hard work! Second, I'm quite sure the 500 grit paper would have been ok for the first step, 250 is really coarse to be using on any aluminium but especially old Japanese aluminium, which was often regarded as being somewhere between pot metal and cream cheese in strength. Other than those points well done!
Cool bike! I used some scotch brite pads that are made for a rotary tool. It worked amazing and didn't scratch at all. Just get the different grits to bring it up to a shiny finish.
"Semichrome" brand metal polish !! After degreasing. works as an abrasive to help remove oxidation and then as a polish. Haven't found an application/type of metal it didnt work on with outstanding results !!
Looks good. For anyone following this i think 120 is a bit too rough for what youre trying to do. I think i would start with 400 minimum. You can always go harsher if need be but once you put deep scratches in youre going to be at it a while. Also a lot of these engines were clear coated from the fsctory and trying to do this process can easily make a huge mess.
Looking good. My first bike a was a gs850. You could have started with around 220 or 300 grit. Aluminum is so soft that starting coarser is extra work. Also there are much better compounds than what HF sells. Look for a "non-ferrous cut & color" compound. It will remove light scratches and mirror polish. I usually sand to 6 or 800 and use a good cut & color compound. A lot of times engine covers and cases won't ever get perfect mirror as they are cast and the imperfections and corrosion run way too deep. One tip for the gs850- don't let the horn leads short out against the cam cover. It will fry the main fuse and leave you stranded at night on the side of the freeway.
Mother's aluminum polish and a whole lot of elbow grease. I just did my 1978 Suzuki GS 750. It takes a lot of patience and time. I glass blasted the actual motor, fins, etc. then applied a high temp. clearcoat. It looks great. You can get new DOHC and Suzuki cover plates on EBAY for 20 bucks.
I use paint thinners and a tippex to slowly remove the excess paint after spraying. You also dont damage the writing with the other methods. If you take your time, the resaults are excellent and gives clean lines and edges
Hello from Australia, am currently doing up a 74 Suzuki gt125 twin.l would say you definitely have to take the covers off.That of course ruins the ancient Japanese Phillip's head bolts, however replacement kits in Phillip's or Allen are usually available.Anyway, l can assure you polishing smaller engine pieces is much nicer watching tv, than bending down in a garage.
Brasso is also a good and only mildly abrasive metal polish. Also polishes scratches out of plastics. Just stinks of ammonia a bit! Also hob-brite is good. Yes i'm aware its designed for cooker hobs but I used to clean the cymbals on my drum kit with it and they came up like mirrors. Solvol Autosol is king but A) quite expensive if you are using a lot and B) I used it exclusively on the bumpers on my old Corsair 2000E and I ended up with no chrome left in some areas so I am not sure just how aggressive it is.
It's really good to see young 'uns taking an interest but you have a lot to learn. First thing is the motor has to come out or it will only ever be a cobble up job......persevere though..practice on old casings from a breaker..
Use a little less jewelers rouge at one time and you won't get that bad of a build up. Also, a bit of WD-40 once in a while as you're buffing with the first and second bar will help. I use kerosene or diesel fuel as I'm doing mine. I've used that trick on my fuel tanks and rims of my semi for years since I watched a pro polisher do that at a chrome shop. It's almost like wet sanding and it does do wonders.
nice video, using a fine scotchbrite pad would have been just as effective as your sandpaper but would have sped up the polishing process.. just try it. sandpaper is pretty aggressive on aluminium.
Its only on step farther to the best method from there, wet sanding. I'd go three grits, like 500, 1000, and 1500, and then high rpm buffing to bring out the mirror look. I have those scotch brite disks but wouldn't put those to my engine, even the softest one would cause a lot of wet sanding (by hand) to remove the scratches, it's almost a guarantee somewhere in that process you WILL have an "OOPS" moment and scratch the shit out of the engine somewhere with the drill chuck or mandrel or edge of the disk while attempting to REMOVE scratches. That can be sanded out but your going backwards trying to run from wet sanding. Man up, roll up your sleeves and forget the drill and turn on some music and get the polished quality your looking for. This video is more fraudulent than informative and you didn't come along today and figure out a better and easier way everyone else never though of until you blessed us stupid Bikers with your drill knowledge. You'd save 15 mins hand work and cause 45 more hard hand work. The only powered machine that should touch a polishing job is the buffer, and that comes AFTER the sanding and goes quickly if you sanded it right. No short cuts or magic creams. If you want to know a real short cut to making a super ugly engine look like new (not polished, just clean looking) This is for engines that were black painted thats chipped away. Just clean it well with a brush and degreaser, rinse, make sure its dry and tape everything off that you need taped off and spray paint the engine with HIGH TEMP ALUMINUM PAINT. Your engine will look new and clean and it do it right it lasts and it's not obvious that it is just paint, it looks sand blasted. But I strayed, this is not polishing. You may want to High Temp Paint your main engine cases and polish the side covers if your really into it or building a hard tail Bobber out of an old Yamaha XS like I did.
Just a heads up. Hot soapy water removes the compound and doesn't kill the polishing work like paint thinner. Also. When u get done with the white polish. Switch to mothers. U will get a chrome like shine. U will be amazed with the finish product.
Good job, it looks 100% better. Use Colonel Brassy metal cleaner and eliminate the sanding and the black polish, unless you have deep scratches. For my 1994 Honda, I cleaned with Colonel Brassy, buffed with the red, then hand polished with Semi Chrome and or mothers., producing a mirror finish.
Scotchbrite pad and WD-40 works the best for ultimate mirror finish. Just saturate work piece and agitate in a linear motion. Surface must be smooth before hand. If its rough or pitted, sand or use light duty wire wheel to smooth out
Imagine if Goldguy was doing this project in the presence of the peanut gallery below--so many with their own "better" solutions: "Mystery Oil!" "No, Purple!" "No, Flitz!" "No, White Diamond!" Nevertheless, there is some "wisdom of the crowd." That's why I really appreciate video creators that man up and don't let the trolling weasels get to them, closing their videos to comment. So, props to you, Goldguy. It seems that a consensus agree that 120 was too coarse and that Goldguy created a needless scratchy mess that he had to clean up. I haven't begun the "facelift" on my 1981 Yamaha Maxim 650 yet, but my thinking is that a medical approach to the "patient" might be best. That is, try the least aggressive approach first. If you have an infection in your leg, amputation WILL take care of the problem, but there are probably a lot of measures short of that will also. So my thought is to try something easy, something liquid, on a little area and see how it goes. I've even seen vinegar recommended. Go through all the liquids before you get to the labor-intensive methods. My working theory is that there are levels of oxidation that liquids may be able to handle. Thanks to Goldguy and to everyone below. You've helped me create a checklist of "grand" experiments . . .
We use to use whats called Never Dull .Its a can of cotton soaked in some metal polish, works great .And a little Brasso doesnt hurt.A lot less elbow work if you use the products I just mentioned.
You have a really cool bike man, those engines are bullet proof. Just one thing though you should have left the black alone. I had the GS 1000 E for many years, same year too, still miss the old girl. Good solid bike, look after her and she'll look after you:)
Yeah Mike aehy threw the sleeve in the exwife's front loader washing machine it thumped like crazy but aehy didn't need a bench mounted wire buff to prepare the nuts, bolts and screws perfectly clean...
Great work been doin the same on an 05 1200c. I'd reccomend scratching off the DOHC and SUZUKI badges again. And use some scotch tape and a box cutter then respray it.
Vapour blasting is the way to go. Thorough, uniform, fast and beautiful. Best of all for the cylinder fins and not ridiculously expensive. Try it once, you'll never do it any other way afterwards.
Goldguy: ua-cam.com/video/r1cwHdwDOvU/v-deo.html This is a link to a UK site. Unfortunately the quality of this particular video is nothing like the quality of the blasting. The name of the firm is "Aquablast" which can be confusing. ua-cam.com/video/IC0FA2l79YE/v-deo.html This is a link to a US site which has some better photography. I appreciate that you are doing a lot with a little and it's a great effort but once you've used this technique nothing less will ever do. Good luck and thanks for your post.
First step: petrol and a paint brush. Second step: wipe off and let dry. Third step: kitchen cleaner (Ajax powder and water) and if necessary, a kitchen scourer pad. Rinse and let dry. Finish with car wax.
Hey did you ever think about using blue painters tape it was very easy to work with comes off very well great video by the way your polishing video on the old GS keep up the good work God bless
Try California purple,this stuff is amazing,buy it at NAPA or on Amazon for $15 and will take out all that extra work and polish it to look like chrome and it seals itself! Awesome stuff!!!
Not bad, glad to see a young man devoted so much to vintage bikes. To be honest, as a 10+ yr painter, tape works better than paper (no need for a sanding block), YES to painting bolts (you'll screw it up later when you remove them, BUT when you do, punch them into a piece of cardboard and respray the heads), 120 grit is WAY too aggressive for aluminum (try a 320 first, in refinishing less is more, unless you talking about time lol). Otherwise great video and glad you like the old school!
You got the good 650, way faster than the 750 i moved up to cause of the shaft on the 650 i think. I loved that bike.. my brother in-law was so pisst I would smoke his kaw900 hundred on take off every time
hello, liked the video - i must do something similar on my bike. here, in the uk, the weather is pretty awful and the authorities put salt on the roads in winter. the only thing that i am unsure about is keeping it looking good, i thought you might suggest a laquer?
I find that mag / aluminum polish and designed power buff cone ( about 30 dollars ) with an electric drill. Most already have this. Works sweet as well. Made my 78 Kawasaki KDM cases glow like a mirror. It's very easy to do and very none harsh and gentle.
You could have saved yourself half your elbow-grease, by using some paint-stripper to get the old clear paint off. Then polish. That way you don't have any big marks to buff out.
Exactly, I was going to say the same... Paintstripper everytime, then polish to a mirror finish, using soft cotton cloths and Autosol.
I found that running the engine, and getting the cases warm- gives a much faster reaction to the paintstipper atracking the laquer or silver finish.
Always use a gel painstripper too.. that way is stays where you want it to be!
There seems to be a problem here.
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This how I started, the more I worked on the better I got and the better products I discovered. It's a progression, with practice comes perfection. We've all been there, stop knocking the guy he's on the right track and he's doing fine. Heck I've been restoring and detailing bikes and cars for a long time and I'm still learning.
Thunderbyrd Most excellent comment on here and exactly what I was thinking! He's young, he's learning, we're all still learning! Hats off to you 👌
Yes he's learning, so we are making comments to guide him, not to criticise.
I remember as a young man doing the same. Made me aware how far I've come with time. God bless him for trying!
It's nice to see you young-uns taking interest in old bikes and not filling up junk yards.
Martin Cvitkovich really hard to find good classic bikes
Japp
I don't understand why people keep turning these older bikes into cafe racers and some weird stuff. I love seeing older bikes restored.
I'm working on restoring my 81 Kawasaki KZ750 LTD.
I had this same bike ,and wet sanded and used neverdull
I’m 14 and I’m restoring a Honda big red 300 I will post a few videos on my UA-cam channel soon if you want to watch
Poor kid. My heart goes out to you and your effort doing this. I wish there was someone around you to help you out.
Keep going, learn as much as you can and don't be discouraged by what others say. At least you went out and did it yourself , and that's something to be proud of. Experience can't be bought. Having someone else do the work just means that those with Experience make the money 💰
Respect to anyone that keeps the old iron running! Nice work.
I'm a profession wood worker and long time rider, I can tell you 100% that you shouldn't skip more then 2 grits when sanding/polishing. You will get a more dull finish if you jump 3 or 4 grits like going from 120 to 500. You need to slowly remove the scratches from each sanding. 120-180-240-320-480 or 500- 750,-then 1000. He's right, it really I'd alot of elbow grease!
Thank you for the helpful information
I watched both your build series today. Found your channel randomly on here and I'm a subscriber to you man. You've come a long way and yet more to go. You lack the experience but your passion tells me that you'll have a good life ahead of you. Loved both the Vintage Americana and the Scrambler. I wish you from the bottom of my heart all the very best.
Nice Guy wow thank you so much! What a nice comment! The world needs more people like you!
Thats a gr8 comment!! Respect.
Nice Guy i
@@GoldGuyRides Just an idea: Take off the things u want to polish, and use a column drill. Just put the bike on the side, to prevent draining the oil. Sandpaper just gives u more work, A nylon/polyester sponge is ok, just polish it wet, u can use oil, saves u time degreasing, Brasso can also be used, and of course, If u want to use ur sundays for other things than polishing: lacquer. :-)
Good job, but you did make more work for yourself using such aggressive sanding discs. Also a tip, change to a clean polishing wheel when you change compound, also clean the surface between steps, keeping it free of contaminates will make it much easier to get the desired final finish.Another tip, painting raised letters. Applying vasoline just to the letter with a q-tip(very thin coat) will allow you to spray paint the whole part, let the paint fully cure then later wipe the letters with a soft cloth, the paint will come right off clean, no sanding
Just curious? Do you have a video on how to do it - would greatly appreciate it
Sub my channer sir
Great start on a cool old bike. A machinist friend gave me a pointer a few years ago when I was restoring one of my old FJ1100s that will serve you well. You can combine a few steps by getting scotch brite discs for your arbor instead of sandpaper. There are different abrasive levels; if I remember correctly I used the two finest (green and red) to do my bike. After you clean the engine; use the scotch brite only to get the clear lacquer off of the big parts (that's what is coming off on the side covers); when that is done, load the scotch brite with your buffing compounds (in the same order). Then use your cloth wheels using some MacGuire's metal polish on them, finish up with a hand rub and a lint free cloth. The metal should look like a brand new mirror! A nice metal sealer (not clear) will keep them looking like that for years to come. Every piece of aluminum on my FJ looks like chrome!
good job man. glad to see young guys out trying this stuff and not just paying some shop to do it like most people today.
Screw what others say.
You're not trying to build a show bike. Just trying to make the engine not as disgusting, and you did a good job. 👌🏼
Good job. Love your passion.
Nice and easy, straightforward for someone looking to make the engine look brighter.
The only other way is a complete disassembly and that takes time.
Well done.
5 year old video helping me restore my 1980 Honda cb400 today. Thank you for this video. Subscribed
I know this old,but kudos to you for being into what you are doing instead of like so many of your generation,sitting on their asses in their parent's homes playing video games..proud of you.
Also,research before tackling something can help a lot too and really step your game up.👍👍👍👍
Good to see a young man put in some work and time to keep his things nice and learn us youtubers a little somethin'
Very good job young man very good job. I love watching young people do things their self. That's how I raise both of my sons.
That buffing kit that you showed I had no idea harbor freight sold that kit. I have one similar it comes with a little bit more stuff but it also costs a lot more. Normally where I live we have a huge indoor bike show in the beginning of February. I don't really necessarily go to look at all the bikes. I go because there are vendors set up that sell everything you could ever need for a motorcycle. It's this one particular vendor who shows up every year. It's a husband and wife company. They sell anything you would need to detail your bike or your car. Every year I restock my garage from this vendor. That's where I purchased my buffing kit.
I was glad to see you using a electric drill. There's nothing wrong with using battery operated drill it's just hard on the batteries and the equipment that you plug in your battery too. Like what you were doing could take a very long time.I'm really glad that you did not use a air power drill. Nobody would have been able to hear you speak after all that sanding.
I really love how you use that small space to be able to work on your motorcycle. And it's great that you have some place to put your bike away for the winter. I just leave mine on my left unless I'm working on someone else's bike.
I really enjoyed your video I look forward to watching more of them. Again great job turned out pretty damn good.
You´re working on an older motorcycle, I like that. But the way you´re doing it hurts my oldtimer heart :) Okay, anyways thumbs up ;) The bike looks better and you´re satisfied. That´s what counts.
You did a great job. Never let anyone tell you different.
Awesome job young man. It is a really good thing to see a young man spending time on the old and Original Super Bikes. I just purchased a 1982 GS1100G and it is in so so shape. I remember when this bike was released, In fact I had been in the Army 10 years when it came out. I wanted one but deployments interrupted that. So now I have on and I am going to have fun. Thank you for the information.
Your level of excitement is contagious!!!
I like this guy. Seems like a genuine, cool cat. Keep on keepin’ on!
I have an American gs 450 Suzuki 1986 in Kent England, I need to do simular clean up, nice to see your enthusiasm lad,
Just watched 2 minutes of this video. Something tells me this is exactly what I've been looking for and that this young man knows what he's talking about. I'll comment again after I watch. Here we go.
just cleaned up a motor on a 1990 Honda xr100. A dremel with a bunch of wire wheel brushes really helps get in small areas. I did all my fins with it.
I admire you men, you look like a simple and lonely guy, and without no help you still made this video by your own risk trying to help others.
I don't dare to criticise you; be careful with other people's opinion sometimes they just want to laf on you.
Excellent, excellent video. As another poster mentioned, I would be tempted to start with a less harsh sanding disk and eliminate a lot of work getting the deep scratches out. I was worried about sanding off the black paint on some of the covers. But, I think I like the look better with no paint. No paint means more metal shine. A tactic I'm going to try if Winter ever stops up here in Central New York is to use a baking soda blaster. I got the blaster tank from Harbor Freight along with a big bag of medium grit baking soda. What's nice about baking soda is that it dissolves in water and washes off so easily. And, it's not harsh enough to damage anything. It's what they recommend for cleaning carburetors because they are a soft metal like aluminum or pot metal.
You,re learning ! Buy yourself a 4 1/2" grinder. They make quick change sandpaper wheels ( fine ) and also cloth buffing wheels. Save yourself a lot of work. Good job kid.
It's awesome you sharing. The extra elbow grease you put into your bike saved you from headaches. Some people use paint stripper that creates a reaction with aluminum.
Good idea for those unsure. simple for those just want a little better look and go.yes he could of done more, but those who want more pop in the polish etc just do same procedure but as detailed as you choose. The video is appreciated.
GOOD JOB YOUNG MAN, AND GREAT CHOICE OF MUSIC, BRINGS BACK SOME FOND MEMORIES
As an aside, one of my bikes is still a GS850G I bought new in 1980. It has well over 200 000 kms on it - great bike.
sub my channel sir
Thanks , Snowy here in Detroit too ! Now is the time to clean , as I am building 1st 1978 550CB Honda , watching all the cool videos and getting a lot of GREAT ideas !
I HAD A CB 550 4 IN 1978, WHEN I WAS IN THE NAVY IN CONNECTICUT. THOUGHT I WAS ON A HOG! GREAT BIKE.
Ngl I never expected a fellow teen to do a restoration video. It's nice to see a young face since most of motorcycle restoration vids are done by boomers. I am 18 yo and restoring an old HD sportster thass been sittin for 20 years. Thx for the tutorial it helped a lot!
When I first saw you, I thought, what could this kid know about polishing a dull finish on an aluminum motor. I have to say you impressed me. I have a 76 CB 750 and I polished my engine as well. I went as far as the blue compound and got a mirror finish on my motor and fork sliders.
My ignorance astounds even me, I didn't know what those red & white blocks were for that came with my polishing tool kit. Now I'm gonna go try'em out on my old primary case. Thanks
A couple of points I would like to make if I may. Firstly, Don't put your polishing mops on a cement floor, if they pick up dust or grit they could spoil a lot of hard work! Second, I'm quite sure the 500 grit paper would have been ok for the first step, 250 is really coarse to be using on any aluminium but especially old Japanese aluminium, which was often regarded as being somewhere between pot metal and cream cheese in strength. Other than those points well done!
Cool bike! I used some scotch brite pads that are made for a rotary tool. It worked amazing and didn't scratch at all. Just get the different grits to bring it up to a shiny finish.
"Semichrome" brand metal polish !! After degreasing. works as an abrasive to help remove oxidation and then as a polish. Haven't found an application/type of metal it didnt work on with outstanding results !!
That DOHC point cover is an adhesive metal decal, cheap on ebay
Good lad nice vid keep up the good work watching you in Ireland pride in your work is a noble thing
Looks good. For anyone following this i think 120 is a bit too rough for what youre trying to do. I think i would start with 400 minimum. You can always go harsher if need be but once you put deep scratches in youre going to be at it a while. Also a lot of these engines were clear coated from the fsctory and trying to do this process can easily make a huge mess.
Looking good. My first bike a was a gs850. You could have started with around 220 or 300 grit. Aluminum is so soft that starting coarser is extra work. Also there are much better compounds than what HF sells. Look for a "non-ferrous cut & color" compound. It will remove light scratches and mirror polish. I usually sand to 6 or 800 and use a good cut & color compound. A lot of times engine covers and cases won't ever get perfect mirror as they are cast and the imperfections and corrosion run way too deep. One tip for the gs850- don't let the horn leads short out against the cam cover. It will fry the main fuse and leave you stranded at night on the side of the freeway.
slowlowchev z
Mother's aluminum polish and a whole lot of elbow grease. I just did my 1978 Suzuki GS 750. It takes a lot of patience and time. I glass blasted the actual motor, fins, etc. then applied a high temp. clearcoat. It looks great. You can get new DOHC and Suzuki cover plates on EBAY for 20 bucks.
puntagordy
What a sweet, honest and down-to-earth guy. Love the video and the way you do them. Best regards to you!
I use paint thinners and a tippex to slowly remove the excess paint after spraying. You also dont damage the writing with the other methods. If you take your time, the resaults are excellent and gives clean lines and edges
I have an older bike and never thought to clean the engine. Keep working it and thanks for sharing.
Hello from Australia, am currently doing up a 74 Suzuki gt125 twin.l would say you definitely have to take the covers off.That of course ruins the ancient Japanese Phillip's head bolts, however replacement kits in Phillip's or Allen are usually available.Anyway, l can assure you polishing smaller engine pieces is much nicer watching tv, than bending down in a garage.
Fantastic instruction
I also have a gs850g it’s a 1981 model
Regards
Dave from Scotland
I'm going to polish my trail 50s and 70s motors thanks for everything now I know how to start.
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Nice job. Thanks for keeping these old classic bikes going.
Tall Dude they have a very authentic feel to them, like nothing you can get with a new bike
Good job. Good to see young guys using some elbow grease. Impressed.
Cool video bro,I'm gonna do my FJ 1200 Yamaha tomorrow.Looking forward to this.Thanks man.Chur from New Zealand.
Brasso is also a good and only mildly abrasive metal polish.
Also polishes scratches out of plastics.
Just stinks of ammonia a bit!
Also hob-brite is good.
Yes i'm aware its designed for cooker hobs but I used to clean the cymbals on my drum kit with it and they came up like mirrors.
Solvol Autosol is king but A) quite expensive if you are using a lot and B) I used it exclusively on the bumpers on my old Corsair 2000E and I ended up with no chrome left in some areas so I am not sure just how aggressive it is.
Good video! Just by watching I should by the repair manual and follow directions on each service. Thank you for pointing that out.
Buy*
These bikes came factory with a clear coat on the engine case ..problem being it corroded underneath..so good job on sanding that stuff off
It's really good to see young 'uns taking an interest but you have a lot to learn. First thing is the motor has to come out or it will only ever be a cobble up job......persevere though..practice on old casings from a breaker..
Use a little less jewelers rouge at one time and you won't get that bad of a build up. Also, a bit of WD-40 once in a while as you're buffing with the first and second bar will help. I use kerosene or diesel fuel as I'm doing mine. I've used that trick on my fuel tanks and rims of my semi for years since I watched a pro polisher do that at a chrome shop. It's almost like wet sanding and it does do wonders.
Nice job.
I have to take my motor out to do some maintenance, and you gave me some good ideas!
nice video, using a fine scotchbrite pad would have been just as effective as your sandpaper but would have sped up the polishing process.. just try it. sandpaper is pretty aggressive on aluminium.
Its only on step farther to the best method from there, wet sanding. I'd go three grits, like 500, 1000, and 1500, and then high rpm buffing to bring out the mirror look. I have those scotch brite disks but wouldn't put those to my engine, even the softest one would cause a lot of wet sanding (by hand) to remove the scratches, it's almost a guarantee somewhere in that process you WILL have an "OOPS" moment and scratch the shit out of the engine somewhere with the drill chuck or mandrel or edge of the disk while attempting to REMOVE scratches. That can be sanded out but your going backwards trying to run from wet sanding. Man up, roll up your sleeves and forget the drill and turn on some music and get the polished quality your looking for. This video is more fraudulent than informative and you didn't come along today and figure out a better and easier way everyone else never though of until you blessed us stupid Bikers with your drill knowledge. You'd save 15 mins hand work and cause 45 more hard hand work. The only powered machine that should touch a polishing job is the buffer, and that comes AFTER the sanding and goes quickly if you sanded it right. No short cuts or magic creams. If you want to know a real short cut to making a super ugly engine look like new (not polished, just clean looking) This is for engines that were black painted thats chipped away. Just clean it well with a brush and degreaser, rinse, make sure its dry and tape everything off that you need taped off and spray paint the engine with HIGH TEMP ALUMINUM PAINT. Your engine will look new and clean and it do it right it lasts and it's not obvious that it is just paint, it looks sand blasted. But I strayed, this is not polishing. You may want to High Temp Paint your main engine cases and polish the side covers if your really into it or building a hard tail Bobber out of an old Yamaha XS like I did.
I agree...Wet sanding the way to go in many cases. have done it many times
'xactly................wb
Just a heads up. Hot soapy water removes the compound and doesn't kill the polishing work like paint thinner. Also. When u get done with the white polish. Switch to mothers. U will get a chrome like shine. U will be amazed with the finish product.
Good job, it looks 100% better. Use Colonel Brassy metal cleaner and eliminate the sanding and the black polish, unless you have deep scratches. For my 1994 Honda, I cleaned with Colonel Brassy, buffed with the red, then hand polished with Semi Chrome and or mothers., producing a mirror finish.
One step further on the aluminum would be Wizards Metal Polish. It works Much better than Never Dull. Great product,You'll love it!
Never in my life would I have thought to sand down anything on my motorcycles until UA-cam.
Scotchbrite pad and WD-40 works the best for ultimate mirror finish. Just saturate work piece and agitate in a linear motion. Surface must be smooth before hand. If its rough or pitted, sand or use light duty wire wheel to smooth out
I build and restore these old bikes. You’re gonna do alright kid keep up the good work!!itll all come with time!
Imagine if Goldguy was doing this project in the presence of the peanut gallery below--so many with their own "better" solutions: "Mystery Oil!" "No, Purple!" "No, Flitz!" "No, White Diamond!"
Nevertheless, there is some "wisdom of the crowd." That's why I really appreciate video creators that man up and don't let the trolling weasels get to them, closing their videos to comment. So, props to you, Goldguy.
It seems that a consensus agree that 120 was too coarse and that Goldguy created a needless scratchy mess that he had to clean up.
I haven't begun the "facelift" on my 1981 Yamaha Maxim 650 yet, but my thinking is that a medical approach to the "patient" might be best. That is, try the least aggressive approach first. If you have an infection in your leg, amputation WILL take care of the problem, but there are probably a lot of measures short of that will also.
So my thought is to try something easy, something liquid, on a little area and see how it goes. I've even seen vinegar recommended. Go through all the liquids before you get to the labor-intensive methods. My working theory is that there are levels of oxidation that liquids may be able to handle.
Thanks to Goldguy and to everyone below. You've helped me create a checklist of "grand" experiments . . .
Wow what a well written comment, thank you!
Careful with the sos pad , use it very lightly , also with the sand paper . you don't want to scratch the metal .
We use to use whats called Never Dull .Its a can of cotton soaked in some metal polish, works great .And a little Brasso doesnt hurt.A lot less elbow work if you use the products I just mentioned.
I like never dull..never cared for mothers ,but blue magic is not to hatfull..keep it off your plastics tho
I like the mesh cover over the rear brake reservoir
Good job young man. God bless you.
You have a really cool bike man, those engines are bullet proof. Just one thing though you should have left the black alone. I had the GS 1000 E for many years, same year too, still miss the old girl. Good solid bike, look after her and she'll look after you:)
Yeah Mike aehy threw the sleeve in the exwife's front loader washing machine it thumped like crazy but aehy didn't need a bench mounted wire buff to prepare the nuts, bolts and screws perfectly clean...
Highly recommend using high heat primer before the color coat, hit it with high heat clear coat after for more resilient paint.
Great work been doin the same on an 05 1200c. I'd reccomend scratching off the DOHC and SUZUKI badges again. And use some scotch tape and a box cutter then respray it.
Hell yea sick video, very small details that make a huge difference 🤘🤘🤘
I like that bike, the color scheme is on point
Vapour blasting is the way to go. Thorough, uniform, fast and beautiful. Best of all for the cylinder fins and not ridiculously expensive. Try it once, you'll never do it any other way afterwards.
TheRunereaper I have never heard of vaporblasting, sandblasting yeah but what is vaporblasting?
Goldguy: ua-cam.com/video/r1cwHdwDOvU/v-deo.html This is a link to a UK site. Unfortunately the quality of this particular video is nothing like the quality of the blasting. The name of the firm is "Aquablast" which can be confusing.
ua-cam.com/video/IC0FA2l79YE/v-deo.html This is a link to a US site which has some better photography.
I appreciate that you are doing a lot with a little and it's a great effort but once you've used this technique nothing less will ever do. Good luck and thanks for your post.
Sir is it possible after polishing the engine you will qpply high temp clear coat? The shine will not affected?
Some cat-grid sugs up the old solvents, try not to spill. Apart from that, superb movie, look forward to your next project.
First step: petrol and a paint brush. Second step: wipe off and let dry. Third step: kitchen cleaner (Ajax powder and water) and if necessary, a kitchen scourer pad. Rinse and let dry. Finish with car wax.
beautyfull job bro,also like your style "i gona make it shine like a diamond"😁
Thanks for all your super-inspiring videos. Especially the GS850 based ones.
Hey did you ever think about using blue painters tape it was very easy to work with comes off very well great video by the way your polishing video on the old GS keep up the good work God bless
I like the background music, the environment, bike, this decent rider and most of all....that bike.....u r lucky man....☺
Try California purple,this stuff is amazing,buy it at NAPA or on Amazon for $15 and will take out all that extra work and polish it to look like chrome and it seals itself! Awesome stuff!!!
Wat are the three blocks u are using black brown and white
Not bad, glad to see a young man devoted so much to vintage bikes. To be honest, as a 10+ yr painter, tape works better than paper (no need for a sanding block), YES to painting bolts (you'll screw it up later when you remove them, BUT when you do, punch them into a piece of cardboard and respray the heads), 120 grit is WAY too aggressive for aluminum (try a 320 first, in refinishing less is more, unless you talking about time lol). Otherwise great video and glad you like the old school!
i have done several of these with mothers mag aluminum polish, lots of elbow greese but no sanding. it turns out close to chrome!
You got the good 650, way faster than the 750 i moved up to cause of the shaft on the 650 i think. I loved that bike.. my brother in-law was so pisst I would smoke his kaw900 hundred on take off every time
Your bike looks really cool dude!!
hello, liked the video - i must do something similar on my bike. here, in the uk, the weather is pretty awful and the authorities put salt on the roads in winter. the only thing that i am unsure about is keeping it looking good, i thought you might suggest a laquer?
High heat engine clear coat does a good job. Thanks for the comment!
@@GoldGuyRides much appreciated - sorry that should have been lacquer haha
Thanks I love what you’ve done, the bike looks great she is just beautiful, ride her with pride.
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I find that mag / aluminum polish and designed power buff cone ( about 30 dollars ) with an electric drill. Most already have this. Works sweet as well. Made my 78 Kawasaki KDM cases glow like a mirror.
It's very easy to do and very none harsh and gentle.
Goldguy, now you need a high rise pipe and high bars to match those tires. It would make a decent desert sled.
What is the fuel mixer do you set to get ur gs850 to run right
I use a wire wheel to clean up aluminum and it works pretty well.
You can use Easy-Off oven cleaner to clean the metal as well
Hey ,, is that you picking that Guitar ? Just wondering , Thanks for sharing 👍
Have you thought about put some neons on it
those 70's Suzuki scramblers were so cool and well designed