RickCoMatic's Custom Max Added to My Gallery

The photographs of my finished 1983 - XJ750MK (It was a Midnight Max; now it's closer to Noon) Maxim have made it to My Gallery.

I really like it. I hope you will too. Took me two years to do all the work.

All new seals and bearings. Shined it up, a bit, here and there.

And now ... thanks to ColorTune ... she's right, smack-dab, on the razor's edge of fine tuning.

This is my Masterpiece. I'm getting too damn old to devote all that energy into doing another restore.

 

Looks real good, nice job RickCo

 

Pretty, well done to you!

 

Sweet!!!

 

Thanks very much. It was pretty slow, coming along. The members on another forum were razzing me pretty good about the time I took polishing-up everything. I missed the first "Roll-out" because it wasn't painted; yet.

But, when it all came together ... it was worth the wait.

 

Looks Great Rick! 2 Years huh… With 3 young kids and that fact that I get time to work on my bike in 20 min. blocks I think it will take me 10 years to get mine even close but hey by then my 82 650 maxim will be an antique. LOL I am thinking about doing some polish work on the mill over the winter got any pointers for bringing the covers up to a shine?

 

looks real good Rick doesnt matter it took two years at least you know you did everything right and the results are awesome.

 

Strip the clear coat off. Depending on the quality of the finish on the part to be polished ... you might have to do some "graduated sanding-out" to bring it out to where you can start the polishing sequence.

I had a access to a small, compressed-air powered, palm, dual-action, sander. I started some parts out at 320 and went up from there.
320, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200 and then 1500 grit finishing papers.

After the 1500 treatment your almost home.

Using separate buffing wheels attached to my drill ... I sequenced the polishing; too.

Jewelers Rouge's.

Brown sets-up the piece with a uniform finish and removes the mini-swirls that the finishing papers leave.
White polishes the aluminum and creates the nice "glow" that just needs one more stem to get the "Mirror" look.
Number-5 puts the mirror on it.
Number-6 makes it look just like its made of glass. Your aluminum parts will look like you bought them at Tiffany's!

Kinda like this:

 

Wow Rick that’s fabulous! Of course if I use your method I’ll have to up my 10 years to 15 years but you did one heck of a job! On the chance that I do get to start this project what did you use to strip the clear coat (mines all yellow) paint thiner?

 

Most everything came off in stages. The stuff I used to get the black and the clear-coat off, was "Airplane" Paint Remover. Comes in a spray can. Foams-up on the part and makes the paint -- bubble -- and the clear -- melt or dissolve.

I used aluminum foil to mask-off places where I didn't want the paint remover accidentally messing-up something with an errant over-spray.

There were places on that engine that needed an application of the really strong - "AutoBody" paint remover. Moments after it's applied; the paint bubbles, shrivels and falls off.

To get into the nooks and crannies -- Q-Tips! Loads of 'em. I went through two, 400-count, blister-packs of Q-Tips. Using them to dab the strong paint remover - on ... and, wipe-out the area after the remover softened-up the -- rattle-canned flat-black that the PO shot on everything.
Then, another attack on the stubborn black coating Yamaha put on.

I had a whole, severe, long, New England Winter to do most of the work.
It was nice to have the bike to work on; rather than doing a Jack Nicholson, running berserk with a fire ax!

 

Again great job! And i'm glad you didn't walk into the house yelling HERE'S JOHNNY! LOL