Just some retarted questions

Well here i go:
1. What entails taking a valve cover off? do i just losen the bolts, and pop it comes off? is there anything attached to the cover, and i know while im under there i should adjust the valves, but i have no clue how to. is there a how-to?
2. what do you need to do to paint on chrome? can you just paint rite on it? because on my old honda pipes, i want to slap a yamaha emblem on a nice part of chrome, and then paint the pipes black, pull off the logo, and then have black pipes with a chrome yamaha emblem. i do plan on taking a wire wheelon a grinder to the pipes, especially the rusty spots, but i dont want to get into the yamaha emblem with a dremmel and rough up the spaces in between, can it be done with some steel cloth
3. still looking for a borke, useless, or unwanted engine cover to practice sanding and polishing aluminum, also, whats wet sand paper? just sandpaper put under a faucet? I bought some dollar stor sand paper, that has coarse, medium, fine, and very fine, i want to just try using that stuff
sorry for the book

 

I'll throw in a few answers...

Yes, loosen the bolts to the valve cover and it should come right off. You may need to pry it a bit depending on how well affixed the gasket is. Search the forums for a how-to on valve adjustment. I don't recall seeing one, though.

I believe you need to use some steel wool or other abrasive to rough up the chrome for the paint to stick. Also, you'll want to clean them really well of all road grime. Use mineral spirits or the like.

Wet/dry sand paper is meant to be used either way. I used a small pan with warm water to soak my paper when I was doing my tank. It allows the paper to conform to the curves of whatever you're sanding. Also makes it so you can wash out the paper as it gums up. I did a little buffing on my engine covers this last summer and found that if you finish with 2000 grit, you'll get damned near a mirror shine. Pretty neat.

 

lol this dollar store stuff doent have a grit number, but man there is a whole butt load of it, i have like 4 9x11 sheets of 4 different kinds for a dollar..

 

schooter, dollar store sand paper is not near fine enough to buff/polish aluminum. you need to go to an automotive store and get some 'real' sand paper. Depending on how bad your covers are, start with 600 or 800 grit and work your way up to 2000 or higher if you want.

 

ya, on my covers that say yamaha, i sprayed some aircraft remover, WOW, took off the nasty tan enamel, and made it look like a dull mirror, but it really shows the scratched and road rash or what ever happened to my covers
so any sand paper can be "wet"

alrite, so now im asking for advise on how to bring back my covers, and i dont plan on taking them off, i know it helps, but how much in gaskets is this going to cost me? i plan on changing the oil too so thats no big deal
also, who has experience with steel wool and chrome?

 

No you have to purchase wet/dry sandpaper that uses more of a cloth material to hold the grit.
Regular sandpaper will fall apart when it's paper gets wet.

 

ya, i went to autozone, i bought some 220, 400, 800, and 1000 sandpaper, just couldnt find any 2000 sandpaper, i didnt feel like asking cuz that was already 16 bucks

 

I'm currently working on the "how to" for aircooled XJ valve adjustment. Stay tuned. Unless BADLY scratched, you won't need the 220, maybe not even the 400. Get yourself one of those rubber sanding blocks you buy at the hardware store, and start with 800 wet. WET. You will need to replace any gasket you 'disturb' the bike is 23 years old. Valve cover gasket and bolt donuts together are kinda expensive even from Chacal (twice as much from MamaYama.) I wouldn't go in there until you're ready for a valve adjustment. Lastly, steel wool=bad. Leaves minute particles of steel behind which can rust. Scotchbrite works the same, comes in different "grades" and is GOOD. Use Nev-R-Dull on your chrome.

 

alrite guys, ill psot some pics of what it looks like now and let you be the judge of what i need and dont need, cuz i would love to save $6, lol, naw but ill just trade the 220 and 400 for like 1500 and 2000, is there anything higher? what polish do you reccommend, and i plan to use it wet anyways..

Also, does anyone have experience sanding the fins on an aircooled?

umm lesse, the cover below the engine that the header pipes separate for is the oil filter cover, rite?
does anyone know the fram oil filter number? i printed the number off but i think i lost it.

 

You sand all the Parts out until there's nothing left but swirls form the Finishing Paper.
Then you Buff it out with Jewelers Rouges.

 

where do you get these jewlers rouges? what do they look like, and a how-to i googled said to use straight strokes, not "swirls"

 

http://www.widgetsupply.com/page/WS/PRO ... UP2-4ROUGE

 

Ok well i got some pics, The one good side i can get away starting at 800, but the other side, with the scratches, i may have to start at 220, those scrates are done dry however, not sure if wet helps alot, so please i would like some constructive criticism.
also, the black paint in the yamaha groove seems to have faded/disappeared, so what i want to do, is paint that part of my cover, and get some paint in the holes, and then fill the holes with clay, then use aircraft remover to get rid of the paint, and sand, then i will take out the clay.
The last picture is of the chrome i want to use steel wool, but bigfitz, are you telling me to use scotchbrite istead, or neither?

 

Most of what you see above is the clearcoat coming off. 2 weeks ago I did the covers on the CB they looked about the same, worse on the ignition cover as it had been layed over. Used Permatex spray gasket remover and a scotchbrite pad to remove the coating. Then used some 400, 800, 1500 to remove most of the scratches on the ignion cover then some of the rouge with a buffing wheel to bring it to a polished finish you could see yourself in. Used some press and seal to protect everything around the covers I did on the bike. The others I pulled, like the valve cover, alt cover, ect...

I wouldn't use steel wool on anything as it will leave particals behind in the metal which will rust. Looks like that chrome is pretty pitted. Might try some aluminum foil on it with some chrome polish.

 

You won't be needing 220.
220 is for sanding-out damage.

Before you put any SandPaper to that Aluminum try doing some "Burnishing" first.
You need a Mandrel that you can adapt for "Buffing" with some discs of ScotchBrite Pad.

To be able to use ScotchBrite Pad Discs you modify the Mandrel by adding hardware.

You need a Mandrel that will hold at least 3 ScotchBrite Discs.
To keep the ScotchBrite from NOT spinning ... add hardware at Both ends.

Place an "External Star Locking Washer" against the Discs on BOTH Sides.
Put a Nylon Flat washer outside of the Star washers to help compress the Star washers to the ScotshBrite material ... AND ... PREVENT the Star Washer from coming in contact with the surface and causing the aluminum to be deeply sctatched by the Star Washers teeth.

Make Discs of ScotchBrite GRAY (medium) ... By using a Sharpie and tracing around the edge of a Compact Disc.
Buff the Cases with ScotchBrite before you so ANY sanding.

https://www.findingking.com/p-20784-cot ... -2pcs.aspx

 

I am not sure how bad it was in the beginning, but 220 is pretty coarse for polishing work.

 

erm, did some sanding with sandpaper, just those scrateches you see tho, ill jsut buff them by hand then with scotch brite, i wont use 220..

 

ok, well all this different advise is getting me confused..
this is my plan...
1.Spraypaint the center of my covers black, the ones with the yamaha emblem
2. fill in the yamaha holes with clay
3. apply aircraft remover to get rid of the enamel and black paint
4. sand with 400
5. sand with 800
6. sand with 1000
7. sand with 2000
8. buff with a jewlers rouge, but i dont know how!! can i do it by hand or do i need a tool? what?

Please tell me what i'm doing wrong!!! if im not doing anything wrong tell me, i want to do this
Also Rick said to use scotch brite before i did anything, so i think ill do that.

 

http://www.hobbytool.com/aluminummetalpolishingkit.aspx

this seems liek a really good kit, but its 30 bucks... i may sand the bike and ask for this for christmas..

 

Hard Buffing Wheels
Medium Buffing Wheel
Soft Buffing Wheel
Sewn-up Buffers for applying force.

Different sized UN-sewn Buffers for finishing
Jewelers Rouges
Brown, Number 5, Number 6, ZAM Jewelery Polishing Compound (expensive; but sold in small quantities)
Mandrels for the Drill
Multi-speed, reversible drill.

 

lol what have i gotten into, sigh, so is this stuff like a clay? do you apply it to the buffing pad, and spin on... i cant even think of what scotchbrite is. is it a steel wool, or a sandpaper, or one of thsoe sandy sponge. I hate asking all these questions, but im shooting in the dark with this,
Thanks rick, for tolerating me.
Where did you get thsoe buffing wheels? if u made them im gonna say screw it, looks too hard, ill but them
and did you get the rouge from, internet? that website you sent me to? ugghh sorry for being so ignorant

 

and the only zam i could find was a bar, not a liquid, and it was like $3

 

got another question for 'yall, can i sand polish the front forks, the part with the oil in it and stuff, and expect almost the same results?
i think that ill have to do a how-to so people like me stop asking so many questions

 

Schooter you can get the buffing wheels for a drill like that from Home Depot or Sears. (I got mine at Home Depot, a whole "kit" with 3 wheels and a mandrel for like $10.) Scotchbrite is those green scrubby things that look like plastic steel wool about 1/4" thick they sell in the grocery store with the sponges and stuff. They also sell them in most paint departments in green and grey, they grey one is finer. Scotchbrite falls in between 800 wet and 1200 wet (sort of.) By the time you get to the 2000 wet you'll have a pretty nice shine. A word of advice: GO EASY especially with the coarser grits, even the 800. You won't need 220 and probably not 400 either.

 

ok, thank you. Ill just sand it for now, and worry about buffing it later, im giving Rick a hard time, asking hime to type essays for me about this stuff.
so, i think ill get to work, but no one has said anything bad about painting the covers and filling in the holes with clal, so i think ill start with that.
Also, on the one side cover with the scratches, i rubbed some 800 pretty brisk and hard over the chips, and it didnt take it out.
also, if i dont need 400, what should i use? 800, 1000, and 2000? is there a 1500 or somethng i should use?
mmk, fitz, what did you use on the buffers?

 

You're doing it right. The thing is to try the lowest grit needed to take out the spots. If 800 doesn't work. Use 600. If 600 doesn't do the trick, use 400, etc until you've gotten down to the correct grade to remove imperfections and then from there, you move on to finer grits to smooth everything out and finally get to the buffing stage.

The lower forks, yes you can do. Upper is a no no. You'll need to use aircraft remover before you do so to remove the clearcoat.

If you're going to paint the covers, then make sure it's sanded, very clean and primed then coated with an engine enamel. Personally, I think they look much sharper polished though. I wouldn't fill in the lettering.

 

No, i dont want to paint the cover, just the yamaha word. you see, ill paint the part fo the cover with the yamaha, then once it dries ill fill the hole in with a clay that doesn't dry. then i use aircraft remover to get rid of the black paint that isnt in the yamaha letters, and the paint remover wont tuch the yamaha letters cuz its cover with clay, then ill sand it down, remove the clay, and then ill have a shiney cover with nice black yamaha letters

 

You don't need to use paint remover to remove the excess paint. Just gently sand it away on your way to polishing the cover. Or, do what I do: Get the cover all sanded, buffed and polished. Use a q-tip with lacquer thinner to be sure the letters are CLEAN, and paint in with automotive touch-up paint, either by hand or spray. Then once the paint has dried to the touch (NOT "cured") take a "tight" rag (I use a doubled-up paper shop towel pulled tight over my finger) dampened with lacquer thinner and simply wipe away the excess paint.

 

Be careful of over polishing the fork are that contacts the fork seals. That area will work best cross hatched with 300-500 grit. If you do some googleing on fork tubes, you'll find this information. Apparently, the fork seals like to seat similar to piston rings. High polish on the tubes will actually promote fork oil leaks.

I'm not sure I agree with the 2000 grit for polishing. This would only be necessary if you arent switching to the jewlers rouge. When doing paint jobs, I go to 1000 wet dry, then switch to finer polishing compounds.

Be sure you use mineral spirits, or soapy water with your wet dry paper. Sanding residue is the worst enemy to polishing.

 

Here's how to paint the YAMAHA Logo.

Mask-off the Cover leaving the YAMAHA Logo exposed.
Spray the Logo with the Color.
Before the Paint dries:
Un-mash the Cover.

Take a T-shirt and cut some 6" squares.
Wrap a square around your finger and get the T-Shirt material DAMP with Thinner.
With the T-shirt material tight around your finger ... wipe-off the Overspray.
Use plenty of clean T-shirt sections.
Don't spread the paint with the T-Shirt ... just wipe it off and change the square.

You may have to do a few coats to get it looking Factory.
I wear a latex glove under the T-shirt.
I dampen the T-shirt and then touch a dry towel to make sure its not too damp.

That Logo will look as good as new after two or three coats.

 

what is with people thinking im polishing the fork tubes, just the part that attacked to the front wheel, not the part that goes inside the toehr part, just the part that has the tubes go inside it, and i dont know what it it called.

 

You have to do a lot of Prep on the Lower's before you Buff them out to a nice mirror-finished looking shine.

I did the "Sanding-out" of these ... with a Pneumatic Dual-Action Sander.
I took my parts to a Body Shop and worked-out a deal with the owner.
For the pleasure of being able to use a D-A Sander and air to do my parts ... I did errands running-around to get stuff he needed for his shop.

He was able to stay and get time in on the jobs he had going at the shop; rather than having to run-out to get some paint, hardware, coffee -- whatever!

If you set yourself up in a little corner of an Auto Body Shop and get to use an air-powered, dual-action sander on your parts ... you are going to be able to get so much done in just a few hours ... that all the HARD work in prepping for Aluminum Polishing can get done in a couple of afternoons -- after school.

 

Rick,
I'm jealous of your lowers..

 

I have covers that are in better shape than that if you're interested... 81 xj650 engine...

 

ugghh, i may jut use aircraft remover to get rid of the primer, and then buff the crap out of them, then maybe they'll be nice, and i can avoid sanding them
moonfried, im not sure if they will fit, but how much are you asking?

 

ok well im officiall beginning this, and ill try to do a how-to

 

for those yamaha logos, just go to walmart, get a black touch up paint, and carefully spread the paint into the logo, have a rag with minirel spirits handy for any mistakes. if i can get my cam to work ill get some pics of mine, but befor i put the paint into the wording i painted mine with a high quality gray/silver caliper paint to help hide the small scratches in the covers, it turned out good except for one of the larger scratches is still visible. ive heard a good lead based solder and a mapp gas torch can fill them scratches in.

 

Wow that was a read.
All good advice.
I just finished painting my car so I know what you're in for.
If you want to do it right it is a huge amount of work.
If you do it wrong it will look like you didn't take the time to do it right.
It took me 2 weeks to prep for paint, every spare minute, weekends, no body work just prep.
Taping ran into 3 rolls, thank god for harbor frieght.
The actual painting was a breeze.
A drill and some wheels are going to be essential for you, on the car I used a buffer.
Wet sandpaper is your friend, it leaves less scratches, the water cleans the paper so it doesn't clog and not sand.
1500 is super fine after that you are into rubbing compounds, then polishes.
So don't worry about finer paper.
The advice about the Yammi lettering is right on.
Let the paint setup a bit then use a slightly damp rag with thinner, acetone, mineral spirits, to wipe up the excess.

 

ok, well here's the update, after abut 2-3 hours, im almost dont sanding one cover... just with 800 grit, just have some touchy spots to do. as far as the yamaha logos, well im gonan do those until the end, i tried on both sided, on side the paint stayed on really nice, but got washed away by my wet sand paper, lol. Then the other side, well when ever i tried to spray it, the paint would bead and well, it didn't work, can anyone tell me why? was it too cold? should i start up the engine,let it run and then see whats up

 

It should be 60 plus degrees to paint, for proper drying.

 

The paint isn't going to adhere to any surface that has been shined or waxed or finished-off with anything silicone related in it.
Wipe-of the surface you are going to paint with lacquer thinner and shoot it after it dries-off.

Don't shoot Color directly on the Aluminum.
Prime the Aluminum
Sand-out the primer
Then, blow-on the color.