Mook's 82 XJ750 Max redo

Hey Mook, Have you seen that new paint that is really close to being spray on chrome plating? Check out YOUTUBE, search under chrome paint. I plan on using it for my side covers and air box trim.

 

If you are talking about the environmentally friendly chroming spray, then yes. It looks like a really good finish, but from what I have seen, the equipment to spray it is quite expensive, and just for a few parts does not seem a wise investment for me.

I have yet to find a rattle can or otherwise sprayable chrome that suits me.

 

No Mook, I'm talking about this stuff that comes in a can and all you need is a common paint sprayer set up. I'll look on YouTube and get back to you when I have the info.

 

I apologize Mook, I thought I saw a product for DIY spray chroming but I guess I'm wrong, but check out the paint shops for the spray on stuff, it looks great on plastics.

 

Got the exhaust gaskets in today and installed. I started on the side covers, and ran into issues. After knocking off some of the corroded spots, I found some really heavy pitting. I hadn't really paid them that much attention until now, and they are pitted too bad to even sand down and get a remotely smooth surface for polishing. I was so disgusted with it, I just stopped working on it for the day.




But after thinking on it some more, I will try some metal filler stuff I saw in the parts store to smooth over the pits. Then I will sand it and try some of the rattle can chrome to try and get somewhat of a polished look to it. More to come on this, I will post pics of progress.

 

Thank you MOOK! for showing me that the side covers have a METAL part to them. They are so light I thought they were made entirely of composite. After seeing your pic I went out to my shed and sure enough it cleaned up just fine with my Dremel wire wheel. If mine were as bad as yours, I would take it apart, fill in the pits with solder, smooth it out and have it Chrome plated.

 

Yep, that was what I was using on mine was a dremel. The corrosion completely hid the pitting, and I haven't even attempted to clean up the other one yet. I have thought about just sending them to my chromer, but he is in the northwest corner of the state, and about the only one around that I trust. Unfortunately, he is also expensive. There is a $50 minimum for any chroming work, which is completely reasonable. However, it would cost me considerable more with the repairs that will have to be made, not to mention the round trip shipping. I will eventually get around to chroming several parts on the bike (all engine covers except the valve cover, footpeg brackets front and rear, rear handrails, sidecover trim pieces, header tubes, and collector heat shields) and I wanted to send all of it in at one time because he said he would lower his price for a good size run of parts.

But.... I do like to try new stuff and I haven't tried to do do surface restoration on pitted aluminum before. If the pits were not so deep, I would go after them good with a fine grit belt on the drum sander and remove a $h!t load of metal. So, instead, I will try the metal filler goupe in a tube and see how it does (nothing like being the product guinea pig :cry: ). I will give it a shot and post pics of the steps.

LV, did you polish yours back out to a mirror sheen? The areas of mine that were in good shape polished quite nicely.

 

I did work on one of them with Ajax cleanser, an SOS pad and a green weenie. I'm not sure what kind of finish I want, brushed or polished; I guess I'll do one of each and see which one I like.

 

The most success I have had with polishing the aluminium on these bike is with sandpaper and wd-40. 400/800/1500, and then 2000 while keeping the paper wet with wd-40.

 

Well, the chrome paint idea was a flop. The pits filled in well, but the paint just doesn't look like chrome at all, or even have a remote resemblance to it. I am actually ashamed to even post a pic. Back to the drawing board...

 

Someone must have some spare side covers.

 

There seems t be plenty of left covers, but not right :cry: Anywho... I am just going to deal with it for now. The only reason I wanted to get the polish look on the trim pieces was to stay close to the stock look. But, I can use the covers to make molds, and fashion some out of fiberglass if need be.

 

I am still debating on what to do with my side covers. I did see a set on ebay, but for what the seller wants for them, I can get mine chromed, and didn't want to invest that much right now. I have thought about doing maybe a 2 tone paint job. With the pewter on the tank and plastic pieces on the side covers, what do you all think about base white on the trim rings on the side covers, and maybe the same white on the sides of the tank? On the tank, it would be taping out off a sideways teardrop shape that follows the shape of the tank.

 

Don't use steel wool/sos pads when polishing aluminum, as particles of the steel can embed in the soft aluminum and little specs of rust can show up later down the road when theres moisture.

best bet imho is to use aircraft stripper to remove the clearcoat, and then sand them with wetsandpaper. thats what i did with mine:

Before:



After:



I know yours are in worse shape, but alot can be said for a bit of elbow grease and some wetsand. I stopped at 3000 grit as i'm more a fan of the matte aluminum look rather than the polished look.

 

Also - I would just keep an eye out for a used set of covers - getting some chromed would just be fiscally silly.

reason that there are so many more lefts than rights is that many were lost when taken off to access the battery. However they do indeed exist.

This guy is on crystal meth: 8O
http://www.ebay.com/itm/82-83-Yamaha-XJ ... 3d&vxp=mtr

For that price i'd sell you mine that look nice! :lol:

 

mtnbikecrazy, that is exactly what I wanted and intended to do to mine. But, some of those pits you see in the pics are almost completely thru the piece. There would just be nothing left after sanding them down smooth. The left cover is in great shape and doesn't have any pitting.

 

yeah, that pitting is real bad.

I'd say just be patient and just check ebay daily, one is bound to show up.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/YAMAHA-XJ750-XJ ... 7675.l2557

probably will only be around 30-50 shipped when one comes up. If the inner plastic is junk you can always swap out that part from yours.

 

The inner plastic is good and I have already re-painted them.

 

Hi guys, MBC thanks for the advise but I have done some experimenting on mine, they are actually in better shape than yours, I have some mottling, but no pits or other marks. The SOS pad and cleanser worked ok, but it was slow going so I'll try 1200 grit wet or dry and finish off with 2000 grit. I'm not sure why the right sides are so rare, both sides are held on with screws in addition to grommets, my guess is theft.

MBC, did you clear coat your covers after you were done sanding?