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Varnish

[email protected]
 

Hi all,

For some reason relatively all of the varnish on the engine sides and even the metal bevel cover started cracking and coming off. Reckon some cleaning agent must have attacked it. Ive seen some badly oxidized w650s and wondered if there was any success in preventing that? Or re-vsrnish simehow without disassembly?
 

Hi
" They all do that "
?Mine is a 2006 and both external cases have peeled, so I just cleaned them, then polished them with Autosol , then sprayed with furniture polish , still look good years later ! Too much grief to re-lacquer ! [ unless you're doing? a " rebuild " ]
regards Derek UK


On Tue, 28 Mar 2023 at 15:40, drewwils via <drewwils=[email protected]> wrote:
Hi all,

For some reason relatively all of the varnish on the engine sides and even the metal bevel cover started cracking and coming off. Reckon some cleaning agent must have attacked it. Ive seen some badly oxidized w650s and wondered if there was any success in preventing that? Or re-vsrnish simehow without disassembly?

 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

P.S. to that: ?I tested mine years ago and determined to my satisfaction at least that the factory coating is not lacquer - it¡¯s the stuff beginning with ¡°poly¡­¡±

Ruari McLennan

On Mar 28, 2023, at 8:37 AM, Derek Palmer <ducatiderek@...> wrote:

Hi
" They all do that "
?Mine is a 2006 and both external cases have peeled, so I just cleaned them, then polished them with Autosol , then sprayed with furniture polish , still look good years later ! Too much grief to re-lacquer ! [ unless you're doing? a " rebuild " ]
regards Derek UK

On Tue, 28 Mar 2023 at 15:40, drewwils via <drewwils=[email protected]> wrote:
Hi all,

For some reason relatively all of the varnish on the engine sides and even the metal bevel cover started cracking and coming off. Reckon some cleaning agent must have attacked it. Ive seen some badly oxidized w650s and wondered if there was any success in preventing that? Or re-vsrnish simehow without disassembly?



Bob Lombardi
 

Polyurethane ? ? That stuff is pretty durable,? but requires special safety precautions when using.

Bob

On Tuesday, March 28, 2023 at 08:44:55 AM PDT, Ruari McLennan <ruari.mclennan@...> wrote:


P.S. to that: ?I tested mine years ago and determined to my satisfaction at least that the factory coating is not lacquer - it¡¯s the stuff beginning with ¡°poly¡­¡±

Ruari McLennan

On Mar 28, 2023, at 8:37 AM, Derek Palmer <ducatiderek@...> wrote:

Hi
" They all do that "
?Mine is a 2006 and both external cases have peeled, so I just cleaned them, then polished them with Autosol , then sprayed with furniture polish , still look good years later ! Too much grief to re-lacquer ! [ unless you're doing? a " rebuild " ]
regards Derek UK

On Tue, 28 Mar 2023 at 15:40, drewwils via <drewwils=[email protected]> wrote:
Hi all,

For some reason relatively all of the varnish on the engine sides and even the metal bevel cover started cracking and coming off. Reckon some cleaning agent must have attacked it. Ive seen some badly oxidized w650s and wondered if there was any success in preventing that? Or re-vsrnish simehow without disassembly?



 

Yes, polyurethane, that's the stuff I thought it was.? Lacquer remover didn't touch it.

Ruari

On Tue, Mar 28, 2023 at 8:58?AM Bob Lombardi <chiplom@...> wrote:
Polyurethane ? ? That stuff is pretty durable,? but requires special safety precautions when using.

Bob

On Tuesday, March 28, 2023 at 08:44:55 AM PDT, Ruari McLennan <ruari.mclennan@...> wrote:


P.S. to that: ?I tested mine years ago and determined to my satisfaction at least that the factory coating is not lacquer - it¡¯s the stuff beginning with ¡°poly¡­¡±

Ruari McLennan

On Mar 28, 2023, at 8:37 AM, Derek Palmer <ducatiderek@...> wrote:

Hi
" They all do that "
?Mine is a 2006 and both external cases have peeled, so I just cleaned them, then polished them with Autosol , then sprayed with furniture polish , still look good years later ! Too much grief to re-lacquer ! [ unless you're doing? a " rebuild " ]
regards Derek UK

On Tue, 28 Mar 2023 at 15:40, drewwils via <drewwils=[email protected]> wrote:
Hi all,

For some reason relatively all of the varnish on the engine sides and even the metal bevel cover started cracking and coming off. Reckon some cleaning agent must have attacked it. Ive seen some badly oxidized w650s and wondered if there was any success in preventing that? Or re-vsrnish simehow without disassembly?



Bob Lombardi
 

BTW ? Lacquer and Varnish are two different things.?? Varnish is mainly for wood and I don't think it would stand up to the heat of an engine very long.?? Lacquer doesn't like gasoline getting on it.?? Enamel does fine that way.
However nothing seems to last forever.???
I took all the peeling coating off my my 1963 Honda years ago and did what you did.?? I polished the engine cases and left it that way.??? It could always be painted again any time if needed to make it look original.

On Tuesday, March 28, 2023 at 03:21:52 PM PDT, Ruari McLennan <ruari.mclennan@...> wrote:


Yes, polyurethane, that's the stuff I thought it was.? Lacquer remover didn't touch it.

Ruari

On Tue, Mar 28, 2023 at 8:58?AM Bob Lombardi <chiplom@...> wrote:
Polyurethane ? ? That stuff is pretty durable,? but requires special safety precautions when using.

Bob

On Tuesday, March 28, 2023 at 08:44:55 AM PDT, Ruari McLennan <ruari.mclennan@...> wrote:


P.S. to that: ?I tested mine years ago and determined to my satisfaction at least that the factory coating is not lacquer - it¡¯s the stuff beginning with ¡°poly¡­¡±

Ruari McLennan

On Mar 28, 2023, at 8:37 AM, Derek Palmer <ducatiderek@...> wrote:

Hi
" They all do that "
?Mine is a 2006 and both external cases have peeled, so I just cleaned them, then polished them with Autosol , then sprayed with furniture polish , still look good years later ! Too much grief to re-lacquer ! [ unless you're doing? a " rebuild " ]
regards Derek UK

On Tue, 28 Mar 2023 at 15:40, drewwils via <drewwils=[email protected]> wrote:
Hi all,

For some reason relatively all of the varnish on the engine sides and even the metal bevel cover started cracking and coming off. Reckon some cleaning agent must have attacked it. Ive seen some badly oxidized w650s and wondered if there was any success in preventing that? Or re-vsrnish simehow without disassembly?



 

I used to ride upstate New York roads where they salted them heavily in the winter. I don't think the salt ever got washed off until well into summer, so over the years the clear coat on my engine casings got pitted and oxidized.?



Over the last year I finally got around to using paint stripper and sandpaper to get all the old clear coat off and then polished the cases.?



They don't use salt in Oregon, though now the problem is the wildfire ash which gets everywhere and creates a caustic solution when it gets wet.
 
Edited

After stripping off the clear coat, I started with a mouse sander loaded with 220, then used progressively lighter grits by hand; 400, 600, 1000, etc., to get the oxidation off.??I used a Dremel tool with wire brushes to get into the tiny spaces like the screw holes.?Once I got all the oxidation off and had a relatively smooth surface I used aluminum polish, there's a kit from Harbor Freight that includes enough different wheels and other shapes and several grades of polish.?I used those with my old Rotozip plugged into a speed controller (also from Harbor Freight) to gradually polish it to a shine. (An electric drill would work just as well.) I cleaned the surfaces with a rag dipped in mineral spirits to get each grade of polish off before using the next lighter grade.?

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