Bling bling!

[Dammit!]

I couldn't resist. :lol:

The first one is blurry but just there for comparison. I did the stator cover by hand. The clutch cover was done by a pro. BIG difference!

[Racedude48]

DAAAM... thats sexy. :-D

[Oldshell4481]

what are the covers made of and how can i do that

[twgranger]

WOW them look great.

[90nut]

oldshell, they are aluminum just like most (if not all) honda side covers and cases.

Dammit! they look great, only thing is though how do you plan on keeping them like that? You gonna clean them and polish after every couple of rides? I was going to do the same thing to my tecate but I found some hi-temp clear coat that I was thinkink about spraying on them to keep them looking good. But I don't know how great it would hold up, and the clear is manufactured for automotive applications so I dont know. But any ways looks great!

[ChrisD]

I polished my whole gearbox years ago. It will stay shiny for a while, but will begin to look like your stator cover. You will need a good buffing wheel and good polish to make it look nice again. You just need to do a little more work on your stator cover to make it shine like the clutch cover.

My motor is semi shiny now.....it's too much work to make it super shiny for only a short time. Lookin' good though. Good luck.

[Dammit!]

I live in a dry climate so it will stay shiny for at least a while. I was going to see if theres a small dremel like polishing attachment to maintain it. My stator cover looked a little better when I first did it but nothing like that clutch cover.

[Huffa]

Dammit
That looks fantastic! I can only imagine how long that must of took!

How long did it take? How do you get in to the tiniest of crevices?

I did mine too on my motoxer but not to near that degree becuase of just what was said about the dull factor. Can aluminum be chrome plated? It actually looks like it is now!

Niiiiiiiiice Job!!!!!!!!!!!!! :beer

PS It's so shiney that if you camp out you can use that as a mirror in the morning to shave and floss your teeth! :lol:

[Darius1502]

Dammit,

Wow man...some serious bling right there!!

[BigAir660R]

yeah ive got a buddy that uses a dremmel

[Mike Fort Laud]

Polished aluminum will water spot..... I do one of two things on the aircraft motors I build. House of Colors (paint brand) makes a clear primer called Adherto adhesion promoter. I then spray clear Imrom paint. It will look shiney for ever. I also have my billet aluminum valve covers clear powdercoated. It will also keep them new looking. Or go buy a LARGE can of Mothers polish and a bunch on soft towels..
Mike

[69HemiGTX]

Wow, that is bright. Since it has been mentioned, and I am considering it, will the clear powdercoat ever turn yellow? I would hate to have to strip it later on.

[trikes=fun]

:w00t: :w00t: :w00t: :w00t: :w00t: :w00t: :w00t: :naughty: :naughty: :naughty: Dahm!!!!! those are nice must of been alot of work NICE JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Troll 2]

You may be suprised how long the super highly polished aluminum will last. It wont dull as easily as a partially or poorly polished part does. Plus it doesnt take much to bring it back after a few years. Seems like trail debris, scuffs and wear are more of a problem on up keep. Nice job..........................:beer

[Dammit!]

I didn't do this piece. I paid a metal finishing shop 50 bucks to do the clutch cover and water pump cover. Worth every penny. It took me HOURS to do the stator cover which is a pretty simple piece and it didn't come out nearly as nice as this.

The "oil check" lettering was nearly erased when I first picked the parts up. I took it back later and asked him to just grind it all way off and smooth it out. You can't tell it ever said anything there now. Took him all of 60 seconds.

[Tecate4life]

Dammit....Nice, Nice, Nice... Spend the extra $ and have it clear anodized... nothing works better...

[Aussieduner]

Very very nice,Aussie likes the shiney stuff !!!!

[Dammit!]

Dammit....Nice, Nice, Nice... Spend the extra $ and have it clear anodized... nothing works better...

I didn't even know there was such a thing as clear anodizing...

[Mr. Sandman]

Dammit, yeah baby yeah! The bling will last for quite a while with minimal effort in the dry environment. I did mine 2 years ago and it's still pretty blingy, but it cleans up quickly with a little Mother's and elbow grease. It also adds a good 5-6 HP as well!

[edog]

Looks good...hope it last.

[AZ250R]

NICE piece-O-Trike Porn! Now I know what mine looked like sometime before I ever owned it. ;)
I did just hit mine with a quick rub of Mothers and its about half as shiny as Dougs newly done one.

[1984kxtTECATE]

Did you use the good ole can of polish? I was lucky, my uncle has a hard wheel polshier set up, with different polishing bricks. It makes a differance when you have the right tools to work with, I used a dremmel for my carb and thermo stat housing. A little more lenghty with the dremmel but you still get great results.

[Darius1502]

Would it have been possible to have the case chome plated? I know that will last longer for sure.

[1984kxtTECATE]

Would it have been possible to have the case chome plated? I know that will last longer for sure.

Yes its possible, Ive seen it on my grandpa's classic Triumph. I dont recall what he paid.

[Kintore]

:w00t:

Looks awesome dammit!
I was thinking of doing the same thing, but I ride in wetter conditions than you do and I dont think it would be worth it. Too too much maintenice. Very nice looking, cant wait to see the very final picture of it all complete.:drool:

[Somekindofjerk]

I love the look but how long will the shine last without somehow protecting it. I have been told that clearcoat is not so clear on shiny alluminum?

[Dammit!]

Even once it starts to dull a little bit it still looks better than 20 year old cracked and fading paint. :lol:

I'll try and get a comparison shot tomorrow out in the sunlight. The stator cover was done by hand months ago and still looks good. It doesn't have the mirror finish like the other side but still looks nice.

I'm interested in that clear anodizing that was mentioned. That might be the ultimate solution.

It's just about back together. Just a couple odds and ends left. Clutch feels much better now. Still stiffer than I would like but a very noticable improvement and it still hasn't been started up to get the oil circulating yet.

The case is kinda dirty from my hands but check out the reflection of the antifreeze containers. :naughty:

[Somekindofjerk]

Youve got to see this. The stuff you anodize is like an alluminum powdercoat! and it looks damn good on the parts. maybey i will check this out too.

http://www.focuser.com/atm/anodize/anodize.html

[2XTREME]

Nice link.I may have to try that.I just ordered a plastic and aluminum polishing kit off of ebay.$38.00 shipped.Can't hardley beat it.It comes with a bunch of different size buffing wheels and cones,and all of the bars of compound for all sorts of metals.I'm sure the guy has a bunch more if any one wants the item # for ebay let me know.
X:twisted:
I polished this boost bottle yesterday with a dremel and Artisan Metal Polish.It was way dull when I bought it.

[Somekindofjerk]

Now your engines dull! best get to pollishing that huh?

[2XTREME]

Yeh no kidding.That is definatly in the future.That is also why I ordered that kit.I hope it turns out to be a nice kit.Can't beat the money.
X:D

[Somekindofjerk]

Wonder if you can get a sandblaster to do that. one with a low pressure fine grit would shine it rught up. wonder if this is a marketed item. ill have to look.

[2XTREME]

I use a sand blaster for getting the paints off and it always dulls it bad.I am sure you are right about a finer grit,But I don't think it would ever shine without some elbow grease.
X

[Somekindofjerk]

http://www.old-engine.com/abrasive.shtml

looks to me like he baught really expensive equiptment but im sure a cheap one will work just as well.

[2XTREME]

I would love to have a bead blaster in my shop.Like he states on that sight.you have to have a good size air compressor.I have a smaller one.Perfect for what I do,but not for blasting.
X

[Yamahauler]

Has anyone had a part powdercoated an aluminum color? Can you get it shiny? I was thinking I might do that to my motor.

[2XTREME]

There is a brush on anodize looking product by POR15.I am a distributor for it but have never tried it.I used there paint all the time.This stuff is literaly like liquid powercoating.the stuff is rock hard,and shiny.They claim you cannot chip it.If you are interested i can try to get you a web site.I need to try there anodizing kit.it claims paint it on any polished shiney surface and it will look killer anodized.there pictures are impressive in the catalog and it comes in 8 colors.All of there product is self leveling so it doesn't show stroke marks.You can probably do a search on google and find it.Great product.That is what my frame is out of right now.
X

[Dammit!]

Has anyone had a part powdercoated an aluminum color? Can you get it shiny? I was thinking I might do that to my motor.


It's called "like chrome". I'm considering doing one of my frames in it like this guy.
http://www.3wheeler.org/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=21169

[kimmer250r]

Spend the money and get the proper wheels and rouges to do it yourself. A dremel doesn't work for polishing. I put 4 6" wheels stacked on my bench grinder and bought the polishing rouges from southwest metal. Looks like the stuff you had done for $50. Of course, $50 is a great price and saves you the time of not having to do it, not to mention the black spray of rouge all over your garage that you have to clean up.

[Muddy200x]

Looks real nice. I love the polished look. These guys can give it to you without the elbow grease.
http://www.finishlinecoatings.com/