Rad and clean up

[phil on a fazer]

Afternoon

Seems my forks are at Revs Racing at the mo I'm using the time to clean up the whole front end of the bike.

Droped the rad off earlier (about 60% of coolant ended up on the floor) and noticed the paint is flaking and bubbling. Was thinking of rubbing it down (emery cloth?) and re spraying it. What paint would i use though and were do i get it from? (need it a.s.a.p)

Also the front of the rad is full of insects and general s**t, whats the best what to clean it up without damaging the anything?



Also the down pipe nuts/studs and especially the collars are looking very rusty. I have some brand new nuts that i will use and i will clean up the studs, autosol the top of the down pipes but is there anything i can do to the collars? hammerite paint or like the rad will it need to be heat resistant?



Also got tiny bits of rust on the frame and brace bars that i will clean up and touch up with some paint. Also going to put small blobs of grease on all other nuts/bolts/hose clips and so on as the front of the bike does get very dirty/wet and is hard to clean when the forks and rad are back on. (bikes used all year round)

cheers
Phil

[bludclot]

for your rad i suggest putting it over a bucket and pouring many kettle-fulls of boiling water through it. gentle agitation with a long bristle brush helps too. i tried a few things to dislodge the accumulation of road grime and insects etc. from the finned area when i did mine, repeated boiling water seemed most effective.

with regards refinishing, i straightened as many fins as my patience allowed and harshly sanded back (started with 240 grit iirc) the black sides until smooth where corroded. i then primed any exposed metal and satin blacked the whole rad. i used only standard aerosol primer and black for this and it's lasted this year without peeling or deteriorating so far. paint loves a bit of heat.... i use concept chemicals' aerosols for primers and basic colours, they are around £5 and streets ahead of anything sold on the high street. my local paint factor stock them.

as far as your down pipe collars go i think attacking them with a wire brush on a grinder might be the go. it's then pretty simple to mask the pipes and either brush paint or aerosol them. simoniz aluminium engine silver is cheap (£5 from euro car parts) doesn't require primer and heat resistant if you can live with them being silver....

[phil on a fazer]

So with painting the rad its a case of rubbing down the flaky/bobbled bits but leaving the areas that are o.k? then prime the rubbed down area and leave to dry. Then a few light coats a black spray all over (the sides I'm on about, not the fins) So do you need to cure it?

i guess painting the frame is the same....bit more awkward though. Could do with primer that i can use a small brush to paint on the rusty areas (which i will rub down first). Don't fancy using a spray can, even with bits taped up it could still go horribly wrong.

might be a trip to Halfords  , as i need to get a move on getting this done.

[bludclot]

yep, you got it. curing will happen with air time, so long as it's above 4 degrees or so. i generally bring loose painted things into the lounge and bake them in front the fire (i have an understanding missus) but it's not necessary. once you've put black on the sides i think you'll end up blacking the fins too. it will come up like brand new.

the frame with aerosols is easier than you think. rub down (and skim fill if necessary) any affected areas, mask everything but the frame (some patience, masking tape and newspaper will do) and prime. have a little practice on something off the bike first, even a piece of card will give you the distance away and spray duration guidence needed. then sand with say 600 or 800 grit and then spray colour and lacquer if necessary. (i have the brownish frame and silver engine, 2 coats of lacquer gave me a good match, not sure on whether the black frames are lacquered.) each coat needs to be a slightly bigger area than the last and flick the can away at the edges to blend. once dried and hardened (a couple of days) compound it back and polish. an invisible repair is not difficult, prep and patience are the keys. even a slightly visible repair is better than a rust patch or scratch.

all the above assumes an indoor reasonably clean environment is available to work in.

[Capt]

Try this is really works, a bit expensive but whilst your 'rad' is off.

[tomjimtom]

I did the same thing a few months ago, had the rad out to put in justy's AIS kit (really good)
my rad was the same as yours.

All I did was sand down the bad bits, halfords primer, halfords black, halfords lacquer.


Although I've only been about 100 miles since, so can't say how well it'll hold up!

I also painted the plastic side protectors, because I think it looks better black, and they've held up perfectly in the same time frame

Tom

[phil on a fazer]

CAPT: wow...thats shiny. The whole front of your bike seems super clean.

So far I've sanded the rusty bits on the frame, started sanding the rad (and getting all the dead bugs out the fins), sanded the exhaust collars and started cleaning up the studs. All the flange nuts came off slightly easier than i thought (due to plusGas) but i couldn't shift one.....i thought i was turning off till i realised it was the stud turning out.  :\

all this came out of just taking my forks out for an overhaul, then i thought i mights as well repack the head bearings, then i thought i will drop the rad off to clean up, that gave me access to the exhaust studs and rust by the head tube, then i noticed a thermo connector that was unplugged. Now I'm thinking i might get the plugs out as i have easy access and gap/clean them.

Once its all back together....time for a new rear shock 

[tomjimtom]

Once its all back together....time for a new rear shock 

don't forget the rear wheel bearings, the linkage bearings, you can clean up the rear of the engine if you take the swing arm out, the swing arm bearings, whilst you've got the swing arm off, new chain?

:lol

[Capt]

"Phil on a Fazer."
Granted I don’t ride mine in winter but my headers where in similar shape as yours & the ‘Yoshi’ Stain-Magic got them to the shine I have now.  I just keep on top of them giving the nuts & flange bolts a brush coating of ACF50 after each ride & wash to stop the 'Rot'. 
I got the ‘Yoshi’ stuff from an ebayer based in Glossop, ‘Easybike’.
It’s really worth the effort if you want to bother cleaning up your headers.  There is another product called ‘Blue Job Super Concentrated polish' that Performance Motorcare Products sells, that is supposed to do the same job.

[phil on a fazer]

Going to take my Rad and bracket to work so i can spray them in a nice warm workshop.

BUT......

my bike is in my en-block garage with no elecy or heating. I need to paint a bit of the frame before i start putting the front end back together.....thing is, will the primer & paint set with it being so cold?  :\

[cable tie]

will the primer & paint set with it being so cold?  :\

Dont bother painting without some form of heat it will be a waist of time its too cold, if no electric have you got a blow lamp! or blow torch as some call em, if so slightly heat the frame where you intend to paint dont hold the naked flame direct to frame waft the flame across the frame a couple times until warm than apply your primer do the same waft the flame across the paint to enable it to dry and wait till fully dry and do the same with top coat.

I must point out if by chance you set your garage and bike on fire im not responsible ....

[phil on a fazer]

i did think of a blow torch...then i thought about the plastic fairing...the wiring.....oh..and petrol!  :eek

thing is though....reckon its my only option. :\ . just need to get a blow torch now. I was thinking originally if there was something i could heat up in the microwave than put on the frame to try and warm it up...need to be really hot though. The only thing i find ridiculously hot from the mic is porridge.  :lol