Raw engine cases, how do you treat Them

[rd400greenhorn]

So, got My rd400 engine cases water polished

How do I go about treating Them, Any experince?

Should i just heat clear coat Them a bit and leave it at that?
FUI i do like aluminium colour and or silver spray for engine cases

[m in sc]

mine were vapor honed a few years ago (4+). still look great.  before assembly, i sprayed them brake clean, dried, then sprayed with wd40 and wiped them down. this keeps the pores from oxidizing.  i then cleaned the case halves where they seal with lacquer thinner on a rag, then assembled. id never paint them.

cerakote? different story, id def do that. i think danny did that to his frame, but it looks great on aluminum too. 

[rd400greenhorn]

Okay, thats interesting. So just wd 40 and it stays nice

Might consider that for sure :)

[AAAltered]

About five years ago I did Cericoat on pipes, it looked great *but* did not stand the test of time.  Maybe cases would be different...

Before coating


After coating


About five years later

[Jspooner]

I bead blast all of my cases when I do a rebuild. I don't treat them with anything and I haven't seen any issues. Of course it's really going to depend on the environment they are in most of the time. Where I live it's typically pretty dry most of the time and my bikes stay inside. If you live near salt water or in real humid air most of the time then I suppose you could have issues.

[m in sc]

not a great picture, but took  this last weekend when i repaired the water pump mount which was causing a huge oil leak. I think these cases were done 7? years ago. its been a while. sprayed bottom with brake clean after i fixed leak.

[m in sc]

top of same case a few weeks ago

[Organicjedi]

I think they are fine to leave them raw and just give them a good clean with degreaser  and some brushes/ rags every now again.

I would not be opposed to a clear ceramic coating if you want to get fancy. Of course you can do many colors with ceramic coating, but my preference is the raw aluminum look on the cases.

The real advantage to the ceramic coating is corrosion resitance and it will ease cleaning a bit. But aluminum is pretty corrosion resistant itself. So you have to ask if the extra cost is worth it.

[rodneya]

I clear coated my last set of cases. I was going to get them vapor blasted, but it is quite pricey around here, and I decided to spend the 3 to 400 dollars on parts instead.
I cleaned them up with a bit of soda blasting at home and a wire brush. After the clear coat you cant see the brushed finish anymore and even the slight color differences in the metal show up.

I used a clearcoat made for aluminum and a 3 stage cleaning / prep process to make sure it sticks

[patastinky]

I used a degreaser and a rag. I like the "used" look. 

[pdxjim]

ACF50 or WD40 after vapor blasting

[Kawtriplefreak]

I bead blast with #80 glass beads. Then spray down with carb cleaner. After assembly for spot cleaning I use a shop rag soaked in carb cleaner.

[sav0r]

Maybe it's just me but I don't like vapor blasted aluminum. It's unnaturally clean.

[rodneya]

Maybe it's just me but I don't like vapor blasted aluminum. It's unnaturally clean.

I kinda like the look, just the cost to get it done near me is crazy

[rd400greenhorn]

Yeah i know what your saying. Looks almost fake, Its so clean 😂
But got i cheap, and old timer offered it at his own garage, soit was cheap and easy do get done. He offered me a beer as we behold the clean cases before i left, iam still surprised and happy the kind of People i get to meet via the commen interest in motorcycles.

Definately gonna be water polishing some more stuff in the future 😁