350 Carb Covers

[CL-100]

In April, I attended a small vintage bike show here in western NC and amazingly found a pair of 350 carb covers.  The elderly gentleman that sold them to me stated that he used to work in a motorcycle dealership that sold Bridgestones along with a few other brands back in the 60's and 70's.  The dealership eventually closed and became a small engine repair shop that also sold/serviced power lawn equipment.  They kept this gentleman on and he worked there until retirement, although he still puts in some part-time hours.  He only had the carb cover parts for the 350, along with a few obscure 175 parts which I didn't recognize.  Apparently these parts were used and may have been replaced with new for a customer during some repair work by the dealership.  I took a chance that I could restore the covers and I got them both for $20.00.  After much sanding, buffing, and polishing I'm happy with the end results. 

[Mike Anderson]

Roland,
You are the best at the fine shine. Good job. Talk soon.
Mike

[slawsonb]

They look super!
...bert

[Steve S.]

Beautiful work!

[raymire59]

Where is this vintage bike show? I'm from Asheville.

[CL-100]

The bike show is in Hendersonville in late April.  It's called the Meltdown.  Been around for about 4 years nows and is sponsored by a group of guys that own a brew pub there.  Type "meltdown vintage bike show" in your browser and it will take you to their web site.

By the way, I'm in Weaverville.

[CL-100]

Thanks for the comments guys.  I've only tried this on two other pieces and I learn something new every time. 

[dcr]

Could you briefly describe your process?

[CL-100]

I start with 60 or 80 grit sandpaper, depending on how badly the piece is scratched.  I completely remove any scratch damage with this heavy grit.  I also try to figure out which way the grain of the metal is running and for this initial sanding I always sand with the grain.  I then move to 150, 220, and 320 grit.  Up through the 320 grit, I'm dry sanding.  This removes quite a bit of metal and I'm diligent about wearing a heavy duty mask.  I also change my direction of sanding by 90 degrees with every change of sandpaper grit.  I usually just sand long enough to remove the lines made by the previous grit paper, which is easy to see when you keep changing direction when changing sandpaper grit.  I continue this process with 400, 600, 800, 1200, and 2000 grit paper.  This is all wet sanding which reduces the metal dust but I still wear my mask.  During all this sanding I'm wearing a heavy pair of plastic/rubber gloves with a cloth lining.  I have always found these gloves at Ace Hardware.  While I'm wet sanding I keep a 5 gallon bucket of water next to me and frequently dip the workpiece and sandpaper in the water to clean it off.  I also make sure that when I'm doing the final sanding with the 2000 grit, I'm sanding with the grain again.  Mostly out of curiosity, I then take the piece and polish it twice with Mother's Mag Polish by hand only.  This gives me an idea of what it's going to look like when finished.  At this point, I take my Dremel tool with a brass brush on it and clean out all the small recesses for the screws.  Don't use anything harder like a stainless or carbon steel brush because if you spin out of the recess across the face of the piece, you'll have to sand it out again starting with the 320 grit.  (Don't ask me how I know this)  At this point, I pull out the buffer and use the brown compound on a medium buff.  This will remove any marks you might make with the brass brush from the Dremel.  You'll also notice how smooth the piece begins to feel.  I finish it out with the white compound and the soft buff.  Sometimes I have to go over it a second time with brown compound buff, but I don't add any more compound. 

I've done this now with four different pieces and the more I do the better they turn out.  I learned all this info on the internet.  Best of luck.

[mqtsteve]

Great job CL-100!  Your description is great too.  Thanks! mqtsteve

[old smokey]

The covers look great! Have you added inches to your biceps and forearms, too?
A neighbor up the road dry sanded multiple layers of paint off a Triumph GT6 over the winter. Better than a gym membership.

[slawsonb]

That is exactly what I was thinking while reading this. Sanding aluminum is HARD!!
...bert

[CL-100]

For me, it has to be done over time.  Whenever I had an hour or so I would put on the gloves and the mask and take the sandpaper with me outside and sand the two pieces.  I'm not sure that I ever sanded more than on grit size of paper in a day.  I have a utility trailer outside the workshop with an old rubber floor mat lying over the railing and that's where all the sanding was done.  I'm not sure if it contributed to any muscle development but it sure made my fingers and hands tired.  When I first started I would just wear latex gloves to keep the mess out of my hands but once I went to the heavy rubber gloves I found that it was easier to hold the sandpaper and the workpiece. 

[Hap]

labor of love- they look like new!

[Colin]

Really nice job, I had to do the same with my front and rear brake plates, took ages and my finger tips were tingling for weeks but well worth the effort.
Colin.

[husker]

WOW better than new! I have yet to do any polishing on my GTR . The clutch cover needs straightened and a crack welded.