Engine paint job

[Sten]

Just sharing a couple of before/after pics of the GSX motor before it goes back into the frame this weekend.

This was taken in November last year; the bottom end wasn't too bad but check out that cam cover - what a mess eh. It's a common problem on these bikes; seen a few on Eblag that have had just the top ends resprayed.

After a few hours graft with a rotary wire brush and some scotch-brite pads; followed by a good degrease with some isopropyl alcohol I had kicking around. That blue 3M tape you see blanking off the ports e.t.c. is the dogs bollocks; even the wire brush barely scuffed it and as it's waterproof, it stood up to the degreasing - highly recommended. Cut a piece of thin plastic sheet to shape and stuck it over the gigantic alternator hole with some silicone sealer.

Et voila!, one 1998 GSX motor looking a whole lot better than it did before. My only minor gripe concerns the front of the crankcases where if you look real close, you can see what appears to be tiny white spots; this is spatter from the casting process that wasn't cleaned-up at the factory - tut, tut. Wish I'd noticed this beforehand but nevermind; it'll at least do me until the bigger engine  Wraith suggested comes along

Oh and the paint is PJ1; chosen mainly because the engine paint I normally use is only available in gloss black and I wanted some colour contrast between the engine and the bike's (gloss black) bodywork - the PJ1 is more of a satin charcoal grey and not a million miles from the original.

Cheers folks

[Swiss Toni]

What a difference! Good job! 

[wraith]

Looks good 

[Lachie04]

Like a bought one but better

That's some serious oxidation well done

 

[Sten]

2 hours ago, Swiss Toni said:

What a difference! Good job! 

 

1 hour ago, wraith said:

Looks good 

Two OSS thumbs-ups; that'll do for me!, thanks fellas.

Should be lots of fun wrestling this into the frame tomorrow, the removable cradle should help though. After getting all the mounting bolts torqued up, the new exhaust studs will go in.

Next week I'll be dropping the front end (again) as it was only fitted to move the bike out of the way during painting. Got the legs rechromed recently by Dynasurf who did a bloody good job; rebuilt the forks with fresh seals, upper bushes and decent oil. The previous owner had an advisory for steering head bearings on the last MOT so I've bought some SKF taper rollers to replace the genuine jobbies.

Can't wait to get the front end back in cos' then things will really start coming together

 

[Sten]

26 minutes ago, Lachie04 said:

Like a bought one but better

That's some serious oxidation well done

 

Thanks mate, that comment makes all the graft worthwhile

Too right about the corrosion; I've seen better engine paint on 34 yr old slabbies

[IceKat]

Great result  

[Sten]

3 hours ago, IceKat said:

Great result  

Thanks fella, always good to get to this stage of a build with the motor painted. Not easy getting the lump into the frame on me own though; I now have more blisters than a schoolboy with a free subscription to pornhub lol