Polishing Engine Paint

Discuss anything after that final masking comes off.



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PostPosted: Sun Oct 19, 2014 2:53 pm
I am painting my motorcycle engine and rims with Eastwoods 2K Engine Primer, Gloss Black, and 2K Engine Clear.
What can I do to the engine and rims by hand to improve the paint finish and remove orange peel? Should I do any color sanding? Should I cut and polish by hand? I do own a 3 inch random orbital which might work for the rims but would not be effective in all the tight areas of a motorcycle engine. Both the engine and the rims have a lot of sharp edges so I am thinking it would probably have to by hand. Should I just clear and leave it alone?

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PostPosted: Sun Oct 19, 2014 8:20 pm
Complex shapes like that are very hard to remove orange peel. You can try sanding but will most likely burn through and need to repaint where you do.

I'm a little confused, though - you said "gloss black" then "clear". So is this a base/clear set of products or is it a single-stage black you just want to clear over (which if yes then my next question would be 'why').



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PostPosted: Sun Oct 19, 2014 8:43 pm
Thats a very good question. :rolleyes: Eastwood sells an engine clear so I was thinking it was meant for their engine paints, but upon closer inspection I am not sure what it is for because their engine paints are definitely single stage. Good thing I haven't ordered them yet.



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PostPosted: Mon Dec 08, 2014 11:08 pm
Do you have pics of the pieces you are painting? And you should really contact Eastwood, if you haven't already, about their recommendations for the paint and clear you named. If you are looking for more protection then the clear of the the SS gloss black will help protect it. However, if you are wanting wetter/glossier black then you probably do well to leave the SS black uncleared. To some test pieces before any of the actual bike pieces would be a good idea either way.
As far as sanding and polishing once the paint is shot, don't sand where you can't polish. And for SS black you really need to stay away from edge and tight areas a good distance if you do any sanding because, it's will be hard to remove the sanding marks and you will have milky, gray paint anywhere you can't bring the paint back to a high gloss to match the paint you can polish. There are pneumatic sander/polishers that are very small, about 2 inch backing plates, but, you would have to make your own pads to polish with it. Also, the height of the machine is about 3-4inches from face of the backing plate to the back of the machine. So, you may not be able to reach it in to everywhere you need to work. That means working by hand. And if you can't remove sanding marks by hand in an open, flatter area of the pieces you'll be working on then, you most likely won't be able to remove them from tighter areas. Moral of the story... Test spots!:)
If you were located near me, in Virginia, I would offer to help you get the finishing work do to achieve a show bike finish in/on even most of the tightest areas; without burning/cutting through paint. Get some pics up ASAP.:)

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