Polishing me motor

Well I have reached that quiet time in the Saga of the Love Cub, where the sexy stuff has happened quite quickly, but the stuff that will make the cub sexy later on, well it is all underway… but is not very sexy right now!

At the moment, I am working on the engine... But only on the cosmetic bits! As such, I have been busy with the 0000 grade steel wool and the wet and dry sandpaper AND elbow grease… getting busy with the engine!

The starting point - as seen from the blasters

Just before I started - the block is incredibly clean!

I should be honest at this point & say that, on reflection, I don’t think the engine was soda blasted; rather I suspect it was a very fine grit & the guys cleaned the engine & frame when they were doing something else (that was slightly more durable…) oh well, it is a classic example of you gets what you pays for!

But back to the polishing; The silly boys were at school... so I had Lenny dog for company, this meant that I was listening to a whole heap of heavy metal and punk rock (read the Dropkick Murphies, Dead Kennedys, Frenzel Rhomb, Metallica & Motorhead...) as such, the toiling away is not too bad when you put your preferred form of music on!

FYI - The Child Bride & my other close family members do not necessarily like my taste in music; that's OK, I was listening in the shed by myself so it was my guilty little secret!

At this point I want to state that I don't want a nearly chrome-like finish on my engine, but rather, I will aim for a nice "brushed" aluminium finish… we will see where we end up on this count when I have finished the Cub!

Just starting out... the wire brush for the "wire Brushed look"

Anyway after about 3 days of polishing I have a semi completed side cover. I think I'll buy some lower grit wet and dry to remove the last of the deeper scratches better with the one that I used. I think the Honda magneto cover will actually come up rather well when I get it done; it is basically a case of elbow grease curing the issue!

Getting Somewhere - note the iron fillings from the steel wool following the magnetic pattern

By the way, for anyone out there being silly enough to want to polish an aluminium engine block by hand, I advise wearing gloves. I have an elasticised cloth pair with a rubberised face. They keep the oxide out of your fingers, as well as protecting them from the real wear & tear that sand paper & steel wool inflict upon fingers! It may seem obvious to say it, but guess what; at the end of day one, the oxide & grit had really worked its way into every crevasse in my right hand!

The next issue is: I do know that I really should polish the engine after stripping and inspecting the case internally (thus you don't waste energy on polishing scrap). Yes, I agree, but, I also think that as the engine is a Honda and was it running before I pulled it apart, therefore (I hope) I'll be alright!

I should also have cleaned the 40 years of grime off of the magneto & sprocket area before I started! Is it a case of up there for thinking & down there for dancing, or, up there for dancing & down there for thinking (given the for on this bit, I’d probably say the latter!) in my defence, I did start out as a bit of a trial to see what it would look like!

Oh the grime build up! You can see some of the shine from teh block polishing too

The next confession that I have is: that I Googled the idea! As I said when I got the engine and frame back, I was not 100% happy with the finish of the engine alloy bit. Thus I started with a search on the web about polishing Aluminium... Anyway, I convinced myself that I could make a feature of the side covers at least... Now I am so pleased with my start that I'll do the entirety of the cub’s 50cc heart - it's just that it'll take some time!

I will need to get some of the clear alloy engine coating - I need to have an engine block worthy of clear coating before I clear coat the thing (it is a case of walking before you run!) When I was looking at some of the Aluminium polishing ideas on the web, & some of the products come off rather easily after the application of the required thinners, I am hoping that I can polish the engine, then use a clear coat (this will “protect the engines look when it is being re-built) & if required, reapply the clear coat before the engine is put back into the frame (that is, use the first lot of clear coat as a protecting coat.

Before

After - You can see the difference (even though these photos are not the best)

Thus far the results do look good; I'll just have to maintain the focus & ensure that I get the engine block done!

So Mote it Be

Leigh