From ibmwrNoSpam@NoSpamworld.std.com Tue May 20 12:42:52 1997 Mail-from: From ibmwrNoSpam@NoSpamworld.std.com Tue May 20 12:42:52 1997 X-Sender: deilenbergerNoSpam@NoSpammonmouth.com Date: Tue, 20 May 1997 11:50:54 -0400 To: bmwmcNoSpam@NoSpamfacteur.std.com From: Don Eilenberger Subject: BMW: RE: Shining up/painting a K-bike - how to??? Cc: Jesper James Sender: ibmwrNoSpam@NoSpamworld.std.com Reply-To: Don Eilenberger Jesper James asks >Subject: BMW: Shining up/painting a K-bike - how to??? > >Hi, > >I'm beginning to think if the next winter project should be painting of my >K75. I have a 89' K75C with the not-painted engine/rear end. 7 years of >riding in the not so friendly climate of Denmark has clearly put it's mark >on the bike. The Aluminium surface on the engine casing is sort of spotted >(oxidated?), and no amount of cleaning seems to be able to get it to its >former state. If i try with rougher 'means', i can get some of the stains >off, but this seems to be so rough on the surface that later on it seems >to oxidate? - leaving theese white stains on the surface - have i >scrubbed of a protective layer??? > >OK - what all this means, is i think i'll go for a paint job on some of >the worst parts, and perhaps next winter do the rest. My parent's >neighboar works for wurtz chemicals, and i looked a bit at their stuff. as >mentioned her on the list some times now - they have this paint - 'wurtz >silver' that should be the best to paint eg. wheels with. and put a layer >of 'wurtz clear' on the top. I think this stuff will be good enough for >the rear end, but what about the engine - is it to hot? the wurtz silver >is rated to about 140C - i don't know about the clear. What is the >finish of the engines of the R11 bikes - raw metal or paint??? > >Wurtz also has this aluminium spray - 99.5% aluminium - gives a coating of >pure aluminium (grey/silverish) - could this be a solution? > >Has anybody painted the engine of their bike - how/and what was the >result? I would like to keep the greyish/silverish/metal look. Yes, look is excellent. I would suggest using the Wurth Silver Wheel Paint, and then putting a layer of the clear over it. If the engine ever achieves 140C - you're in trouble anyway. I also used this paint on my R bike cylinders - and have seen no discoloration.. they get lots hotter than any part of the K engine. I did my K100 engine - and the look is excellent, plus it makes it wash right down (the clear seals the pores of the surface so dirt doesn't penetrate). The clear also dulls the somewhat bright appearance of the Silver paint a bit - and keeps it from looking 'hokey' or blinding people.. For the purists who are gonna start a big thread about heat transfer - the K bike is WATER cooled, and BMW in later years DID paint the engines.. If you want a glance of what it looks like, Walt Dabell put shots of my K-bike stand up on the K bike Tech page.. although I didn't take the pics to really show what the painted engine looks like, it is quite visible. I don't have the URL handy - but a little browsing from the IBMWR home page will get'cha to it. FWIW - when I did the rear-engine seal about 2 weeks ago, got to paint the transmission/swingarm. Only thing left is the bellhousing.. Best, ================================== Don Eilenberger, Spring Lk Hts, NJ deilenbergerNoSpam@NoSpammonmouth.com ==================================