old clear coat turning crappy

[AwwsChwA]

I was cleanin up my 81 GS450 today, and I used steel wool to get a lot of the oxidation off the finned engine parts and the chrome parts. However, the transmission and all the polished aluminum parts (which are clear coated from the factory) look bad becuz the clear is peeling off in some spots, and also becuz the steel wool scuffs up the clear coat.

Does anyone know a good way get the clear off the aluminum? Or, are there ways to fix the spots that are peeling? Any good polishes to use? Thanks

[DrBob]

Get some aircraft stripper from an auto parts store, or paint remover from Walmart. Get the kind you brush on, not the kind you spray on from a can.
Mask off the painted areas you don't want stripped with plastic and masking tape, brush on some of the chemical, and in about 10 minutes hose it off. You can repeat if you need to. All the clearcoat will be gone.
You can then use Semi-chrome polish to shine it up by hand, or get an air-powered die grinder, some 4-inch buffs, and some white rouge compound at the Home Depot and buff it out to a chrome-like finish.
EastwoodCo.com sells buffing supplies also, and some great spray-can clear if you want to re-coat after you buff. I buffed out the aluminum forks and switch boxes on my Intruder, and they look sweeeeeet!

[AwwsChwA]

Awesome, thanks

I think my front fork is body color, actually. I can't tell, cuz they're so weather-beaten, but i think I can see remnants of silver paint on the parts that weren't aimed forward into the wind.

[DrBob]

Which model do you have? I know the gs450 L, T, and GA had clearcoated aluminum forks. I think the E and S also had clearcoated aluminum forks (The clearcoat will turn a silver-white color as it ages), but it is possible they were painted.
Heck, just strip it off and buff them out! I went a little nuts, using a sisal buff with triploi compound followed by a spiral buff and white rouge, and now my forks look like chrome. My friend just did the spiralbuff with white rouge, and they look a lot shinnier than stock but if you look close you can see that they were originally a brushed finish.
Alternately you could get some Rustolium Industrial Epoxy paint and paint them silver, black, or safety orange...

[AwwsChwA]

I have a 450S. I think the forks were clearcoated based on the teeny lil spot right under the fork seal that's still shiny. The forks are literally sand blasted. You can feel the fine pits in teh metal all along the fronts. I'm considering just finding a pair of forks on eBay that are in better shape.

[chopperdan]

Ive used wet and dry sand paper with great results then a little mothers to gert the sand papre cuts out was very nice looking after i was done just be sure too use 1000 grit paper or if there really pitted use 600 grit and then 1000. and remember a sponge with lots of water will keep the paper clean longer

[DrBob]

Agrred! The sandpaper works well for minor pitting, and a file will help get rid of the bad spots. Or if you find a nicer set in a salvage yard or on Ebay, as you say, and save yourself a lot of elbow grease.