Sound technical content, curated with aloha by
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ
The authoritative public forum
for Metal Finishing 1989-2024
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Polished Motorcycle frame rusted quickly
Q. I have stripped and polished the frame on my 96 FZR 600. I did I pretty good job. I did the entire process by hand. I started with airplane stripper to remove the paint, the I proceeded on from 100-1500 grit wet sandpaper. Next I used a buffer
⇦ this on
eBay
or
Amazon [affil links]
at about 700 RPM and a jeweler's rouge
⇦ this on
eBay
or
Amazon [affil links] . Finally I fine tuned with Mothers metal polish ⇨
My frame was glistening for about 2 weeks. I traveled from Virginia to South Carolina to partake in Bike week. It rained. My frame rusted. Nobody else's did with the exception of one other guy.
Why, and what do I have to do to fix it?
- Stafford, Virginia
2001
FZR 600 Accessories on eBay (affil link)
A. Steel rusts when exposed to oxygen, especially with water present. All your polishing and buffing and jewelers' rouge don't change chemistry... The others were probably stainless steel or plated with another metal
Adam Weston- Northridge, California, United States
A. Hi Reginald.
Sorry that happened to you. As Adam has noted, steel rusts; other motorcycles might be aluminum. Clear coating it may not solve it 100% or in the long term, but it should be done and will certainly protect it for a trip or two. You can get a simple one-component clearcoat like Protectaclear from Everbrite [a finishing.com supporting advertiser], or use a two-component automotive clearcoat. If you really want to avoid clearcoating, it can be waxed
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, but that has to be re-done very frequently.
I was strictly a spectator for Black Bike Week, but it was a blast! Thanks for playing your part in helping it happen.
Luck & Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
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