74 CB360 City Bike
- Thread starter Jordan918
- Start date
freerideordie
Active Member
Not very well. I like aluminum oxide or beads for paint removAl. Soda is really just good for delicate parts.
Jordan918
Been Around the Block
ejb said:
Thanks Man, it seems like it goes in spurts. Let me know if i can help with any clearance issues.
Soda blaster worked really well. Went with the one that frogman recommended for $20.
The only problem I had was the moisture in my air hose mixing with the soda and temporarily clogging the gun. You're gonna want to do it on a less humid day. Which really doesn't exist in Oklahoma.
klx678
Been Around the Block
frogman said:
Sorry to tell you, but that is totally false. I had my SR500 soda blasted - no paint left and the surface was perfect for painting. It does not take away metal, that is the main advantage. Possibly easier to clean afterwards too... and maybe you can brush your teeth with the left over soda.
It will take off corrosion, rust, paint, etc, but not damage the metal. Key point - it will not damage exposed threads. Not a single one of the welded on threaded fittings needed chased or anything else. The work was so good it almost looked like the paint was chemically stripped, the metal was that clean and no coarse pitting like sand blasting or bead blasting. Car people love it because it will not cause issues when the sheet metal is really thin, like warping panels and such. I love it because it doesn't hose up threaded holes.
I learned about it when I spoke with the guy who did the work in Worthington Ohio, near me. He was at the Goodguys Streetrod Nationals at Columbus, with a frame on a rotisserie and I think a cab from a vintage truck sitting there bare metal.
One point though. If I was doing an older European bike - aka doing a Bultaco - I'd do bead blasting on the cylinder and head. It is pretty much a match to the original cast look. Sand blasting leaves a sharper unnatural look on the head. Then paint the cylinder black as usual for a Bul. As smooth as some of the Japanese stuff was it might be wise to do the soda blasting there too. No aluminum removed, but the surface comes out clean of any paint, grease etcetera.
Jordan918
Been Around the Block
klx678 said:
Wow, that's a plethora of knowledge in the field of blasting. Good to know!
As for the soda blasting, I'm sure that a professional soda blaster will remove paint, but the one I used (pictured above) did not. It's not actually a soda blaster though. It was great for removing the grime only. Actually, the heavy caked on stuff needed to be scraped off first. But you could have eaten off the engine when i was done. Several hours of work but well worth it.
Here's a glimpse of what the engine now looks like. Polished the covers, started replacing gaskets. I sanded them with 60-100-220-400-600. Followed that up with some mothers polish by hand. I think they look pretty good. Almost like a stainless without the brushed look.
I plan to paint some of the engine, just not sure what parts yet.
Can anyone recommend a good engine paint that will resemble my polished covers?
Jordan918
Been Around the Block
Here are a few things I've done since my last post. It seems like I've spent a lot more time than the pictures lead into. A lot of additional time lately has been spent on engine tear down, cleaning, and paint. Hopefully engine pics will follow in a couple weeks once I have it ready to shove in the hole.
New coils. MikesXs mounted on a makeshift aluminum strip from lowes.
Seat pan cut out and shaped to fit over tank mount. Got the metal from lowes. Cut it out with an angle grinder and shaped it a bit with my bench grinder. Then, I clamp an angle iron to it in order to create a press to get the double bend.
New headlight mounted using the same piece of iron that I used for my press above.
Painted my controls and polished my levers. Still need to clean up the red kill switch. I never thought picking out grips would be so difficult. Next to the tank and seat, I feel like they're the most important cosmetic decision.
New coils. MikesXs mounted on a makeshift aluminum strip from lowes.
Seat pan cut out and shaped to fit over tank mount. Got the metal from lowes. Cut it out with an angle grinder and shaped it a bit with my bench grinder. Then, I clamp an angle iron to it in order to create a press to get the double bend.
New headlight mounted using the same piece of iron that I used for my press above.
Painted my controls and polished my levers. Still need to clean up the red kill switch. I never thought picking out grips would be so difficult. Next to the tank and seat, I feel like they're the most important cosmetic decision.
