Paint stripper worked great on mine. I only polished by hand afterwords but a grinder with a buffing wheel and some jewers rouge makes aluminium shine like crome. A friend of mine with a semi tractor polishes all his aluminum with it and they are awsome.
I think some enamel clearcoat will help keep it from tarnishing.

 

I only mention "aircraft" stripper because that's what I get at the auto parts store. It comes in a spray can. Any paint stripper that will work on an automotive paint will work.

I have an old (very old) electric motor with 2 fabric buffing wheels on it. I load it up with jewler's rouge and get after any aluminum I take off. If it was clear coated, I usually strip it off first if I have any stripper around. I'm going to have to replace the primary chain tensioner puck on the Sporty pretty soon, so I think I'll get some stripper and fix that peeling clear coat too.

 

If you use the TSP it will not cause any harm to the case that require buffing that any etching that some paint removers cause. I used to restore old Lionel trains and an old guy told me about it. If the part sits overnight in it the paint comes off in one peice most of the time and ....its cheaper. By the way remember when laundery detergent really worked? Thats what it had in it and sometimes if I have to wash a bunch of shop towels I toss in a half cup.. screw oxyclean

 

Thanks all. This job just got bigger. Tracked down a leak and it is a developing problem on the gasket between the tranny/starter and the primary. So I gotta pull the entire primary off.

Now I'm probably going to paint it black. I've heard it's just a matter of getting rattle cans of paint intended for grills and such. A series of questions .. oh, keepers of the knowledge. Some of this might be searchable and I'll take it well if you tell me to do the d_mn search first:

Is it true grill paint works? I don't care all that much how it will look - it'll be better than the leprosy look I have going now.
Is there a 101 paint for dummies sort of link for this type of work?
Do I need to prime? Do I need to take off the clear coat which is still there?? The reason I ask is that now I have to put it up on a buddy's lift and can't leave it there long. I'm thinking that if it's just a matter of strippipng and redoing the outer primary later I can do that in my own garage so if it'll last a year or two I'll go the fastest way.

Anything else besides checking the clutch adjustment that I shoulld do while I'm in there? 65K miles and it's all bone stock. Are there bearings that are likely candidates for failures in the next 20K miles or so?

 

I had to replace that seal a couple years ago at about that mileage. Check the thickness of your clutch plates and compare it to the minimum spec in the book. Mine were right at the minimum spec, so I replaced them with new OEM.

If you're on a "while I'm in there," upgrading the charging system is expensive but a good idea. New HD high-amp stator, rotor and regulator. I would replace the seal on the transmission shaft in the primary too. They can leak. A new bearing there is something to think about too. Oh, and a new timing chain tensioner puck. They are cheap.

As for your paint, while it is off, strip it with the aircraft stripper as it only takes a few minutes. The TSP is an interesting idea that I'll have to try, as it's a lot less dangerous to use than true paint stripper. One drop of paint stripper in the wrong place and you have big problems. That's why I say take the part off, put it in the driveway away from everything else and do it there. Then if you want to paint it black, clean everything very well with degreaser, do it again, wipe it down with paint thinner, then spray it with what you want. I like Rustoleum products myself. I painted my Lotus 7 clone with Rustoleum Professional. The high temp stuff probably isn't needed for the primary as I don't think it gets that hot, but if other people have used it successfully, go for it.

I "hear" that people use Rustoleum appliance paint on their home built AK's and it holds up as good as any comercial coating. If it will hold up to an AK and an oven, it should do a primary fine.

 

Yup, this is the way to do it.It works great on the black finish as well.Just have to leave it on for 10 minutes or so and let it work.Good Luck

 

I have an 85 FXRS that has the same problem, parts of the Primary Cover has the clear coat worn, and there seems to be some salt damage as well. I'm planning on stripping the clear coat, sanding with 400 grit, 600 grit, 800 grit, 1000 grit, 1500 grit, 2000 grit paper, buff with some Jewelers Rouge, then seal it. How much sandpaper should it take to smooth things out with just one grit? Has any one else tried TSP for stripping the clear coat? On the box of TSP I looked at it said Hot TSP will darken aluminum buckets.

 

i was told, at least for getting the clear off mags, to use easy-off oven cleaner. the guy said it doesnt hurt the aluminum but does remove the clear coat. he said they do it to the big rigs mags when the clear starts getting bad.

 

I would pull the clutch discs and check the intermediate plate, those little gold rivots seem to come loose before your mileage, can prevent another teardown in the future

Just noticed this was an old thread, sorry, I'm a little slow out of the gate.

 

Our government nannies have banned MEK from consumer purchase. Having to strip some clear off stock parts I'm happy to report the pictured stripper did a good job.