im planning to have it back together in 2-3 weeks,i have done next to nothing in the last 6 months when i bought it,today i got a few parts ready to go for zinc plating,they had a phosphoric acid bath followed by a quick wire brushing.the frame and wheels are powder coated,the paint is staying as it is (rough) i gave it a t-cut,its come up ok i wanted to leave some age on the bike as it has 23 years and 52,000 miles on it.
one step foward two steps back,the fork seals are done ready for fitting when the zinc is done,i thought i would lift the top ends off for a check and valve clearances and a paint,i couldnt separate the heads from the cylinder so i had to lift them off in one,then i found some pieces of swarf around the base gasket,they might of come through the cylinder head oil drain but a full strip is in order now.
From my experience you will find that zinc plating (commonly called 'galvanizing') will cause some problems when it comes to painting or powder coating.......... The process leaves gas in the metal and most paint won't stick to it, or if it does it will pinhole quite badly, exactly as it does with powder coating.......then the damp gets through the pinholing and the finish starts to blow off. It is recommended to avoid applying paint or finish to galvanized metal for several years; but even then, as people with Crittall steel windows will tell you, the bl**dy paint flakes off pretty quickly. Also, avoid welding newly galvanized parts.......it will spit like hell......... How do I know?.........I did exactly the same to my Guzzi's 'tin' parts........It was so bad I found second hand parts and replaced some that had been plated.
good advice but im only replating the parts that were plated so no paint,you can paint it with no problem but it has to be acid etched first....i stripped the engine and found no further swarf,although there has been a couple of helicoils fitted in the head at some point,i have removed everything from insie the engine and bolted it back together,i gave it a good brush down with paint stripper,should be ready for steam cleaning in morning then i will vapour blast the full engine ready for painting.
Also, avoid welding newly galvanized parts.......it will spit like hell......... Welding glavanised parts is bad news, if you don't ventilate the area and wear a respirator you risk getting Zinc poisoning, very nasty even fatal.
i am familiar with galv poisoning ive had it a few times,a job i used to do i would weld galv all day......another step back today,the motor burnt out on our vapor blaster...sods law i have blasted hundreds of parts for other people and now its my bike its shafted....wire brush on die grinder time.
At last i can bolt a few bits together...not much tho.the tank is treated POR15 just waiting for the fuel filter and paint the cap,im replacing most of the nuts an bolts with stainless,and fresh zinc,i need to bolt the fairing bracket on as i have to weld some brackets on for the oil cooler as it was swinging on zip ties when i bought it.
im going round in circles at the min,i was going to use the std carbs of the tt2 but i managed to break one of the fixing lugs off the top,the screw was seized solid and rounded off,i gave it a tap with small chisel ...crack bollox,i fitted the 600 forks for now ( crap i now) the thread is bigger on the 600 spindle and the 600 spindle wont fit my wheel.
new crankcase gaskets made and the first coat of PJ1 satin black on the cases,it looks gloss until it fully drys.
PJ1 is about the best engine paint,i dont think it will have any trouble out performing the Ducati factory finish.
The paint was fresh in the pic,it looks much better now it has dried,its a good match for the factory satin black,should look well with stainless cap screws,finished painting the shock spring its not the right shade but it will have to do,and i made a start on polishing the exhaust,i have been building one off systems for 20 years and only ever made myself 2...i might do a pair of megas for it in time.
more exhaust polishing tonight,the pipework as come good but the cans are in a bit of a state,got the fairing bracket blasted today and the oil cooler brackets tacked in place.
rcv4, Enjoying the rebuild. I appreciate someone who gets on with it rather than d!cks around like myself. Couple of questions. 1. What did you do to paint the shock, did you shot blast & powder coat or paint and what shade? 2. Are the exhausts carbon steel, could you give more detail on the process of polishing and how long do you expect them to stay nice and shiny, won't they discolour again with heat and possibly getting wet? Cheers Gaz
cheers gaz,the spring was blasted and powder coated with a primer,he didnt have yellow powder so i sprayed it with a fiat yellow from Halfords,i will check on the tin for you,the std headers are stainless so they should stay shiny for a long time,i acid cleaned them first then vapour blasted them then a quick polish,im lucky i have a 3hp polisher,the cans are boss stainless with alloy sleeves,the anodising was in a bad state so i striped it with a Scottish surface conditioning disc before polishing.
Im hoping to get the engine rebuilt tonight, i have finished polishing the exhausts and the fairing bracket is done
finally got the dry conversion finished,i was led to belive all dry clutch primary gears are the same....not,i had to swap and change 4 sets today before i found a pair that were usable,one set was that tight they wouldnt fit! waiting for one shim then the engine can go back in,until the next problem turns up. here is another problem,the plating was pitted on the bore and starting to flake at the top,luckily my mate had some on the shelf.
Its starting to look like a bike again,with a bit of luck it might be running tomoro,the swingarm is a bit tatty i will keep my eye out for a replacment,the haynes and factory manuals are pretty usless for most jobs like routing overflows,wiring,cables etc....why do Ducati try to put all the wiring in the fairing bracket?
