Front Fork Assemblies

[Re-Vision]

Comparing black 83 lower fork assemblies with the 82 aluminum makes me wonder exactly what needs to be done to make the black forks look the same as the 82. It appears to me that there is some kind of coating on the 82's as well as brush marks. Any thoughts on making black 83's look like the 82 aluminum?      BDC

[QBS]

Most rock chip related fork damage occurs on the front of the fork leg.  Either chemically or by sanding, take the front side of your black fork leg down to smooth bare metal.  Then paint the entire fork leg silver.  Future rock chips will reveal silver colored aluminum.

[Re-Vision]

I'm sure that will work okay but I'm trying to duplicate the appearance of a stock 82 shock. Right now I'm attempting to restore an 82 with all the 83 upgrades. I've got silver paint for the rear end but I don't think it will look very good on the front shocks.       BDC

[The Prophet of Doom]

I think silver paint would look horrible.

Powder clear over polished alloy will look at least as good as stock, or for a more robust treatment a 2-coat clear powder over aluminium powder will look reasonably authentic.

These are cast parts, so you will need to do a couple of pre-bake / clean cycles to outgas and remove any polishing residue

[Tiger]

Or...pick up a set of Canadian lowers, as these where not finished in Black like the U S '83's 8)

Tiger.

[The Prophet of Doom]

I think only US market ones were black - our 83s were silver also.  I can send you a pair if you want, but they too will need re-finishing to look good on your bike - I'm yet to see a set that haven't had their clear coat yellowed and peeling.

[Re-Vision]

That's kind of you but I might as well stick with my black ones that need refinishing.      BDC

[fret not]

Bobby, most "brushed" metal surface appearance is done with a sanding belt with no backing plate to push against.  The belt is tensioned and the part is pushed into the belt and moved side to side at a steady rate so the pattern looks consistent.  I'm thinking a 'flap wheel' might do much the same and should be easier to rig up.  It should be a pretty fine grit.

[Re-Vision]

Thanks, I have given some thought as to how to replicate the pattern. All I was sure of was that sandpaper seemed to be the medium used to produce the rough,sparkly appearance. Hope I can make it look original.        BDC

[The Prophet of Doom]

Interesting - the NZ models did not have a brushed surface - rather a semi-polished surface with clear coat

[fret not]

A very fine grit belt approaches a 'polished' appearance and probably looks nicer than actually polished surface.  One problem with polishing a surface is ANY pits or flaws tend to show up as significant issues, while a slightly coarser abrasive leaves tiny scratches that tend to camouflage the surface defects.  I'm guessing the factory surfaces are done with about 400 grit or a bit more coarse.  And machine driven abrasive tends to appear finer than if done by hand.  I sand a lot of wood and finishes in my work, and hand sanded surfaces look coarser than when the same grit is applied with a motorized sander.

Trial on some "scrap" material will show you if you need finer or coarser grit.  It will also help you get the feel of the precess to make a more even appearance.

[Tiger]

If you want a 'brushed finish' use a medium/Maroon non-woven (read scotchbrite) wheel with a 1/4" arbor...or a drum belt of the same material.

The trick is to run the wheel the whole length of what ever you are finishing...similar to spray painting!! Fire up the tool and take one complete pass from one end to the other and continue the process until you get back to where you started on tube, or, the other side of a flat surface.

Tiger.