First time poster, but found this site through Evan’s excellent carb cleaning guide. (I also have an ’82 750 Seca that I’ve owned since 1984)
In any case, I have a Honda Spree project I’m working on with my boys teaching them how an engine works as we completely restore this scooter. The case and parts have been cleaned up a bit and I’d like the carb to match.
Is there some clever way to do this? At this point I have cleaned the exterior with a 3M pad that I cut into circles and mounted to my Dremel. After that I tried some buffing compound and small buffing wheels, but it just doesn’t look as nice as the other aluminum parts.
Thoughts?
Thanks!
George
Hey George – Sounds like a great project you have going!
I personally don’t ever go after the mirror finish. It is too time consuming in my opinion for the bikes I typically work on. It also takes a lot of effort to maintain. However, that said, I applaud your project and desire to get the best polish possible.
A flat finish can be caused by too rough of a surface on the aluminum. What grit sandpaper did you work your way down to – if at all? If it isn’t a sanding issue then give some jewlers rouge polish compound a try and buff the hell out of it.
The best I do on carbs is something like this.
This was just done with a soft wire wheel and a little quick wipe with some polish. Good enough for me! Hehe. If you want a mirror finish you have to start with sandpaper. 800 grit, 1200 grit, 2000 grit, then move on to the polish compounds.