Hi Andrew,

Looks like your project has a large quantity of rusty bits needing cleaning. Have just returned from seeing my friend's restoration of an old Ford Mustang, now there was a collection of rust. Anyway, he had set up some containers filled with molasses/water and has various parts soaking in it. The results are remarkable, old rusty chunks emerge cleaned down to the base metal (even old paint). You can just wash them in water, then they are ready for painting, polishing etc.
This is not a rapid process, over a week, even longer for really nasty peices, but is incredably cheap and safe. He had also made up a long box about 3.0m long and lined with thick plastic, which was used for cross members, struts and other long items.
The ratio was 9 parts water to 1 part molasses, but this was not too important as a "stronger" mix just made things happen a bit quicker. When all finished you can pour it down the drain (but can last up to 12 months) as it is not toxic, safe to put your hands in to fish out parts. He got the molasses from a local livestock feed supplier, as this was the cheapest way to get a large quantity.

Good luck, look forward to seeing results.

Cheers,

Fraser.

Does that only work for steel and rust or also for aluminium parts ?

G.

it will work on all kinds of oxidation.
CLR is quicker and still bio safe
POR-15 has a lot of things work even quicker that are enviornmentally freindly

That's amazing Fraser.Who would have thought.Wonder what it does to your insides .Here's a video off Youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-_z4tinnXk

Cheers
Andrew

Thanks Higgy,another option to consider .


Cheers
A2

Yeah,it's a shame G but it's fixable with some time and effort and I'm in no hurry.I don't know how people can let their bikes go like that but we're all different I guess.

Andrew

Who knows with Ducati,in the early days they changed things all the time.The quality control was'nt that good either.More likely Luigi had a spacer left over so put it on the back left engine mount .I hate electrics

Cheers
Andrew

I guess you will still need to start with a wire brush, an abrasive web or paint remover. Depending how bad the corrosion is you will also need to sand the surfaces to get them nice and even again. Always wear a dust mask as you don`t want to get aluminium dust in your lungs !

G.

G,

The molasses works on aluminium also. There are lots of products that can do the same job (and also a lot quicker), but none cheaper or safer. You also get this sweet yeasty smell from the mixture, bit like home brewing, plus the amazement from your friends as they look into your black mysterious container.

Cheers,

Fraser.

does that remove paint, too ? As far as I know there`s no such thing as a rust converter for aluminium so I guess that "only" cleans it meaning it will require fast drying, degreassing and a primer, anodizing or a powder coat to seal the surface.

G.

It won't stain the aluminium will it?."bit like home brewing"....mmmmm...beer

Cheers
Andrew

Can anyone give me any info on a 2-1 header system for the reverse head engines.I much prefer the look of the dual system but it would be nice to get her as light as possible.

Cheers
A2

How did the pear cider work out Fraser? .........drinkable ? or did you clean your bike with it

It's been a good day...so far.
I started off by spraying some carbie cleaner down the..um..carbie.Then I sprayed some more.Next up I removed the valve covers and spark plugs.




The paint on the valve covers is'nt the best




I applied copious amounts of fresh oil on the desmo gear and some down the plug holes.The plugs were a little dark.

Next up I turned the motor slowly to get some oil up and down the bores.On with the tank,connect the hoses and put in some fresh fuel.


A little bit of this.

Connect her up to a battery and.....


...fired up first time.Bloody beauty.I kept the reves down and only ran her for a minute.One thing that did surprise me was how well the Weber carbureted on the few blips I gave her.My Paso was never this good with the Weber.The motor was also very free reving.All good so far.
She smoked a little from the oil down the plug holes but not too much.That'll burn off.


Next up a little play with some spare parts I have lying around.





I then spent some time stripping the paint off the engine.Not to bad so far.






The alloy underneath the paint is very coarse and wondering if they left it like to give the enging paint something to bite onto.What would I need to do to get it looking better if I was going to leave with an alloy look instead if painting it?.
That's it for today.I'll probably make some space in the garage tomorrow for all the bits and then start stripping her down for painting etc.

Cheers
A2

"Start ya bastard" spray
Looks like quite some progress. Being cast parts the surface is a little coarse but it`s hard to say how much corrosion added to that. Keeping an alloy look will be difficult as it needs surface protection. There`s only painting, anodizing, powder coating or polishing. Painting requires a paint/primer that`s suitable for aluminium, not all are. Brass protective laquer will work on aluminium. Any laquer used on aluminium should not contain lead or copper. You`ll also need heat resistant paint at least on the cylinders and valve covers. Anodizing, powdercoating or polishing will require the parts being removed from the engine and the oil window removed, too. Polishing will need quite some sanding to get a perfect surface before starting polishing. The polished parts will become dull over time and need constant care. How well a polished surface holds up also depends on the climate.

Guessing you flushed the tank and got rid of any old gasoline, does it have rust inside ?

G.