Engine Case Paint Flaking

[belltj]

Hi, just new here,

I was wanting some advice on my right hand side engine case cover. As most of us are aware the paint finish is poor my 2002 620 monster's engine case paint is flaking badly. 

I was wanting to know is it wise to strip the side of the engine, remove the case, sand it down, primer it and re-paint with a heat-proof engine paint...maybe black or red! 

what i am worried about is if this will effect any seals etc...i have not removed the engine case yet, but really want to get it off scrub it down and repaint! 

I also have a friend who can shotblast and repaint parts, but i think this will be too harsh on the casing, and be scared it will not fit back on.

any advice on this would be appreciated. 

Cheers

Thomas 

[Howie]

You will need to reseal it with TriBond or equivalent or you can buy a gasket from our sponsor  http://wwww.ca-cycleworks.com

If, by shot blast you mean a glass bead machine or sand or soda blaster it will be OK,  shot peening not so good.

[corey]

the castings are pretty poor too, aside from the machined face that mates up with the engine case. blasting will just reveal more imperfections.
the paint that is there can actually benefit as a sort of "filler"... just sand the paint that is left to a good rough surface (i think i used like 400-grit automotive sanding paper... i'll have to check), give it a good cleaning with some surface prep spray to remove residue, mask appropriately, hit it with a tack-cloth and then paint!

i used a pretty neat wrinkle-finish engine paint from VHT called Wrinkle Plus.

check it out:

in process:


finished up:


also, the gaskets from CA-Cycleworks are the way to go. Smear some grease on them, or use some blue hylomar sealer, and you can continue to remove/reuse them for a good while.

[belltj]

That is fantastic, i have never done anything like this before!

i think i am scared to take it apart, so am i right in saying once i take the cover off, i mask and repaint then put a gasket on with some grease then slip the case back on once painted?

[corey]

yup. obviously you want to sand, prep and mask properly as i described.
there is also the issue of the air gap sensor shim being slightly off due to the new paper gasket. reinstall it all as it normally was, and start the bike... if it starts up fine, don't worry about it. i tried sanding my shim, and honestly did an awful job and probably didn't help it much.

also, for removing the liquid gasket that is already on there... i messed around with a lot of tools to do a good job, and found that the BEST one was actually a BLUE SCOTCHBRITE KITCHEN SPONGE. It has the soft blue scrubby on the one side, which will not scrape, scratch or mar the aluminum at all, but did an AMAZING job at removing the gasket maker.



it's really a fun little project, and you'll enjoy it.

also, don't get impatient either. do a little research on the proper method for the paint you select (how many coats, what direction, how much time between coats, etc.), and make sure you give the paint AMPLE time to cure up. I let my parts sit for 7 days before even TOUCHED them.

Also you can see what i mean about poor castings in my second photo. That little spec on the "C" in DUCATI is actually a relatively deep pock mark or bubble in the aluminum. I was pissed. lol.

Also, when you take off the clutch side cover, be very sure to take note of the location of the little green O-RING, and also label and organize your bolts so that you can easily reassemble. Torque values are very low,  like 9 ft. lbs. or something like that, in a criss-cross pattern. verify with a shop manual.