XS650 cafe project

I finished up all of the paint prep on the bodywork this week, but too rainy and humid for painting this weekend.


Getting a start on the aluminum parts, the wheels first. I'm not doing a full polish on the hubs and rims, but just a nice clean satin finish. This is the rear hub, which has been pressure washed, but still looking pretty grungy.


Blasted and cleaned up using fine play sand, which is very gentle on the parts, but very health hazardous, so be sure to use a proper respirator if doing this.


Next a scrubbing with dish soap and a scotch-brite pad.


Cleaned, but not completely done.


On to the rims, which were a bit more of a problem. The easy thing would be to order a new set from MikesXS, but I decided to try and get these looking good. They had a clear coat, which removed easily using Rust-Oleum aerosol paint stripper. Under the clear is apparently some sort of a plating or anodizing. It was mostly peeled off on the center of the front (shown here). I'd read of using Easy-Off heavy duty oven cleaner to remove it, and gave it a try, but it didn't do anything on mine.


Here is the rear after removing the clear coat.




I ended up blasting the rims like the hubs. It didn't remove whatever is on them under the clear, but blended it in with the rim. This isn't the final finish. They look neat this way, but wouldn't look nice for long. I'll rub them out with wax using a scotch-brite pad and steel wool. It will give them a darker sheen, and protect the finish. I've done that before, and it holds up nicely just needing occasional touch-ups.