gearbox coating??

[Dan]

I in the middle of getting my cle case stripped back to the natural finish, which I intend to keep like that instead of black. Is there an laqour that I spray on or is it ok just left natural?

[michaelcaine]

i would have thought being ally it would oxydise very quickly unless its washed and dried everytime out of the sea,appliying lacquer will prevent this.has it been polished or left as is after taking paint off?

[Dan]

Right, in that case can some one tell me what lacquer to use or failing that can you chrome polish cast ali??

[michaelcaine]

yes your can chrome ally,it would look cool,if you go the other route i would get it polished and appliy poly 2 pack lacquer,you could use lacqer from a can or spray with a gun,if you want i will spray it for you if you like,im itching to use my new gun

[MrRob]

This is something I have spent a lot of time looking at on the web. I looked mostly at alloy wheel polishing advice as its the closest to it I guess. They all pretty much said that lacquer wont last and the only way to go is to keep polishing regular.

But having said all this. How does all the rex marine polished alloy stuff stay shiney? I did read a brief bit of advice on a message board where one guy was saying the trick is in the way you sand blast back the paint to the bare surface.

I think the way to go may be to have the case striped and finished by an alloy wheel refurb place as they can do some pretty safe/shiney finishes.

[michaelcaine]

if it was mine and i wanted it shiny id get it chromed.

[Jon Fuller]

I reckon chrome will end in tears!

Salt WILL get under it somewhere, then you'll have great sheets of chrome plate bubling up everywhere with horrid sharp edges to the flakes, and a knackered gearcase.

If you're gonna strip it down to the point where you can have it chromed, do so, polish it to mirror finish, and get it annodized (black mebbe, high polish ali, black annodized looks great, I did that finish with the steering wheel extension and boss on my boat. Looks kinda black chrome, like some of the Kawazaki motorcycle exhausts did a few years back)

Then, if it all gets scruffy looking, you can always revert to painting.

[Jon Fuller]

Originally posted by MrRob
But having said all this. How does all the rex marine polished alloy stuff stay shiney?

The answer to that is, it doesn't, not for long anyway.
but Rex stuff is coated, with some sort of laquer, not annodized as many think.

[michaelcaine]

good point jon,i guess what ever you do is a compremise in some way from the original finish

[sinkunit0]

i have had a cle box done at a alloy wheel place. i do not recommed it because the sand blast them quite aggresivley . they look mint for about 2 years but then due to where and tear ie hitting shit in the water they start to peel and lift underneath the blasted alloy then corodes. if you want to have it redone you need to totally strip the box down because when they paint them the bloke said the heat them to about 300C and this will wreck the seals and other bits. when i picked mine up i had to wait for it to cool before putting it inthe car. its about to get redone in silver twopack

[Budski]

Scotchbrite pads and elbow grease work best on my Sportmaster. Someone else's elbow grease works even better....