Hitchcocks Forum

Hi guys
Newbie question..
How to remove paint from frame. Tried sanding bare hands seems bit time taking procedure

Seondly when to replace swingarm when you feel it soft or i keep it?



roll a face

Sorry i mean to say when to replace swing arm bushes? When you feel it soft? Thanks

Blast cleaners only charge a few quid to blast clean and powder coat a frame. (It is best to get crack testing done between those two procedures.)

Hand sanding a whole frame is not good. If there are no blasters/powder coaters near you the alternative would be using as fierce a rotary wire brush as you could find fitted into an electric drill. You can also get wire brush wheels for angle grinders. Been there, done that, prefer getting things blasted and coated nowadays.



A.

I agree with Papasmurf. Blasting is cheap and thorough and if the blasters are any good they will put a coat of etch primer on the frame for you if you don't want to powder coat. This is important to do as the bare metal will rust VERY fast! This design of frame has a design weakness, the rear tubes can crack where they enter the big swinging arm lug so inspect carefully. I had a 500 Bullet frame exactly like this and the tubes were badly broken, the previous owner had ridden the bike to India and had the repairs done in Greece by a blacksmith! Take the swinging arm out and replace the bushes anyway. They will definitely be worn out as will the sleeve they sit on. When rebuilding put the engine on a box and fit the frame over the engine and gearbox unit, much easier. Only then re-fit the swinging arm before doing up the long through stud at the back of the gearbox or you won't get the frame far enough apart to get the swingarm in!

REgards, Mark

Yes. Get it done professionally, life is too short. If you do decide to use a wire wheel, wear really good protective clothing and thick trousers. I'd suggest welding gloves, a face mask, leather apron and padded trousers. I once did a swingarm with a wire wheel and landed up with my overalls nailed to my shins with loads of little bits of wire.

Thanks papasmurf , Adrian , Mark M , stinkwheel for feedback.
appreciate your help. Mark good idea for putting the engine back .. regards

I use the side of an old wood chisel, (Not the cutting edge.) I find this very good at scraping off old paint, but the novelty does wear off after a while and it's no good for intricate bits.