Stripping Fork Paint

S

saltwater

moped
Has anyone undertaken the task of taking the black paint off their Thruxton forks and polished them? I've seen pictures of a bike that had it done - looked terrific - but cannot find it now. Any tips / how to's??
 
T

thearcticsea

Rocker
I'm pretty sure the process is to remove forks (OBVIOUSLY)

Then use a stripper (aircraft, citrustrip, whatever) to remove the paint.

Sand using degreaser or WD-40 or water at 320, 400, 600, 800

Polish with a buffing wheel using black, rouge, then white maybe.

Reinstall.

I've done it on the old honda, but not on the triumph. I'm pretty sure it's just that simple.

Tape off your tubes and seal areas if you're not going to disassemble the fork, but I'd recommend disassembling and replacing seals, oil, maybe upgrading springs if you're into that shit.

Other than that, good luck.

Someone else can amend this if necessary. I'm dead dog tired.
 
ssjones

ssjones

750cc
I did 1500 than 2000 grit wet paper as well, before the buffing stage. Wet sanding was pretty rough on the fingers. I ended up taping each finger tip with duct tape. My forks have held up well, requiring very little care (annual polish with some Mothers)
 
em_dot

em_dot

Street Tracker
I started with aircraft paint stripper from the autoparts store. It works in minutes!

Then I started sanding with 400 grit and then meant to go to 800 but got to "F@%k-It" after about 30 minutes per leg. I got on the buffing wheel and spent a few hours per leg buffing. I'd rather buff than sand...

I'd say they came out pretty well.


IMGA0185.jpg
 
J

jinx

moped
I will concur with all the above. I followed the same path with my old Thruxton. The factory paint stripped off frighteningly easy. I think I used Jasco Heavy Duty stripper from Lowes. It started bubbling as soon as I brushed it on. No base/primer coat either. It certainly added to the flavor of the bike I think:

2608304080_f4aa2a451b_b.jpg
 
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