Head and barrel recon - Horizons Unlimited

**Quicken** · #1 28 Jun 2012

Hi all,

I dunno if this has already been discussed in the forum before, but can anyone give me advice on reconditioning the head and barrel on my 1984 XT600?

The heat resistant paint has faded pretty bad over the years and because I will soon be reconditioning the engine completely I wanted to know what the best way is to get the paint cleared off and conditioned for a repaint.

I thought of sanblasting the head and barrel - what could be the consequences? Could i do the same for the crank case?

**docsherlock** · #2 28 Jun 2012

Sand blast it all before you strip it. Make sure you block up all holes into engine first - intakes, exhaust ports etc.

**Mezo** · #3 29 Jun 2012

Get it vapor blasted like Geoff has just recently done on his 1VJ.

Sandblasting is messy & the result are crap in comparison to vapor blasting, getting the right paint makes all the difference as well.

Mezo.

**Quicken** · #4 29 Jun 2012

WOW that looks good. I'll have to try and find someone here that can do it for me.

**Huan** · #5 29 Jun 2012

Does anyone in SA do Soda blasting? That gives a very nice finish as well.
You can DIY it with some basic materials.

**Quicken** · #6 29 Jun 2012

Please give me more information about the DIY job. It seems soda blasting is do-able here, but not sure how much it would set me back.

**Mezo** · #7 30 Jun 2012

Danny (Danjet600) tried the baking soda trick on his 600E carbs last year, worked well a getting the crud off & no risk of getting sand in the carbs.

Before:

After:

Trust us we've tried all the methods on our rebuilds & the vapor blasting gives the best results, soda blasting is cheap but it will take you forever to remove that paint, it took me ages just sandblasting & the finish was just average.

Mezo.