Hey guys, had a quick question on bad corrosion. I went to check out a ducati 749/999 series today and the corrosion had caused the paint on the engine to flake or lift from the usual parts such as front cylinder head and rear recess area near the suspension. What was also odd was that the ducati performance aluminium fuel cap also bubbled and flaked away... Inside the petrol tank seemed ok but not sure how this was possible. I keep my bikes in pristine condition so if i were to buy it, I would aim to have the engine repainted but would not have the time or skills to remove the engine and then find somewhere to paint it. Does anyone know whether dealers or specialists are able to remove the engine and have it sandblasted/repainted and approximate cost to have them do this? Would the engine need to be dismantled completely? - I can dismantle bikes as i used to regularly remove shocks/front suspension but always left engine refreshes to the pros. Just wasn't sure if i can get it to the condition i want it to be without costing significantly more or best to wait for another one but not sure when that might be.
Flaking in these areas is pretty normal, you might struggle to find a bike without any at all. It doesn’t indicate serious corrosion though, it’s just that moisture finds it’s way between the paint and the aluminium and causes sufficient surface oxidation to lift the paint. I have simply removed all the paint from the front cam cover and touched it in at the rear of the engine. Someone knowing what to look for would find it but no one has ever noticed it.
Engine paint flaking it always a problem, although usually it's just offensive to the eye and of no consequence to the performance the engine. I have little experience with Ducatis but stripped a few Guzzis. Some Guzzi people have had their engines left assembled and by making ultra sure every intake/outlet on the block is ultra well plugged, they have been successful in getting a whole engine abrasive cleaned, but it's a distinctly dodgy business. One way to help mitigate is to use a Soda blast, not as aggressive as bead blasting but after a good wash down the media simply dissolves. I'm still waiting to see somebody offering dry ice blasting, it's used in the building sector and in some engineering applications, the mob I worked for used it to clean compressor blading Personally when I did the Guzzis I took them down to the casings then sent them here http://www.aloh.co.uk/ He does a great job and when finishing uses a process to peen the Aluminuim, so the finish lasts a long time & no paint to peel off. He is not cheap though but you get what you pay for. I dislike engine paint as sooner or later it's going to do what your seeing. This is the perennial problem to be really sure and do the job without risking the engine a helluva an amount of effort is required John
Nothing is new under the sun, back in the 70s & 80s nutshell blasting was how compressors were cleaned on the industrial gas turbines, while running, usually Walnut shells. Before that it was rice, the spec used to state Uncle Ben's and a specific type on his product range. When we did it the machine smelt like a Chinese takeaway. After the nutshells spent catalyst was used, I never went to the trouble of finding out exactly what that shit was, but it just looked like nutshells in a different bag. Eventually solid cleaning was banned altogether as tolerances on the machines got tighter and any of these products could bung up the cooling and sealing air passages. You wouldn't want a blocked passage it's a nasty thing and could be difficult to rectify.
There is a chap on here from MK area that has done similar on some 90's Jap stuff. Might be able to give you some advice. @philoldsmobile Here is his YouTube channel. I'd expect any decent Ducati specialist indi garage would do the work, but for a full strip, blast, paint and rebuild i'd guestimate £2k.
Depends how much you are willing to spend. Blanking off an engine having removed both heads and barrels and/or sidecasings is possible but you have to be 100% sure you seal the open orifices with absolute integrity. If you are willing to spend more and split the cases you can have them media blasted which will will restore them to as new condition, but again you need to ensure that the castings (particularly the oil galleries) are cleaned thoroughly as it is really easy to overlook even the tiniest of particles that will later wreak havoc in your engine once it is rebuilt (ask me how I know!!). For a bombproof finish that simply won't ever flake off is to have the engine parts Cerakoted. Not cheap but will probably outlast the rest of the bike. Again depends on your time and budget. Full strip down and rebuild of a Monster 620 engine cost me £850. Cerakoting the castings and sidecases probably another £400 but you'll end up with an engine that looks better than new, especially if you swap out all the crappy OEM bolts for stainless ones (try Stig Fasteners). You will also need to factor in the cost of seals, o-rings and bearings as part of the rebuild. If the corrosion is really bad, perhaps you might be better off looking for a cleaner example in the long run.
