2010 GS1200 TWIN CAM VALVER COVER REMOVAL

[Woody9356]

Hi Guys,

New to GS ownership!!!

Just bought a GS1200 twin cam, which I love. Noticed a bit o bubbling/corrosion around the valve covers, which I want to remove and repaint. Now I'm sure this has been discussed a million times already, but I wonder,

A: Can i just unbolt the covers? (re-use the gaskets etc) Do i need to drain any oil, any special preparation required?

B: whats the best paint to use (I dont want to go to the expense of powder coating), that will get me to as near as factory as possible?

Many thanks in advance for any help

Patrick

 

[comberjohn]

Welcome to the forum.
Mine is the same model and I also like the colour. Fortunately, I've only a few stone chips so far after 30k miles.
As far as I know, the gaskets are reusable if you don't damage them. There's very little oil when removing them.
I'm pretty sure you could find a you tube video showing how it's done.
I don't think it will be a cheap option to get them painted the same colour, never mind the durability of paint.
I recently had my full top and bottom crash bars prepared and stove enameled in gloss red for £50.
Was amazed at the range of colours that they had available for alloy wheels, etc. Look for a good enameling place and see what they say.

 

[Woody9356]

Thank you for that sir!

 

[Bendy toy]

I had my wheels done in gloss black powder and learned a few things along the way.

Ive been very happy with the quality and price of powder coating but as with anything choose carefully. The supplier needs to be extra careful with rocker covers. Magnesium wont handle much about 180 C / 350F and that can be the start temperature for some powders. You will need a low temperature system which may be less durable.

Shot blasting mag alloys can set up surface cracks. Chemical strip and flat the surface with a light grit bast or better a bead blast. Do not grit blast the paint away - far too aggressive.

Corrosion gets in from the bare metal machined joint surface. So chemical dip to remove all OEM paint. File off the sharp edge and etch prime the whole cover including the joint face. Paint your favourite top colour going over the previously bare edge of the casting. The seal s soft and rubbery so does not need to be bare metal to metal.

 

[Woody9356]

Thank you 'bendy boy' I was going to paint myself, and always use etch primer now...the end result is so much more resilient!

 

[Bendy toy]

You may well find the engine front cover going the same way. The OEM paint is mega tough so get it professionally chemical dipped.

Powder coating works on the front cover, but can be quite chunky so on reflection I would now etch prime and paint the cover as described above. Use anti seize all the way up the screw threads.

 

[Woody9356]

Ta sir. Smoothrite it is!

 

[Bendy toy]

Smoothrite will need the etch primer and can touch up flaked paint. I chipped mine back from the scabbed edges but the corrosion continued. In the end it was simply easier to have it properly stripped and refinished.

I also had an issue where I had let the corrosion soak in for too long. My front cover had rotted from the bottom screw that holds the alternator belt cover. Then road salt got in, bah, blah, etc. The powder coat has bubbled at the front centre where that corrosion was bad. The finish hasn't failed and its almost pout of sight but its not what it should be. I now believe that paint would have been a better option if only that I could clean off the bad area and touch it up. That's not possible with powder.