anodizing a motorcycle engine

[dtiensvold2]

Hello All,

I was in the middle of rebuilding my first bike engine when I stumbled upon Caswell.com. I was immediately intrigued and would like to know if it's possible to anodize my engine block. I'm not sure of the surface area of the block, but it's a 750cc '83 honda sabre if that helps. (The block splits in half, so I would only anodize half of it at a time.) A few of my questions are as follows:

1. how can I find out what type of aluminum alloy the engine is made of?
2. can the Caswell masking agent be used inside the engine and cleaned easily afterwards, so as to not ruin precise measurements?
3. approx. how big of a rectifier would I need to anodize the engine block?
4. will the anodized layer be able to withstand the heat of an engine for prolonged periods?

If anyone could shed some light on any of these questions or direct me to the correct place to find the information it would be much appreciated.

[Fibergeek]

Since your motorcycle engine is air cooled, by design has lots of surface area. You will certainly need a large setup and a very large power supply. If your only doing this one engine, it will be a lot cheaper to have it done commercially.

1. Ask Honda, the commercial anodizer will want to know this too.
2. I don't know, Caswell will have to answer that.
3. That depends entirely on the surface area of each engine block half. You can forget any size battery charger.
4. When I was young and indestructible, I had a '72 Kawasaki Z1. That 900cc 4 cylinder DOHC "road rocket" had a black anodized block.

[dtiensvold2]

Thank you. I will give Honda a call and check local anodizing shops for prices.

[customandsound]

it is some kind of cast aluminum.... i melt them down from time to time .. for sand casting's .... good alloy to !!!!!!