Any advice for tarting up a rough chainguard

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Mike T

Mike T

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Hi there
I would be grateful for any suggestions concerning how to 'tart up' my '74 MKIIA chainguard.

It's in overall great condition on both sides, except for a pretty rough area along the top.

My goal is to have the bike in nice, original-looking condition and I don't really want to spend tons of cash having it rechromed (as it will show the rest of the bike up!), but it does look a bit unsightly and of course the rust/flaking is in the most prominent place.

Would appreciate any tips or tricks of the trade that might help
Cheers
Mike

Any advice for tarting up a rough chainguard

Any advice for tarting up a rough chainguard

Any advice for tarting up a rough chainguard

Any advice for tarting up a rough chainguard
 
Let's see..... mask and silver spray ONLY the rust zones after using rust converter chemical. Or, just stop cleaning it, let it get black and greasy
 
I had mine powdered black because I preferred it that way. But you can
get powder chrome and it is surely cheaper than plating. If I wanted a
chrome look Id get SS. How it stands up to vibration cracking I dont know.
 
Thats about the 2nd worst looking chainguard I've seen for a long time.
Rust, flaky chrome and deep pits is about as bad as it gets.
Beyond having rechromed, most likely, too rusty.

That suggestion about using (thick) silver paint on the bad spots is sounding about as good as it gets ?

Or maybe you can get/find a strip of stainless steel or chromed steel, and glue/fasten/solder/rivett it along the top.
Scrapyards often have old offcuts of stainless, I'd try in that direction - something about 3/4" wide.

They are not that expensive to buy new ??
 
Looks like some battery acid got on the top of chainguard. May have to sand the old chrome for adhesion. Have fun. :) Myself I would just buy a new one as these are not rare. Your Norton will like it. :lol:
 
oh ugh, of all the things and 1000's spent on my Combats the only thing I could not bring myself to buy is a new chain guard as both mine were rather worse than this example - besides the corrosion pitting off all the chrome the chain fouled it so dinged wrinkled and side face dinged wrinkled with rust where the chrome cracked bubbled then flaked off leaving teasing areas of nice gleam here and there. Rattle can will only last a few seasons if that and nothing out a can will come close to impressing anyone that they are seeing chrome, just rattle caned over rust and/or rough texture. Paint is very hard to get to stick to reaming chrome so very shiny patches show up first emphasis the painted over half fast look. When I paint Trixie's again I paint it yellow to match the rest of her and just touch up now and then. Only other Commando owners will notice anyway with all the other things to oggle at.

Any advice for tarting up a rough chainguard
 
Light spot sand blasting on the rusted areas would work better long term as the crusty bits including any bubbling/lifting chromium will be gone.
Zinc based primer and silver paint is as good as anything even applied with a brush.
If you wanted to get fancy the complete top could be done with the sides masked to get a even painted strip.
There are a few chrome 'look paints available.

Any advice for tarting up a rough chainguard
 
i would say thats too far gone, there seems to be a lot nicer ones for less than $100 all over ebay, i would go with that. If you buy a decent used one it would save you money and kinda fit in with the rest of the bike since it wont be shiny new. Even if you find something cheap with a bit of rust, i used aluminum foil to clean all the rusty chrome on my bike and it came out great IMO
cleaning-chrome-with-aluminum-foil-t13557.html
 
Well you could get a piece of wood that fits inside of it and then mask or tape over the jaws of your bench vise and clamp it in tight enough to work on it without it moving or scratching or denting the sides. then take a flat bastard file and go to work taking off all the rust and chrome from the top of the it. By taking it down to the steel base metal under the chrome the full length of it you will get a good surface that you can prep for paint. If you prep and mask a line just below the rounded edge you could get a clean look. You could spray it gloss black or accent it with a similar color to your tank and side panels. ....just a thought ...kinda depends on how much time you have to spend on it :)
 
$!00 for a new one. Not even worth worrying about. Just get a new or used one in better condition.
 
I would probably take my Sotchbrite pads on my disc grinder, or 80 grit sandpaper on my random orbital sander and buff off that top, and then sand the rest of the surface to scuff and spray paint it to match the tank and go riding!
 
RGM sells a stainless steel item:

http://rgmmotors.co.uk/main.htm
1540 064837S COMMANDO REAR CHAINGUARD 1970 ONWARDS
£ 49.90
Click to expand...

Type 064837 has the chainguard extension holes but will not have the later 850 Mk.2/2A brake inspection cutout.

The AN part number listed for 1974 is the earlier 061865 type without extension mounting holes.

Item: CHAINGUARD
Part Number: 061865
Price: £42.50

Item: CHAINGUARD
Part Number: 064837
Price: £42.50

PART NUMBER: 065818
DESCRIPTION: CHAINGUARD, LATE Mk2
PRICE: £42.50
Click to expand...
 
Thank you all very much for your comments & advice, it is much appreciated. This forum is brilliant!
Best regards
Mike
 
My restoration project came without a chainguard so I looked at new guards and ebay offerings. Early chainguards tossed the grease onto the number/licence plate so Norton added a dinky bit of plastic to direct the gunge downwards. They adopted the Hardly Rideable philosophy - 'lets add another bracket". I ended up going with a CNW chainguard which moulds around the sprocket in one smooth curve. Tight and neat - the aesthetics are worth the extra $20.

Regards
Bert
 
tyborg15 said:
I ended up going with a CNW chainguard which moulds around the sprocket in one smooth curve. Tight and neat - the aesthetics are worth the extra $20.

Regards
Bert
Click to expand...
Is that the S type guard?

Any advice for tarting up a rough chainguard


Dave
69S
 
tyborg15 said:
My restoration project came without a chainguard so I looked at new guards and ebay offerings. Early chainguards tossed the grease onto the number/licence plate so Norton added a dinky bit of plastic to direct the gunge downwards. They adopted the Hardly Rideable philosophy - 'lets add another bracket". I ended up going with a CNW chainguard which moulds around the sprocket in one smooth curve. Tight and neat - the aesthetics are worth the extra $20.

Regards
Bert
Click to expand...

Keep in mind that it's $20 more but it's also bare steel.
 
swooshdave said:
tyborg15 said:
My restoration project came without a chainguard so I looked at new guards and ebay offerings. Early chainguards tossed the grease onto the number/licence plate so Norton added a dinky bit of plastic to direct the gunge downwards. They adopted the Hardly Rideable philosophy - 'lets add another bracket". I ended up going with a CNW chainguard which moulds around the sprocket in one smooth curve. Tight and neat - the aesthetics are worth the extra $20.

Regards
Bert
Click to expand...

Keep in mind that it's $20 more but it's also bare steel.
Click to expand...

The 061272 "S" Type chainguard is also available from Andover Norton.

061272 CHAINGUARD "S" TYPE £80.00
061272/P CHAINGUARD, "S"-Type, SILVER £35.00
Click to expand...
 
I got my chromed one from Burtons Bits. There was a guy making SS ones quite a while ago, I think he was in the UK. They were pretty pricy.

Dave
69S
 
I had mine powder coated black. I like the look a lot better. Less busy I think.
 
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