So my 1991 FLHTC evo motor has that black paint on the case and various other parts. It is all chipped up and probably 50% gone. I need some suggestions on how to clean this up.

1) Should I refinish it with some fresh paint? If so how difficult is this? Does it require a full motor tear down?

2) Should I just strip it down and leave the case and other stuff with the metal finish? This seems to be the easier option, but again what's the easiest way of doing this?

Thoughts and Suggestions please, Thanks!

 

My 1990 FLT blond motor was same with aged and weathered surfaces etc.
I have had it recently rebuilt and during this process my rebuilder guy glass shot it the way a glass shooting should be done and im happy with the results as i have had glass shooting done by a/holes before and it can be a nightmare .
I have found that there is very little info. out there re; how to refurbish old and weathered engines . If you are not considering any rebuild work on your 23 year old motor and are just interested in paint etc., then i would have it blasted with soda or nut shells or any of the available soft media that is applicable to your needs.
I decided to paint the shiney stuff instead of trying to buff/polish it all back to new and i like the look of the finished product. I will polish the main drive cover only .
If you go this way be sure to use the correct paint etc.

 

Mine was like that. I got a can of grill paint and taped and papered it and sprayed what was bad. that was 5-6 years ago. Everything I did is gone now, and it's like it was when I got it. No worries, I'll just leave it like that. If you're going to do it, di it right or it's just a waste of time. A lot of these bikes on here are like that. the pics look great, and then someone will take a close up of some work they're doing on it, and lo and behold, their engine looks just like mine!

 

All good to know! Thanks! I have no rebuild planned anytime soon. It only got 37k miles on it and it runs like a champ! So prolly just live with it like the rest of the pack. Kinda gives it character anyways. Pretty much got my other bike in show condition so good enough I guess. I've been calling this old girl mu hoopty, lol! Frickin love her tho all the same! Also kinda nice that I don't really worry to much about the cosmetics of it. Its got the expected bumps and bruises a 23yr old cycle should! Been putting my personal touches onto it of course tho. Thanks for the input!

 

Back when I had my first motor, the black wrinkle paint began coming off in sheets at around 50,000 miles. I bought some H-D black wrinkle paint in a spray can. I scrubbed and chipped off the loose paint, sanded what I could reach, then masked off the chrome, frame and areas I didn't want to paint using tape and newspaper. I used a cheap Badger airbrush, spraying the H-D paint into the airbrush jar and using the airbrush to apply the paint to the bike. That way I could control the paint much more precisely and avoid overspray on areas I didn't want to paint.

It turned out pretty nice, and was more time consuming than difficult.

My remanufactured motor is powder coated and still looks like new after 12 years/99,000 miles.