Clear paint or anodizing of hubs?

[MX?]

G'day all,
have just been searching this section looking for answers....and probably just as confused as ever 
I've just dismantled the rear hub from the rim on the old XL for a rebuild of things. Want to spruce up the hub while I have the chance. The plan is to soda blast it and then either clear paint or anodize it and reassemble with SS spokes etc. have spoken to the metal finisher who says the clear anodizing may come out dark-ish 'cos of the amount of cast in it and will damage any steel etc. (the brake rim surface) to some extent.(depending on the length of time it's left in).
So, in the panel's opinion, which finish would look best for the longest? or would it be line ball. I had planned to have the brake surface machined as well so perhaps this would rectify any damage to the steel surface?

[LWC82PE]

i would go with a good quality silver paint. paint can have a slight filling effect. anodizing is just a thin coat and unless the surface is totally smooth with no pits and scratches the part will usually still look shit after annodizing, especially on old japanese hubs which are a cast finish and not polished or machined. remember you are gonna look after the bike a lot better than everyone else whos used and abused it for the past 35 yrs and paint will last a long time. also your paint job would be better than the mass production paintwork at the factorys. have you seen how crap their paint is from new? i got a NOS suzuki hub and the paint is so crap i could do a better job with a can of black spray paint with my eyes closed its the same with all the other parts. They put a pissy thin watery coat of black paint on every black metal part. you dont need expensive spray equipment. care taken with a spray can can produce quite good results

[vandy010]

i'm doing up a set for my MX250 project now where i've blasted them with Garnet {it was handy} then sprayed them with clear enamel from a can warmed in hot water, then i bake them on about 200 degrees for half hour.
i find if they're left unbaked, the dirt seems to stick to them and they're hard to clean. so now i bake.
i found a can of "cast iron" which is a funny silver colour i'm itching to try out on a set of hubs too.

[GMC]

I think you will find that it will bugger the steel parts completely, & I'm surprised the anodisers are willing to put it in their bath as I thought the steel would bugger up their solutions.
Different grade alloys anodise differently & you won't really know what grade your hub is made from.
I feel your better of to paint.

[MX?]

Thanks for that....paint it is...guess a 2 pack is best? or what about those epoxy type enamels i.e. White Knight paints?
On the subject of finishes, I'm thinking of taking the whole motor in for a soda blast at the same time. Now I realise this isn't the ideal way of doing things, but, if I bolt a blank off plate over the exhaust and intake etc. and ask them to give the whole deal a quick blast to remove the corrosion from the cases and cylinder/top end. What do you reckon about the side cases? magnesium items with what looks like a paint finish/maybe anodized? Not sure that they can be masked off with anything so I guess they'd be blasted as well. Does magnesium polish well and stay polished? (At least as well as alloy does) Either that or whip 'em off afterwards and paint them as well.....anyone know the colour for the old Honda cases?

[oldfart]

With bead blasing of engine case , make sure you wash and REMOVE ALL the fine dust . If this is not done your nice new cases with be stuffed with in an hour

As per  GMC post  .... anodisers will not anodise if there is metal present .    THe cleaner the part the better the finish 

[YZ250H]

Please explain the case thing old fart 

[DG 26]

PS don;t forget to paint the spokes black

[LWC82PE]

i think he means you have to remove all the glass beads out of everywhere otherwise they will block up the oil gallerys and get in the oil and the oil will transfer the glass beads throughout the motor and quicky stuff it up. i have seen what happens when people try to beadblast a complete assembled motor and think they have blocked everything off but dont realise that the beads wil still get into places. their attempts to do things on the cheap and save money are over and they find out their motor is stuffed and now needs a complete rebuild and lots of new expensve parts. my advise is to pull the motor apart and do it properly.

if you still want to do it assembled i advise using paint stripper to remove all old paint and then use aluminium cleaner like Ali Brite but keep in mind this will also ruin the finish on zinc plated parts like case screws. this is safer than bead blasting a omplete assembled motor. another option is to remove all old paint and repaint with new paint. ive done that many times before on motors that dont need pulling apart but they need tidying up cosmetically.

[oldfart]

Internal cases
Make sure all parts are free of grit as you only need a couple of very minute beads to mix with the oil and it's all over red rover .
Tank wash - rinse - tank wash again -rinse , then use a cotton bud in the corners to see it any residue is left . When I am satisfied I have them clean , I rinse them in metho

It may look like over kill , better safe than sorry 

[MX?]

I'm getting these parts soda blasted not beaded
Also I'm planning to replace all the bolts/screws with SS items when finished.
I've just finished a Z900 on the "expensive" and don't particularly think I'm doing this on the "cheap" after all it's gonna get banged around in the dirt for a living....but I want it to look respectable as well. 
I reckon it will work for a good clean up of the alloy. But if it all turns to shit I'll happily stand corrected.

More interested in the paint finishes at present