Pulse cover on rhs of engine of my old hornet got scratched and slightly gouged in an off - I’m planning on doing the bike up and want to make everything good - is it possible to polish out the scratches and respray it?
They look a bit deep to polish out…I had similar damage on a ZZR and I sanded the worst of the sharp edges off before filling the remaining digs with a Spanish version of Araldite. Left it for a while then sanded and painted it…perfect !
Thanks W - yeah - sounds like the way to go - sand out the scratches and fill in the gouges.
I guess were talking sanding with a machine?
I think it looks rugged. You could find a replacement engine case from a breaker or do what I did on my CB500, unwittingly let the engine run dry of oil, redline it in a tunnel therefore destroing it and get a replacement engine fitted. Hey presto the scratch is gone.
Prefer the first option J! :hehe:
Hows the replacement engine performing by the way?
Don’t sand out with a machine!
Unless you are very skilled (or very lucky) you’ll just change the problem. Hand sand it with wet and dry paper around some corrugated cardboard working down the grades. (Or up the numbers on the back of the sheets.)
Thanks OG - no I’m not very skilled :hehe: so i’ll go easy on it with the different grades by hand like you say. 
the ali casting is so soft anyway, will take no time to loose the scratches even with fine wet and dry. if you look on hornetsnest.com there’s a sticky thread somewhere with the halfords touch up pen colour
Cheers CJ - i’ll check it out. 
I did the sand/araldite/sand/spray thing on my CBR a few years ago, worked fine. I got a second-hand cover off ebay and used Halfords HT paint. Cured it in the oven when the wife was away for the weekend…
The replacement engine was fine, it felt like it was producing more power. I’ve since sold that bike.
Excelent - yep, it’s nice to know that a seized engine is not necessarily the end of the world and that you can pick up a spare for reasonable money!
…that you can pick up a spare for reasonable money!
Unless you need one for an XT660. No, not me, thank goodness!
Best price a friend could find was £900 with no pedigree/history.
I guess it’s easier and cheaper with more common stuff - Bandits - 6 and 1200, CB500s etc.
Always easier to find when its a case of where the riders skills runs out well before any component 
