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I recently decided to try and remove the flaky, oxidized plastic on an old front master cylinder reservior, as it was looking like the one on my bike, and I didn't want to sacrifice the one on my bike to be the ginea pig, in case I screwed something up.
I clamped the reservior in a vise with cloth rag padded jaws, and worked it over with a coarse file until all of the oxidized material was gone. I then used a small pocket screw driver, and scraped out the flaky stuff from the depression where it is marked LOWER. After all that was removed, I used some 120 grit emory cloth and started sanding the reservior until the sides felt smooth, and the natural color returned to the plastic. I then went over it with some 320 emory cloth and just sanded away until I was satisfied with the finish. I then folded the emory cloth small, and worked it around in the depression until it was smoothed out. This whole procedure took about an hour. Your time may vary. The reservior cover was very faded also, so I practiced on an old one and stumbled upon a great resto tip. After a good cleaning with a toothbrush and brake clean, the cover still looked weathered, so I was trying to think of some way I could stain it, and make it black again. I thought about some liquid shoe polish. That may work. I remebered I had some black Rub n' Buff, so I tried that. I applied a small amount to the tip of a toothbrush and started to apply it. It covered well and adhered to the surface without streaking or smearing. I finished applying it and let it set a couple of minutes. The Rub n' Buff will not stain the DOT label on the cover, either. It just wipes right off. I rubbed the XS Rub n' Buff off, and it looked like a new cover! Nice deep, rich color. That with the refubished reservior really makes a noticible difference. I swapped out the reservior on my bike and while I was in there, I inspected the spooge hole, and removed the O ring that seals the reservior to the master. There was so much crap built up under the O ring that it had to be scraped out, an the O ring had to be replaced. Anyway, now the newly detailed pieces are on my bike and they look great. I no longer have that ratty, crumbly, embarassing reservior sitting next to my recently detailed switch pods, and new mirrors. That was the last item to be addressed on the bars, and it stuck out like a sore thumb. I had bought a new reservior a couple of years ago, but it I found out that it only fit a Standard, so I couldn't use it. Now we don't have to replace the reserviors. We can just refinish them.
I clamped the reservior in a vise with cloth rag padded jaws, and worked it over with a coarse file until all of the oxidized material was gone. I then used a small pocket screw driver, and scraped out the flaky stuff from the depression where it is marked LOWER. After all that was removed, I used some 120 grit emory cloth and started sanding the reservior until the sides felt smooth, and the natural color returned to the plastic. I then went over it with some 320 emory cloth and just sanded away until I was satisfied with the finish. I then folded the emory cloth small, and worked it around in the depression until it was smoothed out. This whole procedure took about an hour. Your time may vary. The reservior cover was very faded also, so I practiced on an old one and stumbled upon a great resto tip. After a good cleaning with a toothbrush and brake clean, the cover still looked weathered, so I was trying to think of some way I could stain it, and make it black again. I thought about some liquid shoe polish. That may work. I remebered I had some black Rub n' Buff, so I tried that. I applied a small amount to the tip of a toothbrush and started to apply it. It covered well and adhered to the surface without streaking or smearing. I finished applying it and let it set a couple of minutes. The Rub n' Buff will not stain the DOT label on the cover, either. It just wipes right off. I rubbed the XS Rub n' Buff off, and it looked like a new cover! Nice deep, rich color. That with the refubished reservior really makes a noticible difference. I swapped out the reservior on my bike and while I was in there, I inspected the spooge hole, and removed the O ring that seals the reservior to the master. There was so much crap built up under the O ring that it had to be scraped out, an the O ring had to be replaced. Anyway, now the newly detailed pieces are on my bike and they look great. I no longer have that ratty, crumbly, embarassing reservior sitting next to my recently detailed switch pods, and new mirrors. That was the last item to be addressed on the bars, and it stuck out like a sore thumb. I had bought a new reservior a couple of years ago, but it I found out that it only fit a Standard, so I couldn't use it. Now we don't have to replace the reserviors. We can just refinish them.
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