painted Carbs

[Mike_H]

I'm plainning on painting my engine black, and want the carbs to match. Has anybody done this yet, and if so, any tips? I did pick up a spare set for 30 bucks on EBAY today (gotta love it ), so I can practice. I would think as long as I stuff em with rags, and tape the openings up good, I should be fine. High temp paint ya think? I'm thinking so, just for the extra coverage, and to match the engine block.

 

[Dink]

Sounds the go!! fully strip the carbs; including off the rack, good oportunity to fit an o-ring kit etc.

Dink

 

[POULSEN]

The high temp paint I have used, hardens up with high temperature which you hopefully:shock: wont get at the carbs (unless you bake them in an oven).
Just a hint - don?t know the type of your paint.

Stig

 

[Mike_H]

Dink, the carbs were cleaned last year...due to the bike not starting. This time, I just plan on tearing them down and shooting a rattle bomb at them. Thinking I am going to leave the bowls and top covers bare, and polish them. Kinda match what I'm going to do to the block.

 

[Guest]

I will be doing the same with my new project... painted engine and carbs. Let us know how it turns out. What kind of paint are you using?

 

[tkent02]

Boat carbs have ben painted black a long time....

Boat carbs have ben painted black a long time....

Might ask a boat engine repair place what kind of paint they use, it's hard and must be fuel resistant too.
Fairly glossy, maybe semi-gloss?

 

[Thomas Kenny]

I just painted my two-barrel carbs for my GS550ES. Yep tape up the ports and fuel and vacumm nipples. Get the good and clean. I wiped mine down with laquer thinner just before applying my first coat of grey primer to ensure best adhesion then two light coats of chrome paint.

Yes I'm a chrome ****

 

[Guest]

I just painted my two-barrel carbs for my GS550ES. Yep tape up the ports and fuel and vacuum nipples. Get the good and clean. I wiped mine down with lacquer thinner just before applying my first coat of grey primer to ensure best adhesion then two light coats of chrome paint.

Yes I'm a chrome ****

Alright, mister.... get with the program! You can't make a post that says "I just painted...." without including pics! PICS, PICS!!

 

[Mike_H]

Yeah....what bruce said! Anyway, I will probably run down to Pepboys, and pick up some engine paint. I'm going to try to find the wrinkled finish matte black...but it will probably just be a standard matte black. The carbs should be clean...I bead blasted them last year, and bonus, they still work. Pretty sure if I seal them up for painting, like I did for blasting, they will be OK. Does anyone know if the silver paint on the engine is clearcoated? If it is, I forsee a PITA getting that prepped for paint. My blasting booth aint big enough for a whole engine.

 

[Guest]

Yeah....what bruce said! Anyway, I will probably run down to Pepboys, and pick up some engine paint. I'm going to try to find the wrinkled finish matte black...but it will probably just be a standard matte black. The carbs should be clean...I bead blasted them last year, and bonus, they still work. Pretty sure if I seal them up for painting, like I did for blasting, they will be OK. Does anyone know if the silver paint on the engine is clearcoated? If it is, I forsee a PITA getting that prepped for paint. My blasting booth aint big enough for a whole engine.

I know the side covers and cam cover are cleared... not sure on the rest of the engine. I think the cases are cleared but the head is not. Is your engine removed? If so, some aircraft stripper would work great. That's what I plan on using on mine.

 

[Mike_H]

Engine is removed. I was hoping to avoid the paint stripper...makes such a mess. It gets into nooks and crannies, and its almost as hard to get off as paint once it dries...I'm thinking about steam cleaning, and scuffing with 400 grit, then spraying (another reason I want to use a textured paint...less prep work )

 

[Steve]

You can sort of see the painted carbs and polished lids and bowls in my Gallery pix.

http://www.thegsresources.com/_scripts/gallerydispwnd.php?RegID=759

There was basically no prep work before painting the carbs except taping off the lids and bowls. Notice I said taPing, not taKing. Yes the carbs stayed on the bike, the lids stayed on the carbs, they were just covered with tape. I did take the covers off the engine before painting. I sprayed carb cleaner in all the cracks and crevices, then used a toothbrush to clean it out, then sprayed some more. A couple of days later, the engine was dry enough to paint, and I had all the covers polished. A couple of coats of Dupli-Color brand engine enamel (Gloss Black, DE1613) covered everything. I think I got 2 of the 12-ounce spray cans and just barely used any from the second can. If anybody needs closer pictures, let me know, I can either send them to you directly or post them on Photobucket. You will get a quicker response if you send me a message at swoodin653 at aol dot com (you know how to put that together).

By the way, after a full summer of riding (just 12 miles shy of 6,000 miles) it is hard to see any wear and tear on the black paint. \\/
Oh, the 6,000 is just what SHE put on HER bike. I put about 12,500 on my Wing, and this is only since Memorial Day.

.

 

[Mike_H]

Wow steve, thats exactly what I was thinking of doing for my bike's engine. Looks good man. How did you polish the head fins? Did you tape them, or just clean them up afterward with a sanding block?

 

[rek]

i used a product called duplicolor adhesion promoter (clear) as a primer before painting my carbs. 10k miles later still hanging in!!
good luck.

 

[Guest]

I know the side covers and cam cover are cleared... not sure on the rest of the engine. I think the cases are cleared but the head is not. Is your engine removed? If so, some aircraft stripper would work great. That's what I plan on using on mine.

I just sprayed some aircraft stripper on a section of the engine cases. It doesn't look like there was any clearcoat on it.

 

[luc8421]

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2487174/1


I know I know... it's my cardomain site, but theres a picture of my bike with the carbs panited grey/metal.

they were already recently cleaned. all I did was take the rails and tops off. masked off the inlets, the now open tops, and the ports. had them off, prepped, painted, and back on within about 6 hours, all while painting a few other various things.


in the 6-9 months since I've painted them, only one side of one of the bowls has had the paint stripped off, when I forgot to install the fuel line clamp and it leaked out for a few hours. the picture was taken 3-4 month after I'd painted them.

 

[Steve]

Wow steve, thats exactly what I was thinking of doing for my bike's engine. Looks good man. How did you polish the head fins? Did you tape them, or just clean them up afterward with a sanding block?

Sorry for the delay getting back to you, Mike.

I don't think that taping off the fins would work as there is not much there to stick the tape to, and you would probably have to use pinstriping tape.

I planned on using a sanding block, but found that the edges of the fins are not all aligned, so I waited a couple of days for the paint to dry completely, then used a flat file, since there was also considerable casting flash on several of the edges. Using a file took off the flash and left a nice, flat, shiny edge. \\/

Looking back, I suppose that I might true up the edges of the fins FIRST, then paint, then clean the paint off the edges. Using a good, sharp file leaves a finish that looks like the edges were machined, an added bonus.\\/


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