Carb Paint

[Anonymous]

My '85 GS550L's carbs were painted black. Of course, the rebuild dip left them bare metal. What are the prevailing opinions on this?

Leave them bare metal? Paint them? If so, what kind of paint do I need? High-temp engine spray? What can I do to make sure it us fuel proof? What is the best way to mask off what I don't want painted?

Thanks,

Rob

[Jethro]

I just went through this. My front master cyl was all nasty and I figured I'd paint it. Well I stripped it down and painted it with what I thought was good quality rattle can paint. One drop of brake fluid and the hours of work was wasted.

What I found out is that the only paint good enough to use on parts that see gas or brake fluid is a catylized system. Earl helped me out on this and the auto body paint shop hooked me up with info and materials.

You need to find a paint shop that sells paint to auto body shops. What you need is a catylized system which consists of the paint, a reducer and a hardener. They are typically mixed 4:1:1. The shop I got my stuff from had this little spray bottle that takes cartridges for compressed air and you can mix right in the bottle. A quart of paint and all the other materials cost me about $70. There isn't a rattle can paint available that will give you good results over time, it will look like crap if any gas gets on them. This will make them look like that factory, and you can spill gas all over them. Brake fluid too. Expensive, but if you're gonna do it, do it right.

[Anonymous]

I was hoping that the high-temp engine paint that you bake on would be tough enough, but I'm not surprised that it isn't.

I spend a lot of time down at a hangar where they use two-part epoxy primers and paints all the time. If I put my carbs in line next time they were painting something, it would save me the $70, but who knows what color they would come out (: Would that paint be ok?

Rob

[Jethro]

As I understand, any two part paint will work fantastic. The key is the hardener. Rattle can paints, high temp or not, need to have a shelf life of a few years or more. As a result, the paint you get is in no way durable, it's always gonna be soft and weak even after it dries. That's why it can't hold up to solvants like gas and brake fluid. But a paint that uses hardener will be curing for up to a month. After that, it's as hard as a rock, and even tough solvants won't affect them.

[earlfor]

Catalyzed epoxy base paints are most susceptible to alcohol, so you should be fine using it on a bike carb. Be sure and tape over any opening you dont want paint in. It is nearly impossible to remove if allowed to get into a passageway. Carb dip will not usually remove a clog of it

Earl

I was hoping that the high-temp engine paint that you bake on would be tough enough, but I'm not surprised that it isn't.

I spend a lot of time down at a hangar where they use two-part epoxy primers and paints all the time. If I put my carbs in line next time they were painting something, it would save me the $70, but who knows what color they would come out (: Would that paint be ok?

Rob

[Katamaniac]

I had the same problem with my carbs when I cleaned them. I just left them bare. I think it looks good that way.

If you were really diligent, you could pollish the carbs 8O 8O . That would be a lot of work.

[earlfor]

Mine are gunmetal grey metallic with silver leaf accent lines and clearcoated. :-) :-) :-)

Earl

I had the same problem with my carbs when I cleaned them. I just left them bare. I think it looks good that way.

If you were really diligent, you could pollish the carbs 8O 8O . That would be a lot of work.