Paint your carbs?

[XS1100_OEM4ME]

Cool

Cool, where did you get them, do they just press in, or did you have to bond them?

oh, man, you wouldn't believe me if i told you

Thumbtacks

[old_skool]

oh, man, you wouldn't believe me if i told you

Thumbtacks

WOW! genius, guessing bonded them. Great tips and pics

[XS1100_OEM4ME]

Sweet

Those look sweet Steve Did you grind off the words on the dia. covers or did they come that way? They look like the day they were made

I'm a powdercoat user....

[IMG][/IMG]

... but this requires complete disassembly of the carbs to do.

[crazy steve]

Those look sweet Steve Did you grind off the words on the dia. covers or did they come that way? They look like the day they were made

A quick pass with a 400 grit sanding disc took care of the lettering. I sandblasted the carb bodies and small parts after masking off all internal/machined surfaces. This took about a week by the time it was all done...

[mikubuilder]

Those carbs look sick Steve... time well spent

[James England]

I had a set of 'reconditioned' carbs from someone who claimed to be a carb rebuild specialist in the US. I posted here about the unbelievable mess they made of them. In addition to grit everywhere and missing parts, they had painted the carb bodies and the bar which joins them together. However, since they hadn't actually tightened up any of the float bowl screws, and had omitted a float needle, the carbs leaked gas absolutely everywhere when I fitted them. Seconds later, the paint peeled off and the carbs were a total mess.

If I had to coat them, with anything, I would go for powder coating only. Personally, I prefer the original dull look for the bodies, with highly polished float bowls and tops.

[XS1100_OEM4ME]

Powder coat

I like the powder coat as well, just not someting we all can do at home The paint with good motor paint is OK for us "do it your self" guys with limited $$$. Mine has held up well, but like Phil said, when in need, just brush on some more paint

I had a set of 'reconditioned' carbs from someone who claimed to be a carb rebuild specialist in the US. I posted here about the unbelievable mess they made of them. In addition to grit everywhere and missing parts, they had painted the carb bodies and the bar which joins them together. However, since they hadn't actually tightened up any of the float bowl screws, and had omitted a float needle, the carbs leaked gas absolutely everywhere when I fitted them. Seconds later, the paint peeled off and the carbs were a total mess.

If I had to coat them, with anything, I would go for powder coating only. Personally, I prefer the original dull look for the bodies, with highly polished float bowls and tops.

[crazy steve]

Powdercoating isn't all that expensive; you can buy a powder gun for less than $100, the coatings are relatively cheap (a $8 container of black powder will cover more than what 3-4 cans of spray paint will), and a used household oven or even a toaster oven for curing can be gotten for cheap or even free if you hunt a bit. You'll need some way to get the metal parts clean, dry, and oil-free, and you'll need a small compressor to run the gun. You do need some sort of shop (can't spray powder in the wind! ), but about the only things I paint anymore are things I can't coat...

[XS1100_OEM4ME]

$100!

You Sir are a rich man, $100.00, I could feed a family of six for a month with that kind of $$$$$$ (my family to be exact, , please PM me for donations)

Powdercoating isn't all that expensive; you can buy a powder gun for less than $100, the coatings are relatively cheap (a $8 container of black powder will cover more than what 3-4 cans of spray paint will), and a used household oven or even a toaster oven for curing can be gotten for cheap or even free if you hunt a bit. You'll need some way to get the metal parts clean, dry, and oil-free, and you'll need a small compressor to run the gun. You do need some sort of shop (can't spray powder in the wind! ), but about the only things I paint anymore are things I can't coat...

[James England]

An option on the fuel taps is to zinc plate them. I did mine with a home kit and they still look great, over a year later. It could be done on the carb bodies too but there's a lot of holes to block up.....

[barrelguy]

Powdercoating isn't all that expensive; you can buy a powder gun for less than $100, the coatings are relatively cheap (a $8 container of black powder will cover more than what 3-4 cans of spray paint will), and a used household oven or even a toaster oven for curing can be gotten for cheap or even free if you hunt a bit. You'll need some way to get the metal parts clean, dry, and oil-free, and you'll need a small compressor to run the gun. You do need some sort of shop (can't spray powder in the wind! ), but about the only things I paint anymore are things I can't coat...

would it be possible to powder coat using the "soda blaster" type of set up I've seen elsewhere? Excuse the ignorance but powder coating is totally foreign to me.

[crazy steve]

No, you need a dedicated powder gun. The gun applies an electrical charge to the powder which causes it to stick to metal parts. There's a video here: http://www.eastwood.com/original-hot...ing-gun-1.html

Once you make the initial investment in the equipment, the process is pretty inexpensive and much superior to paint in most applications. The most time-consuming part of the process is getting the parts prepped; you have to get all grease, oil, paint, and corrosion off before coating. The only real downside IMO is the fact if you screw up, the coating is very hard to remove for a re-do. You also can't use it on parts that have been soldered; the cure heat will melt the solder. And you can't coat anything that can't take the cure heat; 450 degrees for 'flow-out', then 400 degrees for 20 minutes to cure it.