Repainting the engine

[fuzz]

After this Winter has taken it's toll on the paintwork of my SV650S, I decided to repaint it and give it a fresh look. I'll be doing a quickish job of it, by that I mean the engine will remain in the frame, and I will be masking areas off like the frame, downpipe etc.

So off to Halfords to get some high temperature paint. I found a matt black and also some cleaning solvent to degrease/demuck the area first.

This is what the engine block looked like before starting.

https://img126.imageshack.us/img126/7821/p10100862bk.jpg

Notice how the paint has completely peeled away between engine blocks. I had already started by the time I realised I could document it, so the rest of the pictures are from the other side. Both sides were as bad as each other; infact the left side was worse.

First clean the area of all dirt, grease, salt, everything. A wash and dry first, follwed by the cleaning solvent from Halfords, got the area nice and prepped. Then I sanded down the area with a sanding foam pad. It was useful because it got into the nooks while still being able to grip it well enough to be effective. Notice I haven't sanded down the valve cover. This I will be doing when I check the valve clearances.

https://img155.imageshack.us/img155/1250/p10100876zb.jpg

More solvent cleaner got rid of the paint dust. After masking off the areas and getting down to as much bare aluminium as I could, I started spraying. The key, I found, was to spray in very short bursts. The paint dried to the touch within a few seconds.

https://img508.imageshack.us/img508/8135/p10100889fv.jpg

I'm not too concerned at the moment with spraying the crankcase cover. I can remove the paint later with a some Autoglym.

As I said, take your time when spraying. I started to go a little quicker because it was all going well. I ended up putting too much on in one go and this happenned.

https://img508.imageshack.us/img508/4330/p10100895iy.jpg

I had to remove the paint back to bare metal, wet and dry it, and repaint. Don't be tempted to use more solvent cleaner, as the drips will spoil the paint and will also need sanding again before repainting. It's spoilt it a little, but it doesn't look at all bad. The can says to wait 10-15 minutes between coats, until dry to the touch. As the area was so small and the coats of paint are ultra thin, I put a new coat on after 3 minutes or so.

More to come tommorrow when there's daylight to finish it off.
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https://www.bikepics.com/members/fuzzbcf/
Bikes: '99 NSR125R, '00 SV650S, K1 GSX-R600, '97 CB500, K3 SV1000S, '16 VFR800

[DucatiEVO]

That looks like the paint has reacted due to a contaminated surface, rather then to much paint applied.
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aKa: Ducky

[fuzz]

As you can see in the picture above, the paint is smooth when applied sparingly. As soon as I sprayed too much at once, it started bubbling up as you can see in the bottom picture. After I had removed it and gone back to using it lightly, it remained smooth.
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https://www.bikepics.com/members/fuzzbcf/
Bikes: '99 NSR125R, '00 SV650S, K1 GSX-R600, '97 CB500, K3 SV1000S, '16 VFR800

[phantomtek]

Looks good there fuzz. The Halfords VHT paint is good stuff, I used it on the expansion chamber and exhaust on my old bike, looked next to new when I was done, looked really good. And the instructions are stupid, dried quickly with me too.

Looks good.

P.S Is the cleaning solvent good then? How much was it ?

[fuzz]

It was about £5 for the can, but I think it's just brake and carb cleaner. Smells the same and evaporates just as quick.
____________________
https://www.bikepics.com/members/fuzzbcf/
Bikes: '99 NSR125R, '00 SV650S, K1 GSX-R600, '97 CB500, K3 SV1000S, '16 VFR800

[craigs23]

Looks smarter - how's the finish though? A friend of mine sprayed the engine casings on his CB1, but found, because the bike's water cooled, the paint didn't 'bake on' like it should have done - bits rubbed off after a while when he had to clean the casings again (even when only using soapy water).

A respray followed by a couple of quick coats of laquer have helped, but I reckon normal paint would take to the 'cooler' engine casings better, VHT being best for exhausts and what not.

[Jack_Cheese]

[phill.c]

what was the foam pad you used like for sanding it down? as you said it gets in all the knooks, ive been using sand paper and a wire brush on mine at the moment but still can't get into every little corner. oh and what do they look like?
thanks
phill.c
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CBR400RR the funs started - Honda MTX 125 ongoing project when i can be arsed

[MikeH]

[phill.c]

nitromors is that like a paint stripper turn rust remover?
cheers
phill
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CBR400RR the funs started - Honda MTX 125 ongoing project when i can be arsed

[MikeH]

Paint Stripper, be careful it melts plastics
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Busa Junkie