Painting rusty bits?
 

Anyone know if a standard straight-to-rust spray paint like Hammerite would be any good to touch up corroded bits on a bike?

Used some of it recently to clean up some rusted weight plates I got cheap on eBay and it worked really well. Tempted to use it on corroded bits of the SV like the forks and bits of engine casing but dunno if the elements will just take it off straight away?

Re: Painting rusty bits
 

I thought about it, but rust leaves ripples in the paint. So when it came to my bike I stripped, wire brushed, treated and then painted it that way. This way I knew that there was no damage that needed attention.


Damn my OCD! :D

Re: Painting rusty bits
 

You'll need to rub them down as much as possible then treat them with a rust primer that chemically changes the rust's properties, light rub down after and paint.

Re: Painting rusty bits
 

Cheers both - should have explained better, it's not actual rust though. More discolouration of the finish - the silver forks have a dappled grey look about them and the engine casing has a light grey 'pattern' in places where the crud hits.

I just wondered ordinary stuff like Hammerite would stand up to water, salt and assorted nasties hitting it at motorway speeds?

Re: Painting rusty bits
 

Fork legs are alloy with a coating of (I think) either paint or laquer. The corrosion on the legs is where the salt and weather has got beneath the coating. If you rub them down enought to get at the corrosion, you will have removed the paint/laquer and exposed the alloy. Hammerite/Smoothrite needs its own primer on alloy before you apply the topcoat as it doesn't bond with alloy in the way it does with steel.

Re: Painting rusty bits?
 

Thanks gary-I thought it might be a bit too strightforward just spraying it on! Will prob leave it in that case as no point spending any money on it-just had some Hammerite left over from the weights.
Ta for the advice-know you can get info off the manufacturer's websites but obviously they're out to sell you as mny products as possible so it's often worth asking around.

So best thing to spray fork lowers? (Sorry for any thread jacking, but it is still on topic ;) )

Re: Painting rusty bits?
 

Simonez 5 wheel silver is pretty good and tough.
No point painting onto cracked paint... best paint in world will not work on flaky crap.

What you have on forks/engine is not rust it is corrosion... rust only happens on iron.

Re: Painting rusty bits?
 

Yup-corrosion is what I meant, should've been more specific.

Ta for the reccomendation Chris-forks aren't actually flaking (yet), just sort of discoloured.

Much as I love the SV, sometimes think back to an older bike nearly got instead of it (CBR1100?) Which had been owned by an aeronautical engineer who'd replaced every bit possible with stainless steel upgrades. If only all bikes could be like that as standard.