Hey guys, this is a general question about taking care of rust.
This isn't a 914 now, but my motorcycle, an '85 Honda Interceptor 500.
But rust is rust I guess!

Anyway, this is about the only rust on the thing, so it's really the first rust I've ever had to deal with (and it certainly won't be the last )

So I want to make sure I do everything right!

Here's a picture of the rusty stuff:


And a close up:


So, I want to treat the rust on the center stand there, and on that other thing, which my shop manual calls the 'common collector.' I dunno what else to call it, the exhaust pipes from the engine go in one side and the mufflers come out the other side. Pretty simple. Whatever

So anyhow, I can get both pieces off pretty easily, but from there I don't really know what I'm doing.

My dad has a little sandblaster that I can use, and plenty of that POR-15 stuff to spray on the rust.

Then I'm assuming I'll need primer and paint. I'm thinking I'll paint both parts glossy black, like the tailpipes you can see there, since that's what they originally were. Any recommendations on specific brands, types, etc?

I think, while I'm at it, I might just repaint the mufflers too, because they're kinda scuffed up. Would I have to remove the paint that's already on them first, or what?

Guys, please just assume I have no idea what I'm talking about, cause I'm pretty new to this stuff!

But hey, I'll figure it out

I know for you guys this is little kiddies play, I just want to make sure I'm doing everything correctly!

So any bits of help would be appreciated!!!

Thanks,
Chris

Center stand = sandblast and get it powder coated. $30.00
Muffler = sandblast and get it ceramic coated $50.00-$100.00 depending on the shop

What about the common collector? SHould that get the same treatment as the mufflers?

Yes, shouldn't cost much more to include that in with the muffler.

Ok sounds good, I will go find a place to get that stuff done!

Thanks!

BUT, is there any way to do any of that myself?
I'll go and get them done if I have to, but I prefer figuring stuff out and doing it on my own

You can do powdercoating yourself... there is a thread in the Classics Section about it. Some jackass's first time using his new PC rig.

Eastwood sells a rig, and so does http://www.columbiacoatings.com/

I'm a fan of Columbia stuff. Nice small-business to deal with.

Can you powder coat a whole car instead of painting it? Or would that just be dumb?

Ok anyway, what do I have to do to the parts before they can be coated? I can sand blast the rust off, but do I use POR-15 on it , or no?

Check out this link.

I once asked my local powder coater about it. He said he's done it once. It was very expensive, but the car still looks great!

You gotta find an oven big enough to fit a whole car in to bake the powder on.
I think that automotive paints are better for painting cars than powder coat, it's made for that. I've seen cars that were painted 20 years ago that still look great, but I can't think of anything powder coated that still looks great after that long.

Blasting it yourself will save you some money. A good powdercoater will wash the the items with a phosphoric acid based solution like Ospho.

Did you read the Powdercoating thread(s) in the Classics section? Prepwork is discussed there.

Also, how would you do individual panel repair?

If you are going the POR route check the manufactures instructions. Basicly:
Clean thoroughly and remove all loose paint and scale.
Degrease
Use metal prep to stabilize any rust and to etch bare metal
paint with por 15
Since this stuff is exposed to sunlight you then would have to apply a top coat.

por is not designed for exhaust components - it won't stand up to the heat. They have a separate high temp paint. I don't know if even that will hold up to exhaust temperatures.

The por regime is not cheap and por15 itself does not keep well. Normally you write off a can once you are done (I've had some luck with using plastic food wrap and keeping it cool)

Put all that together and having someone powder coat it for you starts sounding like the cheapest way to go.

Ok, so can you use high-temp powder coating on the exhaust parts instead of ceramic coating? Or is ceramic still better?

All modern Ferrari's are powder coated.

1= sandblast and powder coat with nothing inbetween. Any type of paint under the powder will seriously f-up the coating.Paint cannot withstand the temps required for the powder to flow out.

2 = Ceramic is the BEST for exhaust but powder MAY hold up. I personally haven't tried the high temp powder as we do ceramic anyway

3= Yes a whole car can be coated I will be posting pics of a Mazda I am currently doing at wwerk that we coated the WHOLE inside of. Roll cage and all. Look for a thread by me with SEMA in the title. I'' attach a teaser pic for ya

I would disagree with number 1.

Washing with Ospho or some other phosphorus based treatment before powdercoating will help control micro-rust below the powder coating.

In fact, that's in the instructions with the kit I received.

I was refering MAINLY to paint as he asked about applying POR-15 before coating. Althoug I have yet to see rust come through a well sandblasted part, and most of what we do is outdoor. Differentials, frames, handrails, gates.....you get the idea

so there's no need for POR-15 when powder coating in other words?

Yes...errr no....I mean yes there's no need. I could go on an anti- POR rant but I'll try and refrain myself. I'll just say it has it's place and that is NOT on a p roper restoration.

So the procedure goes something like this:
1. Sand blast the part to remove all the rust/paint
2. Use Ospho or whatever to clean/etch the metal
3. Then do the powder coating

So you can't powder coat over paint, is that right?

Ospho is optional. I powdercoat as part of my job and have to stand behind my werk and have NEVER used ospho on anything. I simply sandblast, clean off sandblast residue and coat.

NO DO NOT POWDER COAT OVER PAINT !!! There are exceptions but leave that up to the pro's.

Ok sounds good to me!
I might try to do it myself, otherwise I'll just have some place do it.
I'm pretty new to working on cars and stuff like that, but thanks for all the tips ! It's crazy how much there is to know about one simple proccess!

In all honesty it will be cheaper for you to pay someone else to do it unless you already have one of the DIY kits and an old oven. But if you have other stuff you want to do in the future it may be werth the investment.Be sure to do it in a pretty clean, and calm area, if any dust lands on the parts before or after it has been coated it will get baked into the powder and leave a textured finish.Just like dirt in a paint job Good luck

Can you bake it in your regular oven? Or would it be bad for the oven?

My dad and I were thinking of getting a DIY kit, he's restoring a '66 Mini Cooper and he's got a bunch of parts to do too.

NO!!, you need to get an oven for the garge not to be cooked in. When the part is initially put in the oven the powder may float off of the part (small amounts that make no diff in the finished piece) from the fan inside the oven and settle inside the oven. Bad idea to bake in it after that. Used ovens can be found pretty cheap, and also come in handy for other automotive jobs, heating heads, removing/installing bearings etc.

I may have mis-understood your question. A regular oven will do just not the one you actually cook in !

Haha, ok, that's what I was thinking.
My mom wouldn't appreciate that if I did it at the rents' house, and the oven in my apartment is too tiny!

So I should probably just go get it done somewhere, cause I want to do it soon. I want everything to be ready to go by the time it gets warm!