As people who have read previous posts on this blog are aware of, I’m trying to respray my 1996 Honda CB500 to make it look a bit less aged. You might imagine that if I repaint the body panels and make them look all shiny and new, the rest of the bike will look even more old and shabby in comparison. So it is important to consider repainting the engine casing and the exhaust. 

Now what type of paint can you use on such components?

While researching this project, I came across a forum on MSN Groups dedicated entirely to Honda CB500’s. Unfortunately, since then MSN Groups closed down and all that valuable information was lost forever… But I do remember reading some posts from people who wanted to repaint their engine or exhaust and the prevalent opinion seemed to be just walking into Halfords and picking up:

1. Extra High Temperature Paint (comes in a rattle can) 

2. Plastikote BBQ Paint (also a rattle can)

Since both components tend to get quite hot while riding, it is vital to use a paint that can stand such temperatures. If you don’t, you may end up spoiling your brand new paint by having it flake off or discolour due to the heat.

For your engine, if you would like to match the original colour, Aluminium seems to be the shade of choice (In Extra High Temperature paint). Now I don’t know for sure if my engine is still the original colour or not, since it looks like it has been painted at least once or twice, judging from the flaking. However, it seems worth a shot, as I like the shade shown on the cap of the spray can. So I think I’ll try that out in the near future, when I get a weekend of dry weather. 

High Temperature paint comes in many other colours too though. You could get matte black for your exhaust, or even Red if you’re daring! 

For my exhaust, I’d like to stick with what it is now (sort of) - Black. And since people seemed to have a high opinion of the BBQ Paint I mention above; I’m highly tempted by the promise of a satin black finish that will hopefully last a while. The advantage of going with a satin finish rather than matte black, is that apparently matte black paint can rub off at times. Also, hopefully it will be easier to keep clean if it’s satin paint. 

Painting the exhaust seems less straightforward. At this point I am not sure if the downpipes can (or should) be painted also. They are quite rusty an flaky, and one cannot be certain if they would survive a good sanding. Perhaps I’ll just have to put some anti rust treatment on them and hope for the best… 

The exhaust itself is not in a great shape either; there is a small hole in it somewhere as well as some rust & scuffs. Since I’ll have to spray paint this, it also needs to come off the bike somehow, and the bolts are totally rusty. I foresee plenty of problems trying to open those bolts… 

So the action plan is as follows:

• Try to take above mentioned bike parts off without damaging anything (like bolts, brackets, or the parts themselves of course). 
• Sand off the scuffs, rust and loose paint until I have a fairly smooth surface to work with. This may be impossible on the downpipes, so I’m aiming for at least the exhaust can itself. 
• Use Hammerite Rust treatment on all rust which could not be sanded off. 
• Give everything 2-3 coats of BBQ Paint, or keep going until an even finish is achieved - Sanding inbetween coats to smooth out any dripping or bubbling paint and to prevent flaking of the paint.

If anybody has any suggestions regarding repainting engines and exhausts, I’d be very grateful!