im goiung to paint the silencer on my kx dirtbike and i was just ging to use regular flat black rustoleum paint then use rustoleum clear coat on top, 2 stroke silencers dont get that hot so is it okay to paint it thsi way?
paintin
- Thread starter 89blaster89
- Start date
No. You need to scuff and clean the surface then use a self etching primer before you spray the color coat.
It helps the paint stick to bare metal. It will scratch off a lot easier without the self etching primer.
Etching primer has chemicals to react with the zinc in steel creating a chemical bond with the steel. Aluminum doesn't have zinc in it, rendering the self etching primer ineffective. Epoxy primer works better for aluminum, when properly prepped. A cheaper short cut is to use some Bulldog adhesion promoter. I've used the Bulldog adhesion promoter on aluminum and had it to hold up pretty good, it used to be about the same cost as a can of quality primer.
I didn't mean to imply it wouldn't work, just that the chemical bond would be ineffective. Primers will normally have a better mechanical bond with the substrate and the paint will mechanically bond better to the primer than bare aluminum. Fluoride is more commonly used to etch aluminum. Mag wheel cleaner is also an aluminum etching cleaner, that's why it's not to be used on polished aluminum, it eats away the smooth finish.
