Metallic Red Valve Cover Paint?

[danl]

What kind of tankbag is that in dliang's photo? I have a marsee bag that doesn't attach very well, and definitely does not have a fancy fuel filler hole.

[Tom M]

What kind of tankbag is that in dliang's photo? I have a marsee bag that doesn't attach very well, and definitely does not have a fancy fuel filler hole.

 

That's the base for the Moto Guzzi tank bag.

[mark.gilmore]

Oxygen has its way with other finishes too, not just anodized aluminum. Can't hate it too much, since we can't live without it!

 

It's been pretty well established by higher authorities than myself that the coating is paint. Detail pictures of crashed valve covers pretty quickly dispels any illusion that it's anodizing.

Well blow me down, I'm a Spraypainter by trade and have not seen paint like that before.They must have heaps of flattening base in it,then spray it on from 5 metres to get that dry, non gloss finish about it.

[al_roethlisberger]

It's paint.

 

I know this for two reasons:

 

1) I've seen the pork-chops and valve covers chipped. Anodizing doesn't "chip", and when they were chipped, one could clearly see the candy red paint layer, and the gray/silver undercoat layer. This unique anodized-look is really just a multi-layer candy coat paint job, and I assume the factory chose paint over anodizing because of reason #2 below....

 

2) When I had my pork-chops and valve-cover powder coated red, I first looked into anodizing them, which like many I assumed was how the OEM red color was produced. Upon taking them to a highly regarded industrial anodizing company in San Jose, I found that both were made of an aluminum alloy of a marginal cast quality with high foreign content that would turn any anodizing black and blotchy. It just wasn't possible to anodize them in red, or another bright clear color.

 

...so I had them powder coated, which of course really is just "dry" paint

 

My pork chops also faded and chipped within a year, even though the bike was rarely left out in the Sun or abused. It's just poor quality paint.

 

 

Al