The CB1100 Community Forum

I'd like to see my 13's shock springs black like the 14. I'm wondering how rattle can paint would hold up under the flex, any thoughts?

I would powdercoat them.

You'd have to "rough them up a bit" first. And use a flexible paint. What about Plasti Dip?

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Paint would not hold up well. They need to be dipped in flexible material. Your cheapest option is probably to buy those black springs from Honda.

Chip

HBFL, I tried to reply to your PM but it is disabled on your end. But to answer your question, the paint on my Kayaba shocks held up fine. It was a normal gloss black spray can paint, not powder coated. I've painted springs for years, going back to the Girling days, and never had a problem. They do not have to be painted with any special paint.

The difference is that I took the springs off to do it, which you won't be able to do on your shocks - they are not designed to be taken apart. The chrome cover would have to be compressed about an inch before the shaft's jam nut is exposed. Re-assembly would be the hard part as you also have to hold the shaft firmly.

The 2014 shock springs are not available separately from Honda, so you might put a wanted ad for take-off shocks - many members have replaced theirs.

Most powdercoaters like to run their ovens around 400 degrees F so the paint flows smoothly and gives a nice gloss. Most of what they are coating are furniture and gates, nothing critical. Don't know how well they regulate the ovens or how long they are baked, but I don't like to powdercoat springs as they will lose their temper from excessive heat. I think their threshold is closer to 350F.

I had a bicycle frame with brazed lugs come out of the powdercoater's oven with loose lugs because the filler had melted away. That oven was way too hot.

On this link there is a range of opinions wether if it's a good or a bad idea to powdre coat a spring:

https://advrider.com/f/threads/can-shock...ed.865892/

https://www.caferacer.net/forum/technica...rings.html

It's true that most performance springs manufacturers power cat theirs, but they know their process (temp/time) and materials, and your "local coater" probably won't.

So I'd stay on the safe side and not do it. I don't think it would affect the ride rate (stiffness), but the strength/hardness could be affected, amd this would have a direct impact on the fatigue life of the spring (it can creep or crack under cyclic loading).

Thanks for the feedback all, and thanks Pekingduck re: my IM, I fixed that. Good to hear your paint held up. If I proceed with paint or plasti dip, There is so much space between the 13's coils that I can wrap everything up with tape.

But most likely I won't do anything. It's just cosmetic preferences, but so are most of my mods.