I've swapped out bolts with black grade 8 hardware and they rusted like crazy. One day riding in the rain and the next afternoon they looked like I pulled them out of a junk yard.

+1 on the paint pens. I've got a flat and a gloss black. Not sure how durable it is but it's cheap and effective.

 

I use this stuff on bolt heads - it's a glass based enamel which takes a few weeks to "cure" but is touch dry in about 4 hours. Easy to get hold of here in the UK but not sure if you guys over there have it

Derv

 

i powder all mine of course, but i have also used black car touch up paint and it hold just just fine, after a few months you have to go back and touch them up, but so what it is cheap and takes no time!

 

haha joe we can't all be as lucky as you.

"should i pc these bolts?

eh, i don't feel like walking to the garage."

 

ha ha ha

 

Although I've never tried this on bolts before, I've used this stuff before with astounding results. It's called POR-15 and comes in glossy black. It's not a paint per se, it's intended as a rust killer, and this stuff works. It's so hard that after I used it, and needed some again for another project just three short months later, I literally had to tear the lid off the can because I failed to clean it spotless before I put the lid back on the can. And when I did, the top of the product had solidified so hard that I had to poke a hole in the side of the can to get any more out.

I used it on a Fiat Spider that I'd had some welding done on the back floorboards after they'd rusted a few holes through. I wirebrushed the surrounding area around the welds as best as I could then painted this stuff on. The rust never came through after wards. I mean, not a peep.

I really like your idea of doing some of the bolts black and I'll be checkin' out my bike when I get home from the rig. And POR-15 is what I'll use to black 'em out.

 

Joe, going off topic for a moment - apologies to everyone else, I was going to PM Joe with this question but thought others may want to know the answer.

Is it possible to powder coat over chrome?

Derv

 

What about paint/coating for those silver engine bolts?
Not a fan of Hottoppers, they get rusted on and are a bitch to get off.