Very cool...learn something new everyday and glad to hear they're aluminum as I have dulled them out too.

For the questions:

You definitely want to take off the pipes as it'll make life a bit easier and you want to take your time covering everything up. I used masking tape and a single magazine and it took me a couple of hours but painting is the easy part; it's just the preparation that's time consuming.

You could probably get it done with the pipes still on there but you could run into problems where some areas won't get a good coating but one of guys who did it managed to do so without removing the pipes. Also, if you do remove the pipes, you'll need to make a trip to the stealership to buy a couple of gaskets.

Personally, I couldn't get my brake foot pedal off because my torque wrenches were in the process of being shipped but if you take them off, that would be even better for the right side (standing behind the bike and looking forward).

Before you start painting, be sure to try and get all grease/oil/wax off of it or you could have spots where the paint flakes off when it's dry. Like I mentioned before, the prep work is the PIA part of this project.

Once you get everything wrapped up, just spray the crap out of it and you'll get most of the sides. There may be parts in the front and back of the engine inside the frame that you can't get to but it doesn't matter because you can't see it anyways. Also, one trick I used was to use the old gasket from the cylinder head where the pipe goes into and used that and a piece of the magazine to cover up the hole so paint wouldn't get in there (first post, third picture).

As for paint, I went to Advanced Auto Parts and got some VHT Flameproof paint (http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/web...%7CGRP2050____), which is rated up to 2000* and it's about $9. My daughter decided to climb up on my bike while the paint was still slightly wet (signature pic) so I had to sand some spots off and redo parts but a single can should cover your engine as well as your A/C without any problems. One thing to make sure is to follow the directions on the can and do 2 light sprays and then end with a medium coat and also stay about 8 inches away so you don't have running paint...I made that mistake as well by spraying too close once or twice. And don't forget to open the garage door once in a while because a paint high is not fun when you come off of it and I had to go take a nap because I felt like total ****.

Finally, while talking to DocHoliday06 and asking for advice, he mentioned that the VHT paint has a grayish tint to it and I believe he used BBQ paint, which was a white can with a picture of a grill on it. He stated that this paint was blacker without the gray tint but I couldn't find any so I just stuck with VHT. I really can't see that much gray but we'll see how it turns out after a while and it weathers.

Any other questions, feel free to PM me. The least I can do is pay it forward and help others like some members have helped me.

 

thats awesome man.

believe me i will be using your advice.

i have an 883 and i hate the chrome and grey so ill be stripping painting then scotch brite'ing ive been speaking to 4t8 about brass and aluminum pegs so thats the way im heading

keep up the good work

 

According to HarleyScuba on this thread, it seems that the rocker covers and push rod tubes are aluminum so dulling them out should be okay since it's not too susceptible to rust but from what I've read, the pipes, heat guards, and mufflers are a different story and by dulling them out you may have to constantly keep up with maintenance.

One suggestion would be to dull it out and then use the same paint to black it out, which was what I was thinking of doing, but I like the look of the chrome pipes just to break things up a little bit. I like the look of the Nightsters with the black V&H pipes but I don't think painting my set up would look too good...of course, this is just my opinion and your miles may vary.

In any case, just to provide some info, I started off with some really fine steel wool and that thing is worthless. Furthermore, it creates a bunch of steel wool dust that gets magnetized and clings on to plastic cover and a real mess. Took me forever to even get a scratch going. Once I got a hold of some red scotch brite, it's difference between night and day. Definitely stay away from the steel wool!

 

this is my basic bike "before painting" i never thought of scotching the pipes then painting them as well genius...
i might just do that to the main pipes and leave the heat guards chrome (dulled) ive got some scrap tubing and heat shield and its similar to the exhaust so i will spray that and see what it looks like. but if its good then spray away i will be doing

 

Just noticed your signature that states "The Older You Get The More Shiny Your Hog Becomes". You must have Benjamin Button syndrome because you're going in the opposite direction

 

haha thats me im never one to stick to the trend

 

The push-rod tubes are NOT aluminum.
They're chromed steel. Sorry if I left the impression they're aluminum. On the black 883 with sadlebags above, the air cleaner cover and, it appears, the sprocket cover are chromed. The cam cover and rocker boxes are aluminum. You can see the difference. Someone must have swapped out the sprocket cover because 883s don't come with chrome. 883s have polished aluminum or grey powder coated cam covers/primary covers. All 883s, except the Iron, have polished aluminum rocker box covers, iirc. If aluminum is polished correctly, it will look like chrome. Harley puts a coat of lacquer on the polished aluminum bits to prevent oxidation.

 

Gotcha. Thanks for the input and I'll be sure to regularly check the push rod tubes for any signs of rust and gently soothe them with RemOil. I love me some RemOil

 

I did it i followed your instructions... well not exactly as i left the exhaust on as that was getting painted too. i used Engine paint 1st but was awful and greyish so i bought some Plasti-Kote BBQ spray and its black is amazing and sprays brilliantly











i have to say a massive thank you too you... and all who helped and aspired you

 

Very nice! That turned out well and the pipes look nice.

Congrats on your mod.

Out of curiosity, why didn't you paint the sprocket cover?