Exhaust silencer; to paint or not to paint

[Ian and Lins]

Got a new silencer; do I paint it before fitting or not?

[AdrianC]

Got a new silencer; do I paint it before fitting or not?

Mild, rather than stainless, I presume?

Not a lot of point, tbh - they rarely rot from the outside in. Unless, of course, you're just thinking from the cosmetic angle.

[Ian and Lins]

Yep, mild. That's what I was thinking really, mostly cosmetic I suppose.

[AdrianC]

If you're going to paint it, VHT paint, but you'd probably want to get all the old paint off first, then prep it properly, because if that starts to peel then it's going to take whatever's on top with it.

By which time, that stainless silencer's starting to look like decent value... <grin>

[Ian and Lins]

Good advice, thanks. I was probably trying to put the job off. Hey ho; off to lie under the van in the pissin rain dribbling penetrating oil on to rusty nuts and into my mouth in the (very) vain hope that they might just undo with the spanners.

[ghost123uk]

Don't forget the blow torch ! Heat until smoking or even dull red is the best stuck nut cure I ever found out about
I watched Terry at Flintshire Autogas do this (with a welding torch) to every nut and stud when I chickened out and took our van to them for fitting the new SS exhaust. Non of the nuts or studs caused any problem, though they looked to me beforehand is if they would. Naturally they fitted new nuts and studs as a precaution for the future

Then, later, I had a Lambda bung plug in that SS exhaust that I soaked (PlusGas of course) and heated till VERY hot,, but despite it being an Allen head in good nick, no way could I move it, even with a big extension and over an hour faffing about. I took the box off and took it to a local lorry garage. The guy heated it until slightly red hot and it just unscrewed as if it was newly fitted

E D I T = Oh by the way, I wouldn't bother painting it, VHT or not. I have tried it and it always looks a mess after a week or two

[Ian and Lins]

Thanks for the reminder. I'm sure one of the neighbors has a gas axe.