Modern Vespa

I am looking to re-paint the bolts on the bike. i was wondering what type paint i should use. should i use a rust-o-lem or some sort of rust remover.
thanks!

Which ones are rusting?

Generally speaking, if it's a minor bolt- like not holding the wheels, or brakes etc on, I'll just try to replace them with stainless steel ones.

Harvey

Which bolts are rusting? I have not seen one
bolt rusty on my GTS yet. The FACO front rack
and the mirror shafts have spotting rust though.

the rusting bolts are, under the side plastic work at the back of the bike. also the screws that hold on the front parking lights. and also on the breaks there are two Allen heads that have a bit of rust on them. i would like to replace them with stainless steel but i hate to alter the bike in anyway. but i do have access to drills and taps and stainless steel hardware. thanks for your input.


i am just consented for my scoot because i plan to have it on the road a lifetime.

You can do a number of thing but WD40 is a cheap fix. the Vespa is not the only motorcycle or scooter to suffer from rust. when I inspect my Harley Davidson Streetglide. I find rusty nuts and bolts too. I just give it a bit of WD40. but if your really worried you can go stainless.

I rec'd both of my scooters with bolts already rusting on the fitting for the black pillion foot pads on the floorboards. Haven't noticed any others rusting though and I didn't notice if my Toronto scoot had the same problem or not.

Note to self ... get stainless steel screws! (I keep forgetting)

Just remember that when replacing critical fasteners with others metals make sure you get the proper kind.

Go to NAPA Auto not Home Depot.

Just to expand what I wrote earlier, stainless steel doesn't have the strength of conventional steels. Bolts under significant stress, such as brake caliper retaining bolts, should only be changed for bolts of equivalent grade.
Check here for an idea of what I mean:
http://www.dansmc.com/torque_chart.htm

You also need to tighten them to their specified torque.

Harvey

The hardware that typically rusts on an LX/V/S is the phillips bolts on the passenger footpegs because they tend to retain water. If it was my bike, I'd just replace them, but I have resprayed a couple with regular black rattle can rustoleum ONLY after stripping off the rust with a wire wheel. It's just a bolt, so I wouldn't go super crazy, but if you live in a really humid area and they tend to rust quickly, then the only solution is POR-15. This stuff is awesome. I have used it on car underbodies and frame rails of both cars and trailers and it is some tough stuff. Seems a bit overkill for bolts, but thought I'd recommend it anyway.

http://www.por15.com/

So Drew ... you wouldn't recommend changing out the foot peg bolts on the LX with stainless steel?

No problem with the foot peg bolts. All they do is keep the rear ends of the floorboard fastened, as well as the little spoiler caps on the end. If you find a suitable stainless replacement, go for it! I'd probably spray the heads of the replacement bolts with a flat or satin black spray paint so that they blend in better with the black footpeg.

Thanks Drew ... appreciate it!