Genuine Buddy 125 Maintnance Notes: Part 3, Rusty Muffler Repaint

3: Cleaning and Repaint a Rusty Muffler on a Genuine Buddy 125
This part has become part and parcel of keeping old equipment working. Stuff rusts. To keep it from rusting further, sand/brush off of loose paint (or if it's not painted, knock corrosion and dirt) then paint it. For exhaust systems and brakes, I use high temperature enamel (High temperature Rustoleum to be specific, but take your pick).

To remove the rust from the muffler, I unscrewed the chrome heat guard, and removed the muffler from the bracket that holds the muffler to the swing arm. Then I attacked the rust using a brass wire brush in my cordless drill and medium grit (~150 grit) sandpaper on the down pipe. It took about 1/2 an hour to get most of the crusty rust off. The job would have been easier with a drill with two handles or an angle grinder (the torque on the wrist from the drill is hard to handle).

After brushing and sanding, I put on a few coats of black paint. I tried to avoid painting the flange to reduce the chance of smelly off-gassing from paint-exhaust contact.

The end result of painting, before re-attaching the heat shield.

Out of curiousity, I measured the exhaust flange size and pipe size. The flange is about 2 3/4" with ~1/4" holes,  and the ID is about 1". The pipe appears to be 1" OD.

 Metric view of the flange.

Metric view of the pipe.

 Another view of the 1" OD pipe.

After the paint had cured, the first few rides yielded strong paint fumes. While not exactly a disappointment, I wouldn't recommend parking the bike in a closed garage without letting it cool, lest it transport you to new and exiting psychological spaces. After a few weeks, the offgasing stopped. Overall, the effort was completely worth it and the aesthetics are much improved.