Honestly, dont take this the wrong way, but I didnt even read your whole post. I am not trying to be offensive, but either your grammar or something about the way you type makes it very difficult to read and understand everything you type sometimes. I didnt paint the magneto, I sprayed it with silicone, which I had done once already before I even installed this magneto, so I know its ok. I spraypainted the gasket, which is the thin piece of paper-like material that goes between the magneto cover and the engine. The reason why I painted it is because the last time it rained, I had noticed when I removed the cover to install a mini generator (which is like a second coil that can run lights or other accessories if one so desires), that water had gotten in the mag compartment and I believe the gasket was to blame, because it was soaked through. I think the gasket just absorbs water until it cant anymore, and the excess winds up in the magneto compartment. So the goal of painting the gasket was to make it waterproof, thusly keeping water out of the mag compartment completely.
Waterproofing a mag?
- Thread starter bigbutterbean
- Start date
From MT
I had seen others as well as you BBB talk about sealing the magneto directly. I also now realize you did not want help with that as it was solved. You wanted to know how to seal the cover and gasketing better for the magneto.
I jumped in to add probably way more than I should have since I was interested. Sorry that as you say I made it so what I wrote sometimes was hard to understand and that you did not read all I wrote.
From various post to this thread:
From Post #7 You, BBB mentioned this before "I sprayed the windings with it already, when I put a new mag on last time."
I, MT thought you were going to do this again as well as making a gasket for the cover better by spraying silicone on it.
2D, mentioned in post #5 “The trick is to get the gasket mating surfaces flat and for the gasket to seal properly. Also using a silicone sealer around the wire entry area will assure that water stays out. There is no advantage to waterproofing the mag coil. In fact any product that might conduct electricity, even a little, will negate any waterproffing attempt.”
You, BBB mentioned in post #12 ” So currently I am theorizing that silicone spray is sufficient for waterproofing a mag. I sprayed that stuff on my mag a good month ago at least.”
IH, mentioned in post #16 “Hi, u can seal ur stator coil by removing it & encapsuling in epoxy. 2 do real good, put it under a vacuum so the epoxy is drawn between the windings, tho just a thin coating on the outside will do. Make sure its completely dry when u do it. Cheers”
Sorry again! MT
Its all good, bro. I'm not mad or anything. Was just saying that we kinda weren't understanding each other, but its not a big deal. Thank you for trying to help. Yes, my original intentions were to waterproof the mag itself, possibly by coating it with something. But I think the silicone spray took care of that. My second goal was to seal water out of the mag compartment completely. I believe I have done that, but only time will tell.
What about clear coat spray paint? Over the mag windings and over the case cover and gasket itself?
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Clear should work the same. Are you thinking of painting your gasket as well to waterproof it?
It seems worth a shot...got 2 extra mags just in case and picked up aroll of that thick paper gasket stuff from my local auto place for 5 bucks on the chance ill have to make my own in the future...my neighbor used some to make the bottom head gasket for his mega motors 66/80...so its also waterproof...
Paper gasket material is not waterproof. If its made out of corkboard or a rubber compound, then its waterproof. The paper/cloth stuff absorbs water until it cant anymore, then it leaks. Now don't get me wrong, it should be fine for a bottom end gasket, but not somewhere that you dont want water getting in at all, like the mag compartment. I sprayed the mag itself with silicone spray. I got it at walmart, and it says silicone lubricant on the can. When I got it, I thought it was similar to wd40, but its not. It dries, and its kinda sticky until its completely dry. Its not a glue, though. I decided to use it on the mag after I remembered someone around here recommending spraying exhaust wrap with it, because it prevents the pipe from rusting under the wrap. I figured it must be waterproof, and it seems that it is, because it kept my mag from getting ruined the last time I got water in my mag compartment. I just decided to paint the gasket because I still dont want water in my mag compartment, especially since I got a mini-generator (secondary coil for lights/accessories) and I dont know if its waterproof or not. I hope it is, but still want to take every precaution.
After seeing your post I looked at my own...i meant to ask is it waterproof? Not so its waterproof...they do sell the rubbery gasket rolls too...prob should get some of that too...
I've never tried to seal the coil. To seal the compartment itself this is what I did:
- Gently pushed the wires from the mag inside the compartment as much as I could, rubbed a glob of RTV silicon on/between/around the wires, and then ease them back out to where they were.
- Put the tip of the RTV tube between the wires (inside the white sleeve) on the outside toward the magneto and squeeze a blob in there. Work the outer sleeve a little bit to spread it around.
- Ran a bead of black RTV silicon all the way around the outside lip of the magneto cover.
- Put a small glob on each cover screw about half-way up as the cover went back on, 'finger tight'.
- Smoothed the excess that oozed outside all the way around, overlapping the cover and the area it's mounted to.
- Finish tightening the cover the next morning, after the silicon sets.
What works for me may not for you. Just telling you how I did mine up.
- Gently pushed the wires from the mag inside the compartment as much as I could, rubbed a glob of RTV silicon on/between/around the wires, and then ease them back out to where they were.
- Put the tip of the RTV tube between the wires (inside the white sleeve) on the outside toward the magneto and squeeze a blob in there. Work the outer sleeve a little bit to spread it around.
- Ran a bead of black RTV silicon all the way around the outside lip of the magneto cover.
- Put a small glob on each cover screw about half-way up as the cover went back on, 'finger tight'.
- Smoothed the excess that oozed outside all the way around, overlapping the cover and the area it's mounted to.
- Finish tightening the cover the next morning, after the silicon sets.
What works for me may not for you. Just telling you how I did mine up.
Here's a thread about a water-resistant magneto, but one one was interested:
http://motorbicycling.com/showthread.php?t=36248
http://motorbicycling.com/showthread.php?t=36248
Hi, I'll have a look at that thread in a sec Rohmell. I dont seal the mag cover, but I do epoxy seal the coil. There is the problem that can arise of sealling moisture in tho. For this reason I put it under a vacuum. I have a small vacuum flask/desicator & vacuum pump that I use. That way it draws the epoxy between the windings when all the air is sucked out, so there's no worries about moisture. Cheers
