Testarossa's 78 KZ1000 Fighter Build

Frame is looking real good.looks like one big piece of flowing steel tube. youre cranking on that thing.you must be seeing real light at end of tunnel.cant wait to see it as a roller all purdied up.

that be alrite

testarossa wrote:

Mark, how is your bondo holding up in those welds? I'm scared of using too much filler. I would hate to have a chunk of filler pop out when the frame tries to flex. If anyone can make it flex it's gonna be me.

No problems so far. i'm sure the bond will flex that much, just like the paint does. just put some nice stainless washers between all bolts and paint. without a washer the paint can chip during tightening of the bolt.

Thanks for the tip Josh, I checked and there is a Fastenal localy. I was in H.F. today, and they sell them too, but they're just as expensive there at $1 apiece! :blink: I think I'll pay a few extra cents and get the 3M brand ones :dry:

mark1122 wrote:

testarossa wrote:

Mark, how is your bondo holding up in those welds? I'm scared of using too much filler. I would hate to have a chunk of filler pop out when the frame tries to flex. If anyone can make it flex it's gonna be me.

No problems so far. i'm sure the bond will flex that much, just like the paint does. just put some nice stainless washers between all bolts and paint. without a washer the paint can chip during tightening of the bolt.

Plastic body filler is pretty flexible stuff. It won't withstand concentrated compressive loads well (bolt tightened against it for example) but it is especially designed to bond to steel and flex with sheet metal. I'm certain that the bed side of a truck quarter panel flexes much more than our frames do, and I've put barrels of bondo on them :laugh: If you needed to cheat with some body filler to smooth out some hard (or impossible) to reach areas, IMO, it shouldn't present an issue in the future

Should I hit the areas to be filled with a coat of epoxy primer before I use the filler? I would like to fill some of the smaller imperfections. It's a lot easier to even that stuff than running another bead, and filing/sanding the steel.

No, the filler will adhere best to bare metal. Hit the area you want to put the filler with 24-50 grit (what ever you have available) The epoxy primer is not a good primer filler, so you'll want your body filler/steel finished with about 320 or so....I think. The can of primer will say what grit to finish your substrate to, follow it as best you can

Roger that. 36 grit, then filler, then prep according to the tech sheet.

I'm not sure how much more work I want to put into prettying the frame. I question my sanity every time I start working on a weld. I have already given myself tendinitis in my right elbow. Sometimes I think that I may have a touch of OCD. I could have just painted the frame and 99.44% of people would never notice. I guess that it is my calling card, and I can't do it any other way. Unfortunately I'm putting a $15,000 effort on a $3000 bike.

Don't take it the wrong way. Sometimes the voices in my head have to speak up. :ohmy: I'm not griping about what I have to do, I wouldn't build it if I didn't enjoy the work. But my elbow does hurt.

mark1122 wrote:

i cheated and use bondo.
Nice job.

ya cant chrome bondo! :laugh:

1 more thing Josh, DO NOT KILL YOURSELF trying to go over the entire frame with 320 or whatever the PPG recommends for the epoxy primer. It is more important in the areas where you have filler. 100 grit will not leave nearly the scar on the steel frame as it will on the bondo, so finish your filler spots with the recommended grit. The frame will be fine with a 120 or 180 or whatever finish you've got on it. If your worried about grinding scratchs showing up, test spray a spot of the frame. If it needs more work, do it, if not, spray away

PLUMMEN wrote:

mark1122 wrote:

i cheated and use bondo.
Nice job.

ya cant chrome bondo! :laugh:

True, but you couldn't pay me to chrome this frame.

porchev914 wrote:

1 more thing Josh, DO NOT KILL YOURSELF trying to go over the entire frame with 320 or whatever the PPG recommends for the epoxy primer. It is more important in the areas where you have filler. 100 grit will not leave nearly the scar on the steel frame as it will on the bondo, so finish your filler spots with the recommended grit. The frame will be fine with a 120 or 180 or whatever finish you've got on it. If your worried about grinding scratchs showing up, test spray a spot of the frame. If it needs more work, do it, if not, spray away

Thanks again for the good advice. I have painted some steel parts that were sanded to 120 before, and they looked good to me. Actually my original plan was to fix the fillets, and then sandblast everything one last time to even out the finish. I realize that I cannot blast any areas that I have used plastic filler. We'll see...