Painting My Bodywork

Hi, im a prof. auto and big truck painter, the best way to paint these the next time. when your at the bare metal stage, get body work done and apply one coat of epoxy primer let flash off and apply 3 coats of 2k primer let dry best is 4 or 5 days so your primer can do all of its shrinking that they all do (its the charistics of urathane primers)guide coat (very important)then on round surfaces ose a soft block that will conform to rounded surfaces start with 280 grit(dont sand threw)re guide coat then 320 grit with soft sanding pad untill all imperfections are gone then clean with wax and grease remover mix your epoxy primer again but this time add 1 part urathane reducer and use as a sealer spray one coat let flash then put your color down untill coverd then 3 coats of clear let dry overnight then sand with 1000 grit clean then 2 or 3 more coats clear. As for color sanding and buffing use 1500 grit or better yet 2000 grittuse 3m 3000 compound with foam pad then finish with a softer glazing pad with 3m finish glaze. Tim The paint guy.

I use sems problem plastic repair epoxy available at automotive paint supplyers and get some plastic met. clost to what your repairing and glue it on from the inside gives a lot of straigth. Tim the paint guy.

www.motosport.com/motorcycle/product/THR...IT/?catalogId=106687

Great info. Thanks for the link, also. I looked at HF and a few other places and couldn't find an ABS repair kit locally.

I also recently found a good walk-through that Greg did a while back. I'll find it and post it.

Any tips on pulling out dents in the tank when I inevitably do this next time?

DoubleDub wrote:

Any tips on pulling out dents in the tank when I inevitably do this next time?

I haven't tried an actual tank but...

You could try the method I use for removing dents in 2 stroke pipes. Pressurize the tank with I'd say 30psi to start (pipes need about 50) then gently heat the dent with an oxy/acet torch. A propane torch might even work.

Like I said, I never tried a gas tank, but it works on pipes pretty good.

How would you seal the tank?

If you know someone who works at a body shop they would use a stud gun and pull the dent out that way.

DoubleDub wrote:

How would you seal the tank?

That would be up to you to figure out. I think I would use the stock gas cap but add something so it doesn't vent. Maybe add a soft strap around the tank for back-up. Then make up some sort of adapter for the petcock...heck, even just attach a 1/4" hose directly to the fuel supply then attach that to a regulator/guage setup. Start at 20psi and gradually go up from there. I would definately practice on a spare (honda, lol) tank. I don't know how much pressure would start making seams fail.

Here's my setup for the pipes, I use a higher pressure guage now though. the stinger is capped off with a 35mm film container and a coupla hose clamps. You could pop dents out of a set of headers too.

Thanks! Gives me some ideas. I'm almost wanting to start over now between the dents and the side cover repairs.

See, kids - prep work makes all the difference!

Great walk-through by Arai was found here: www.cyclemadness.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=2088

I wish I had the spare time/money/patience to be that good at painting...

Well...been out of town all week. Just got back this pm. Hoping to make some progress tomorrow. I need to get some more paint and I'm debating whether I should scrap and start over so I can fill in/repair the dents in the tank. They are starting to piss me off the more I see them.

If they piss you off before you're finished painting, it may be better to stop and fix them...instead of spraying more paint that you end up wasting when you do decide to fix those dents and strip it back down. Just my 2 cents

As mentioned numerous times... Prep work (Bondo, dent puller, primer... what ever) FIX IT NOW....

As mentioned, if pissing you off now what do you think it's going to be like when your all done... Your design/baby bike will look killer/sweet and you will be staring at that freaking imperfection and it will drive you insane.....

Again, FIX IT NOW.... for it will be worth it in the end results.....

OMR