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An attempt to paint my GPZ 750 Tank 24 May 2017 06:57 #762622

  • z1kzonly
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Hi H M, I did not see you are from Australia! Different regulations and cost's. But I have been using Urethane clear since 1994. Dupont came out with 4700 "HyperCure" dried in 2 hours, could buff in 8 hours in normal conditions. Back then I painted my 75 HD FLH. with old black and metallic silver Lacquer. It dried for about a week. I had my pin stripe "Artist" do his work with enamel. Then I used this urethane clear coat. People said OH NO don't do it! Well that was 23 years ago! Last pic 1994 won a plaque in bike show my 2 kids, they are 32 & 34 today!
This old set of tanks were painted in 1994 along with fenders. Years have past and I redid the fenders solid black.
But nothing like real - auto shop professional clear urethane.
Today it is so cheap! This 4:1 gal / qt. Made by "MATRIX" 5 quarts of sprayable material cost me $79.00. I can do at least 7-8 bike jobs with this clear. But I have not touched any lacquer, even primer for the past 20 years.
Livin in "CheektaVegas, NY
Went thru 25 of these in 40 yrs.
I SOLD OUT! THE KAW BARN IS EMPTY.
More room for The Old Girl, Harley 75 FLH Electra Glide,
Old faithful! Points ign. Bendix Orig. carb.
Starts everytime!

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An attempt to paint my GPZ 750 Tank 24 May 2017 12:08 #762636

  • Tyrell Corp
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OP see all the fine paintjobs here.

Do it right, strip it to bare metal, primer filler coats, flatted then white, then Ford cardinal red. Or do it your way and get a messy job that risks bubbling up within months from a paint reaction.

Old school uncatalised paints will give you good results if you put the time in. Look at some of the early Honda and Kawasaki 'candy' finished for example.
1980 Gpz550 D1, 1981 GPz550 D1. 1982 GPz750R1. 1983 z1000R R2. all four aces

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An attempt to paint my GPZ 750 Tank 25 May 2017 07:16 #762683

  • HeavenlyMachines
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Thanks. Indeed results like z1kzonly above are amazing! I am really tempted to invest in the skills and tools to do things properly.

As much as I want to do that, though, I need to look after my budget :( ... A proper DIY 2k job would easily set me back $250 for paint and spray gun (I already have a compressor). And as I have no other future project I'd rather pay the $500 to professional painter.

The spray can job would cost me $60 max and the tank scratches are so bad that anything would make it better! ...

Another possibility is to avoid enamel altogether and use Acrylic Lacquer and invest a bit more in 2k spray can (Eastwood/Spraymax) as there are some good experiences reported. That would set me back another $64 as it's hard to get them here in Australia.
Let the good times roll...
gpzninja.blogspot.com.au

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An attempt to paint my GPZ 750 Tank 25 May 2017 13:24 #762712

  • MDZ1rider
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I'm not sure if you'll have this in AUS, but in the US we have Adult Education courses at the local Community Colleges. These are typically held in the evening or weekends and at a very reasonable price. If you've got something like this in your area, sign-up. You'll have access to all the equipment and professional painters to offer instruction. You may be able to shoot your tank as your class project.

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An attempt to paint my GPZ 750 Tank 25 May 2017 14:53 #762727

  • Tyrell Corp
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Decent materials: paint stripper, paper, primer filler, filler, paint . handglaze, vinyl graphics, clear coat, thinners, gunwash solvent.....all gets expensive even before factoring labour, assuming you have a compressor, water trap and hvlp sprayer mask etc.

Another option is wrapping?
1980 Gpz550 D1, 1981 GPz550 D1. 1982 GPz750R1. 1983 z1000R R2. all four aces

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An attempt to paint my GPZ 750 Tank 26 May 2017 20:57 #762832

  • HeavenlyMachines
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The fun part begin. I went to a local paint shop here and they actually sell Spray Max 2K clear in a can for $46 :).

So it will be Duplicolor Acrylic Lacquer base + Spray Max 2K clear coat.

Wet sanded with 320 grit, dried it and then scuff with 400 grit for good adhesion.

The first dusting ...





The closest match is DupliColor Monza Red PSF45. I notice that the red on GPZ750 is a bit lighter than my GPZ900R 'Firecracker Red'

Let the good times roll...
gpzninja.blogspot.com.au

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An attempt to paint my GPZ 750 Tank 26 May 2017 22:27 #762843

  • HeavenlyMachines
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... and after 10 coats or so, waiting 10 minutes in between.

It lays nice and thick and no runoff. Ready for wet sanding to flatten it ...

Surprisingly I only found 3 or 4 spots of imperfection. I'll sand them back a bit more.



My attempt to save $100 for decals by repainting it complicates things a bit. It would have been much easier if I had just removed them.

Let the good times roll...
gpzninja.blogspot.com.au
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An attempt to paint my GPZ 750 Tank 27 May 2017 18:21 #762916

  • Tyrell Corp
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. It would have been much easier if I had just removed them.

See what I mean about short cuts here?
Go easy on the colour flatting now, this is won't fix a defective primer fiiller stage. I use scotchbite just to key it before clear.

You could try panting graphics on and backtape masking.
1980 Gpz550 D1, 1981 GPz550 D1. 1982 GPz750R1. 1983 z1000R R2. all four aces

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An attempt to paint my GPZ 750 Tank 27 May 2017 21:26 #762921

  • HeavenlyMachines
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Indeed there's too many shortcuts here. But I try to persist.

If you only use scotchbrite, how would it flatten the paint? Or is it not really necessary?

Here for the silver stripe. I used blue stripe mask (Supercheap Auto, $9) and good quality masking tape from local paint shop. It does not stick too much and would not lift paint (which I found out the hard way with cheap tape)



Plaastic cling wrap makes an excellent mask, another invention from the kitchen :). It's rainy and cold today so I did it in the cramped garage and with a heater on.

About 5-6 light coats with 10min in between coats.




There are many options for the silver, but Duplicolor DSC65 Satellite Silver seems like a really close match:

Let the good times roll...
gpzninja.blogspot.com.au

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Last edit: by HeavenlyMachines.

An attempt to paint my GPZ 750 Tank 28 May 2017 03:21 #762928

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I waited for 2 hours then start peeling the pinstripe masking to prepare for the blue strips. Heating it helps with ensuring the paint underneath didn't peel



For the blue I use Duplicolor DSH86 Vespers Blue. It's the darkest blue I could find




About 4-5 coats with 10 minutes in between. The dark blue covers really well.

I waited for 1.5hrs then I peeled the masking tapes, again using heat gun to make it soft and peel easy!

Let the good times roll...
gpzninja.blogspot.com.au

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An attempt to paint my GPZ 750 Tank 28 May 2017 03:23 #762929

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These tapes are really good. They don't stick much at all.






All the hardest part is done I think. I am happy with the color selections.

Now I will let it sit for a week before minor wet sanding/buffing then CLEAR!



Let the good times roll...
gpzninja.blogspot.com.au
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An attempt to paint my GPZ 750 Tank 28 May 2017 04:02 #762930

  • GPz550D1
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Looks great! Can't wait to see it with the clear.
1981 KZ550-D1

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