Hey fellow racers. This is my first post on SOHC. I just got my first bike, a 1974 cb550. I thought instead of posting a question about something, I'd contribute first.
I'm going to go over how I repainted my side cover badges. They weren't in terrible shape, but I had some time and noticed that they would really stand out if I repainted them.
Before repainting. The other one was worse but forgot to take a pic.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dukenukemdan/9675671722/#First step, go to your local art supply store (Michaels for me) and pick up,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dukenukemdan/9672436409/#lightbox/These paints cost 1.50 each, you need gloss white, gloss or flat black (whatever you want, I bought gloss, but I'd go flat), and some sort of metallic silver paint( I used Flat Steel, if you can find CHROME use that one). The reason I use these paints is: 1. They're great for plastic. 2. They dry super hard. 3. they are just high quality paints (why do you think they come in such little bottles.)
Next, get a paint brush. Don't buy the crappy hobby brush, they suck. The bristles are too fat and they hold too much paint. I bought this brush in a different part of the store than the hobby paints.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dukenukemdan/9675661026/#Clean the part. I first used a small screw driver to scrape out the paint between the letters, the soaked it in turpentine and brushed it. I like turpentine because it's not super corrosive. DON"T use acetone or anything super harsh, it will dissolve the plastic. Also remove the big F, gently pry up on it and it should come right out. When you're done it should look like this,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dukenukemdan/9675660204/#lightbox/The order I went with painting was: black, white, then silver. When painting the white in the letters, just get tons of paint and dab it inside. We want to fill the letters with paint, if you get any on top of the letters, quickly wipe it with your finger, this will help when painting the silver. When painting the tops of the letters with silver (last step) don't hold the paintbrush parallel to the letters edge, hold it perpendicular. This is the hardest part so take it slow. Really try to only get paint on the very tops of the letters. Let it dry, then super glue the big F back on, hopefully it should look like this.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dukenukemdan/9672434117/#lightbox/It looks waaaay better on the bike now. In fact it makes the rest of it look like crap. I'm going to be posting more stuff about my improvements to the bike.
