Topic: 500/550/650's that followed me home

[rb550four]

    Okay it's later ,  and that paint is dry to the touch and smooth except for a few minor bumps . I really like the depth of it all without going with ten more coats of clear.  Next is to use a wet kitchen sponge and wrap it with some fine wet sand paper so the pressure from fingers is spread out over the sponge and it will sand evenly, with no heavily sanded areas from finger pressure that one can get without using a sponge. Sqweegee the wet sanded spots every now and then so's to be sure that no spots were missed and it is as smooth as it's going to be without over sanding. Being sure to add water regularly as I go to lube the sand paper so it doesn't burn the c/c paint instead of cut the paint . The water also keeps the surface clean so the freshly cut c/c doesn't ball up under the paper and try to re stick itself to the surface leaving either little balls of plastic or sticky plastic skidmarks on the surface because it's stuck to the paper. It all counts, so I'm gonna do what I can , then hit the surface with 1 or two wet coats and call it done. Right now I'm very happy with it all and think I could get away with cutter polish but, I want to do it the hard way. I'll use the cutter polish by hand if there is a need to after it's all totally dry. It'll still shine like it was waxed but It can be waxed 30 days later without worry. That's the way I do it.

[RAFster122s]

Congrats on wrapping up the cedar shake job and getting a couple coats of clear on.

[rb550four]

 I wet sanded the tank today, lettered HONDA on the tank in gray vinyl and shot a few more coats. It was looking great and then I said one more wet coat ought to do it only because I had enough in the gun to do it. Yeah , you know what I did. Gave it the last wet coat , it was like glass so I put it inside before bugs find it, cleaned the gun and went back to look and see. Yup, perfect ,except for the massive run that started on one side of the tank. Should have dumped that clear and cleaned the gun . The last wet coat was just a liiitttle too much. Now it's a wait and see tomorrow just how big of a repair job it's gonna be,. It'll involve more wet sanding, careful wet sanding for sure as the drip ran over the H on the Honda print and on the black out area. So the repair can be isolated inside the pinstripes. We'll see tomorrow. This kind of thing happens , it's not the end of the world and yes ,it's all fun.

[Kelly E]

I'm glad that I'm not the only one that does stuff like that. I did the same thing to my 550 tank with black paint. It was perfect until I did one more coat.

[rb550four]

This is what I have so far. A little sanding and a clear reshoot inside the stripes  still need to be done, but I'm allot closer to the finish than I was last week.
 

[RAFster122s]

Wow!  Looks great! Look forward to seeing it assembled and out in the sun...
It is definitely a twist of how flake paint jobs are done and unique enough to grab your attention out in the sun.

[rb550four]

   Thanks David, I've got a repair to make and re shoot before anything goes back together. It's been overcast on and off all day so I haven't gotten a chance to see it really shine after the last clear coat yesterday.  It was a great idea you had there, and got me to push it all a little further than usual. I like the hint of old school with a hint of what's happening now. I don't know if it can be called an upgrade on the original paint scheme but I'm digging it. It's fun. These painted parts are replacing one of the red single stage paint jobs that I applied when my house was like a Honda rebuild factory , just needed to get them done mechanically correct and presentable even if I wasn't wild about the color I painted. So I've been backtracking over some of those builds and finally playing with the finish after years of parts switching. Finding overall satisfaction with each machine now seems achievable.
 Haven't chosen the next one yet, but I can feel it coming on cause the wheels are starting to turn again. What do you think about purple, don't have one of that yet, maybe like the 70's Plymouth Barracuda ,with some sort of flake? Air brush design or is that usually too funky? Black racing stripe? with or without blackout panel? Been toying with  the idea of a multi color flake toward the front of the tank that kinda fades into just the aluminium color flake midway to the end , or would it be better to run the alum. flake all around and fade the color flake over the top of that. Sorry , been eating lotsa junk food again,probably on a sugar high...do any of these ideas sound interesting and fun?

[Kelly E]

I can see a nice deep purple with the aluminium flake and a black stripe with a black pinstripe along each side of the stripe. Put the stripes on the sides so the Honda logos are in the center of the stripes.

[rb550four]

Thanks for the input Kelly,sounds like we are getting close to a design.
I have a stock  81 Wing with a partial panel pinstripe on the "tank"/glovebox, perhaps something like that and a horizontal thicker stripe beneath it extending to the forward most shape ( about 3 inches from the very front edge ) with the logo just above the stripe, out there all alone in the purple area.
  A partial black out, halfways forward  from the rear with a similar or slant return at the top of the most forward peak with a  semi connected racing stripe beneath it extending forward, over purple field with aluminum flake, with the logo in the purple vacant are just above the stripe  partially surrounded by pinstripes. That 's a bit closer now. But should the black pinstripes and outside  partial black out boarder have it's own white pinstripe around that for contrast? Hmmmm.
   I have done stripe before so I'm just trying to mix it up a little  see reply #63  on page 3 of http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,137317file:///C:/Users/Rich's%20Keep%20Out/Desktop/New%20folder/DSCN0865.JPG.msg1576960.html#msg1576960

[RAFster122s]

Don't they have prismatic flake? Shooting the forward section in the prismatic or colored flake could be interesting.
Don't they sometime do ghost flames with  a pearl clear coat in the design. Ghost flames were a fad for a while...
I doubt the tank will photograph in either photos or video to capture the effect like it is in real life. I liked the effect and am glad you do as well.
It really pops in yellow and imagine it would be pretty cool in other colors too.
Look forward to seeing the fun you have with it!

[rb550four]

  Yes , ghost flames was all the rage for a  while. I did a close metal flake red ghost flames over a metal flake sunrise orange a few years back on my favorite 500 (which is now powered by a 550).
I was changing back to a black headlight bucket from a failed chrome painted bucket and changing out the handlebar controls last week and thought  , my this looks dated. So I whipped out the pinstripe tape in black, outlined the flame and brought it back  even further....I can live with it for a while,  and see if I should have done it in white later.  Thinking that if i like the white outline I could airbrush a little yellow to the design just to wake it up a little , add some glitter to the flame only, then shoot a white pinstripe to highlight the flame.
   Back to the purple idea. Yes I might be interested in doing a prismatic flake on the front of the tank and fade it back midway, so the underlying glitter on the rest of the tank can come thru clearly and not interfere with the partial blackout panel and stripe.
   Yes , this is fun.

[rb550four]

  Does anyone know if Frankenstuff is still doing things? I haven't seen anything from him recently. I ask because he makes the best side cover replacements for a cb 500 and I need another 2 pair.
   If you 're still out there Frankenstuff , I sent you a PM.

[Alan F.]

Here ya go:

https://www.fb-stuff.com/

[rb550four]

  Thanks Allen F.
  2 more sets of the best replacement cb 500 side covers have been ordered . It was easy to do online and I'm gonna be a happy camper.
 

[rb550four]

   So this tank repair has gone on longer than I can stand so I came home early to do something about it. A few days ago I wet sanded a horrific run on one side w 800 grit  being careful just to remove the excess clear coat only . I may have been able to make another pass or 2  but I didn't want to get into the prisim flake and make even more work for myself.
The rest of the tank was good so I taped the panel up to the pinstripe line with 1/8" tape , then 1/2 " tape halfway over that so no spray gets past it, then put the thank in a clear garbage bag and taped the bag too the 1/2" tape leaving only the panel to be sprayed open to air. Gave it a few coats. Then pulled off the tape and bag and I'm thinking it's good . but I won't really know until tomorrow.
while I was at it I have a repair to do on a stock 550 tank that was in nice shape until I parked it with the MC over the tank. Yeah, you know , the seal let loose on the mc ,got brake fluid drip across the top of the tank that stripped the clear coat right  off but left the color. so while I was waiting for the yellow tank to set up  I used a brush to fill in the missing area on the black tank with future plans to wet sand the repair and when satisfied with the repair, shoot the rest of the tank  so no one should know it ever happened.

[rb550four]

And pics.

[RAFster122s]

Looks good!

[Alan F.]

  Thanks Allen F.
  2 more sets of the best replacement cb 500 side covers have been ordered . It was easy to do online and I'm gonna be a happy camper.

Yeah I'll have to get some for my K8 eventually too.

[Kelly E]

The yellow tank is looking good. Can't wait to see it on the bike.

[rb550four]

  Thanks, I can't wait to see it either.
 It's going on a 550 that I haven't had on the road since 2014 that was a sunrise orange color. For some reason I have many in sunrise orange, must have really liked that color for a while but I have nothing like this color yet. I'm excited.

[rb550four]

  Yesterday I took the sunrise orange side covers and tank off my 550 that hasn't been on the road since 2014 and put on the yellow tank and yellow side covers. the rest of the bike is stock...stock 4 into 4 exhaust, black headlight bucket and decent chrome fenders and all. 
   I've been stewing about it all night. I loved the paint when it wasn't on the bike yet but somehow now that it's on there's just something missing. I thought I would fall in love with that bike all over again ,but didn't. I don't know if it needs a little more or a little less. I did a yellow headlight bucket and a fiberglass front fender at the same time as the tank and side covers just in case something like this happens. Good thing right? Because I think it needs a little more yellow on it to carry through so when I get a chance , I'll put on that yellow bucket and see if that does it. I'll take pics of it both ways so if I still feel unsure it'll go up for a vote.
   The fiberglass skinny fender came out nice but I think that we'll save it for another machine it can find a home on that isn't so stock.

[RAFster122s]

Usually chrome and yellow goes together really good. Yellow is a color that many either love or hate...
Look forward to seeing some photos...
Time to throw a leg over her and take her for a ride a few places if you warm up to it more.

[rb550four]

   Ya Know, I looked at that 550 with the tank and side covers on it again when I was in a better mood, I like it now.
What I don't like is the 500 STF bike sitting in the barn, the one I was building up the clear coat on after a master cylinder leak when the bars were facing the wrong way. It's a stock 78 tank , black with a couple orange stripes on the side with a flip up lid, it's got to be the ugliest thing in the barn ,  always hated it , but it was a decent stock tank from Honda and I thought I should keep one the way it came from the factory. Now that I'm repairing it anyways, I'm thinking it could be the perfect time to remove some of that 78 ugly off it and maybe transplant my last rebuilt 550 engine that has been sitting on a shelf for a few years and put it in that craddle.  It just so happens that the garage has plenty of every grit of sandpaper ,primer, school bus yellow and clear coat, not to mention more metal flake. And there is still an orphan yellow fiberglass front fender and headlight bucket looking for a home. Hmmm.                                                                                                             
  This machine sported the typical 40+year cracked side cover with a broken tab  so the entire machine was on the back burner forever, haven't even started it since it was rebuilt. I have the 78 seat in great shape but could use a fresh cover but that year seat was as ugly as the tank. Too ugly, so it has a cafe seat on it now. Even the rebuilt 500 engine looks ugly right now, I painted that when I was in my blue stage and used transmission colors and flat black....ugh.
   It sounds like I might still be in a mood but, as luck would have it  Frankenstuff sent me 2 pair of side covers, got them yesterday, and who could bee in a bad mood when Frankenstuff is delivered? I'm thinking that one of those pair might get some school bus yellow and flakes. That would surely remove some ugly. Thinking the purple tank idea is going on back burner for now until this and these hot flashes are finished.

[RAFster122s]

Nice ... another project to keep you amused and active....

[rb550four]

 Yes and no . At one point I thought that if I were to have enough motorcycles, I may spend the rest of my life rebuilding them instead of having to go buy other ones.... I was kidding of course....who knew it could really happen?