Topic: CB500K Tank Paint Method?

[Dr. Frankenstein]

I'm getting ready to paint my 500Four tank, but I'm wondering the best way to do it; I'm staying with the classic orange and black 'cutout', or whatever you call it - but I'm wondering which to do first. I noticed yesterday when I stripped it, (1) the paint came off a lot easier than I expected, and (2), there wasn't any primer on it. So that means the tank was actually sprayed twice - once to put on the black part, and again to put on the original color, which was that 'Candy Jet Green' color - but HOW was it done, does anybody know...? Did they do the black part first, or the color coat...?  The black was not sprayed over the original green, so how did they do it? Spray it and mask it off, or...?? 

Also, if anybody knows a good source for the tank chrome, that'd be cool too...

[denward17]

Is your classic orange a candy color that will bleed through what's beneath it?

[Dr. Frankenstein]

I plan to use a primer/sealer base gray, with a glitter/flake silver color coat and orange candy over that, and then a SprayMax 2K clear for the top coat; I'm just not sure how/when to apply the black, and which black to go with - I'm thinking a gloss black, but as I mentioned, when I stripped the tank, the green and black color sections of the tank were (or at  least appeared to be ) separate - the black was not (or at least did not appear to have been ) laid down over the green, so one color had to have been laid down before the other color was...but it would make sense to just lay the black down over the green, because that's a lot easier than doing them both separately, but I don't know...I'm just wondering if anybody knows how those colors are laid down, and if there's a good way to do it w/o screwing it up. 

[denward17]

I don't know how it came from the factory, but what I did I wouldn't recommend.  I decided at the last minute to add the black cleats.  I already had my decals on, and the tank was painted my final color coat with just a couple of clear coats on.   I carefully taped off the decals and sprayed gloss black in the cleat area and then put 3 more clear coats on it.  See pic, it turned out ok.

If I were to do it again, I think I would spray on the primer/sealer, prep the tank for paint, measure off where the decals go, then spray the black.  After drying I would tape off the black cleat areas and spray my flake silver, then orange, then clear.
 
If I was installing decals, I would only put maybe 2 coats of clear over the paint before installing said decals to help protect the paint, then after the decals dry in for 2-3 days, then put some clear on it.

[denward17]

Final with more clear...

[HondaMan]

I'm on the fence myself about the black on the 550 I'm about to paint (when the weather here settles down...). The OEM versions had the black applied over the candy after the clearcoat, so the black always had slightly less gloss than the rest of the tank.

IMHO the Honda stylers were being reminiscent of the old SuperHawk rubber knee-grip pads on the tanks.

So, I'm inclined to do the whole tank first, then add the black and leave its gloss alone. Then the decals.

[Dr. Frankenstein]

Denward17 - that's the way I'm thinking of doing it -

...and HM, what kind of black are you going to use? Gloss, semi or flat? What did Honda use, you know? Gloss, I would imagine...

[denward17]

Denward17 - that's the way I'm thinking of doing it -

...and HM, what kind of black are you going to use? Gloss, semi or flat? What did Honda use, you know? Gloss, I would imagine...

I don't think it matters which black you use if you are planning on a high gloss clear over it.

[HondaMan]

Denward17 - that's the way I'm thinking of doing it -

...and HM, what kind of black are you going to use? Gloss, semi or flat? What did Honda use, you know? Gloss, I would imagine...

It was actually not glossy like the Candy Color part of the paint. It was a sort of semi-gloss, and that stood out against the color. Back then, others (that I knew then) who had ridden the CB72/77 bikes and then bought one of these seemed like they commented on how it looked like a "tribute" to the old rubber side pads. If you imagine some nice, new, smooth and sealed rubber flat pads, it did much resemble them.

I'm going to attempt it (maybe later this week) to try to pay tribute also to the designer who came up with it. While the Black paint (it's VMR Paint) is "gloss" I think it will probably look pretty close?

[Dr. Frankenstein]

Here's the finished product on my Cb500 - I think it came out pretty well  - - It's a bit more glittery than the OEM, but it looks really sharp in person...the pinstripes are just stuck on, and they seem to be holding well, but I have some chrome edge protectors coming to finish it up. I used Rustoleum Semi-Gloss for the black part, with no 2k Clear over it; the original tank had no clear over the black part, so I did my best to replicate the original look.

[newday777]

Here's the finished product on my Cb500 - I think it came out pretty well  - - It's a bit more glittery than the OEM, but it looks really sharp in person...the pinstripes are just stuck on, and they seem to be holding well, but I have some chrome edge protectors coming to finish it up. I used Rustoleum Semi-Gloss for the black part, with no 2k Clear over it; the original tank had no clear over the black part, so I did my best to replicate the original look.

If you want it to last especially when you get gas on the paint you want to 2K clear it

[CycleRanger]

That's not too shabby at all! 
Some fuel-resistant clear and you're golden!

[Dr. Frankenstein]

Yes, I've thought about it - I have a can of SprayMax 1K Clear, and another can of 2K, but they're both pretty pricy, and once you 'crack' the can, you have to use it within 24 hours, I think it is, before they become unusable. Plus I think it would give a glossier sheen to the paint, which I don't really want.

[denward17]

Looks great from here Dr. F..