Topic: decals other than stripes

[the technological J]

im thinking of painting my 550 and was wondering if honda put out any designs other than than 2 or 3 color decals as pictureed im thinking of paining my tank a gloss black (prob gonna try the rustoleum method) and wanted to know if there was a different decal style or just some ideas that would fit the era (like not a  modern tanks style with flames and occ chopper designs) i dunno just thought id throw it out there and see what u guys had to say... pics please

[lordmoonpie]

What about classic Honda racing RC wings on the tank? OK so it's a plug becasue I can sell them to you cheaper (and better than you will get in the US...check out the Hishiki Sumiya thread for pics on my CR...

[Geeto67]

3m makes pinstripe tape if you don't feel like paint is the way to go.

any vynil shop can cut you decals. Some are better than others, if you get a shop that has some moto expirence it is better.

if you want OEM from another bike sized to fit you might want to contact afe:

http://www.cbdecals.afegraphics.com/

I know they do custom decals also and can change the colors of stock decals if you are going for something with an oem flair in a non stock color.

[Geeto67]

some of the smaller hondas had really nice easy to replicate paint schemes that don't use vynil:

cl350:


cl175:


CL450:




I like this custom cb125 (I think this was done with spray can but you can replicate this with matte vynil). Looks stock but is actually not any stock honda decal.



I am kinda digging the 60's vibe on this even though it is a 70's tank. on a black tank you would substitute the black in the decal for another color like red or blue.

[the technological J]

im kinda digging this one but maybe a flat gunsmoke decal or throw a matte finish over the black and leave this gloss

[Geeto67]

honestly, just go to an art supply store or a body shop supply store and get:

- sheets of flat masking tape (you can get them in regular paper size if you want to run them through your printer for a complicated design)

- 3m flexible stipe masking tape in 1/8 or 1/4 of an inch. stuff is awesome and what they use to lay out flames on cars.

make a paper template so that both sides of the masking tape come out even. The secret to the rustoelum/brightside method is the sanding, doesn't matter how the paint gets on the tank, just how it is treated between coats. if you wanted a matte stripe or a matte tank I would spray can it with semi gloss, sand between coats, and finish with a buffing machine and the rough turtle wax compound (the brown stuff not the white). it will give you a semi gloss finish that is nice and smooth. Were you going to do the stripes in matte I would use vynil as it is way less time and slightly more reisitant to wax and such which would otherwise shine up a matte paint job. 

[the technological J]

i was thinking first  doing the tank all in gloss and taping the decal and going over it with either a matte clear coat or flat black... i didnt really think vinal would hold up but havnt looked into it... whats ur opinion?

[Geeto67]

They use vynil on the back of boats for the lettering. Boats that are in the ocean. if applied correctly they are good for 20 years. of course marine grade vynil is a little thicker. but to be honest a good number of honda factory decals are vynil and are still around.

I don't think your way is a bad way, but remember in order to get the finish you want you are going to need to sand the gloss black and sanding over a thin tape stripe can go horribly wrong. The other thing is I don't know of a fuel proof satin clear. Rustoleum does not make one to go over their stops rust paint, but they do make a clear gloss and a semi gloss black. you are going to have to expirement to find something fuel proof and compatible with the rustoleum.

Honestly if you were going to do it all paint. I would lay on the satin black first (3-4 coats out of a can and only wet sand the last two), then tape off the stripes, knock down the rest of the paint outside the stripe with 220 and start laying on the gloss black. You only want to sand and polish the last two coats of the satin because you are clearing the junk out of the paint, you are not worried about the smoothness of the shine. You also only really want to spray the area the stripe is in so you don't have to paint the whole tank.