Topic: Tank Clear Coating & decals

[myhondas]

Ok, Here is the gist of my question. 750 K3 - K6  Gas tanks had a gold/white decal placed over a painted black area on the sides of the tanks. Did the factory apply the decals after the tank was painted and clear coated or before? I am replacing the stripes on my tank and I am going to have one or two coats of clear put on the tank. Should the stripes be put on prior or after the clear coat painting? My guess is the stripes were put on after all painting was done but I put it to the really knowledgeable folks on my favorite bike forum.

[KCRSXTypeS]

Ok, Here is the gist of my question. 750 K3 - K6  Gas tanks had a gold/white decal placed over a painted black area on the sides of the tanks. Did the factory apply the decals after the tank was painted and clear coated or before? I am replacing the stripes on my tank and I am going to have one or two coats of clear put on the tank. Should the stripes be put on prior or after the painting? My guess is the stripes were put on after all painting was done but I put it to the really knowledgeable folks on my favorite bike forum.

The stripes are probably vinyl.  I have put vinyl on cars before and it works just fine on the outside of the clear.

[myhondas]

I know that I could have it either under or over the clear coat. What I wonder is what was original from honda?

[736cc]

Clear over decal is oem and strongly advised. Gas spills on unprotected decal will ruin them.

[myhondas]

thanks.....that's what i needed to know. makes sense to clear over to protect.

[AshimotoK0]

Are you sure they are decals? My k0 had them painted as original on and that's how my painter insisted on painting them on (same painter as 750 guru John Wyatt uses)

[myhondas]

K3 - K6 had decal applied over a painted black area on side of tank. I wasn't sure if the clear coat was put on before or after the decal was applied. I really should just go out to the storage shelf in my garage and pull down an original survivor tank off my other K4. That should tell me for sure on the clear coat. But I can assure you that they were decals on the side of the tank.

[AshimotoK0]

Yes maybe it was only the early ones which were painted.

[Bob Wessner]

Yes maybe it was only the early ones which were painted.

I could be wrong, but I would be surprised. Honda tried everything to keep the costs down on these. My K0 tank was not in original condition when it was repainted so I can't be certain. When it was repainted, the painter applied the decals and then clear-coated. He did a great job, you would swear they were painted on rather than applied.

[AshimotoK0]

When I first got my K0 last year I asked Chris the Sandcast Guru in the UK "Whose tank stripes do you use (eg. Silvers/ Sunrise Graphics etc)"  He replied "Never use stripes – I paint them on myself, or use a painter who does. Made the mistake of giving the painter a stripe set for my CBX paintwork when it was done a couple of years back – he had such problems with them that in the end to get the right finish, I had to pay him to remove them and then mask and paint them back on. I also believe that the original Honda stripes may have been painted, based on my own tanks"

 I then looked again  at my original K0 tank and I am too convinced that they were not decals. So I got the same painter to do my tank and paint them on. Looks superb (Candytone Ruby Red)

[Bob Wessner]

Interesting. Maybe they went into cost-cutting mode post-K0.

[mwvachon]

On my 750 K1, they were originally painted. When restoring, I went the decal route. Clear over decal. Looks great.

[736cc]

Use decals unless your painter is the worlds biggest perfectionist. Stripes painted on wrong look horrible. The modern decals are exact size and color of oem. When cleared they look perfect.

[AshimotoK0]

I reckon the guy I used is the worlds greatest perfectionist! That's why John Wyatt and David Silver himself  both use him!!

[Bob Wessner]

Now I'm wondering if all of them were originally painted?? To be honest, the only original tank I've ever seen (or I thought was original anyway) was a K2 tank. It seemed original with paint color etc. but the stripes were definitely decals. You could run your finger and feel the edge of the decal.

[736cc]

K0's were painted stripes, they wear-off. If your painter is very familiar with exact placement and size and color of the stripes, let him do it and guarantee he'll do it over if not exact. And pay for that. Or buy the stripes for $40 and its a piece of cake. Being orig for a resto gets into some areas where its better to upgrade. There are different opinions, some restorations are unlimited budget, also.

[Bob Wessner]

So, did all the SOHC/4's originally have painted stripes, or did they (Honda) at some point switch to decals for cost savings or something?

[myhondas]

So, did all the SOHC/4's originally have painted stripes, or did they (Honda) at some point switch to decals for cost savings or something?

Bob,

K3 - K6 had decal applied over a painted black area on side of tank. That I know for sure. What I didn't know is when the clear coat was put on. Went to Bike Nite @ QS&L last night so never got a chance to pull my original K4 tank (from my survivor bike) off the shelf and inspect it. I will try to do that tonight. The discussion went off base a little when K0 - K2 bikes were brought in to the mix. I don't have the expertise on them and the original question only concerned the K4. I am going to replace the replica stripes on my tank with oem ones and have the tank clear coated to protect the signatures of Bob Hansen and Bob Jameson. It makes sense to me to put the decals on first and then clear coat it. Everything is protected that way.

[super pasty white guy]

Where are you finding stripes for $40?  Everything I find is ~$80.

spwg

[myhondas]

Where are you finding stripes for $40?  Everything I find is ~$80.

spwg

Here is a place you can get them....but they are replicas...not oem but close. The early years were cheaper than the later ones...$40 - $149


http://knkcycles.com/honda-cb750-decals.htm