Topic: Its painted---eh?

[sellitsoon]

Been a long process but I finally have some paint on this thing.  The tank went to a painter to finish up the knee dent treatment.  He had it for 2 months and the results were horrible.(one dent was about an inch longer than the other)  I took it back, fixed it to the best of my ability and hosed it down with duplicolor.  I realized that this was a ratty rider and I didn't need to spend $500 on a professional paint job.  I used a whole can of clearcoat and it is pretty shiny for now.  Im going to add a honda badge on the tank and call it done.  Tell me it looks good.

[jtsmith]

Looks good to me!

[sangyo soichiro]

The tank went to a painter to finish up the knee dent treatment.  He had it for 2 months and the results were horrible.(one dent was about an inch longer than the other)

That would bug me. 

Looks good now though.

[greenjeans]

Looks good to me...I say ride the wheels off that beauty.

But...if it really bugs you - you can get another can of that clear, spray it on let it dry and then polish it.
Wet sand it flat with some 1000 grit and then get one of those foam 6" pads that you can chuck in your drill and polish it with some 3M polishing compound.
You'll be suprised.....I used some of that duplicolor on my nephews scooter and it's hard enough to polish when it cures/dries.  Looks professional.

Again....I'll bet it looks good enough at 5ft or 60mph that you don't need to do anything else to it.  Certainly has some shine in the photos

[sellitsoon]

[/quote]

That would bug me. 

[/quote]

More than bugged me.  But on the plus side, I can blame it on him when someone says it looks bad.  

[slowjo]

Looks good. Was this your first time painting a motorcycle?

[sangyo soichiro]

So how did it end with the painter?  Did you tell him his work was crap?  If so, how did he take it?

[sellitsoon]

So how did it end with the painter?  Did you tell him his work was crap?  If so, how did he take it?

We had arranged for him to paint all the bodywork for me.  The tank was the only thing that needed work.  I told him that when he got the tank in primer to let me know so I could check it out before he put color on it.  Needless to say, when I went to pick it up, I was not pleased and took it back.  He assured me that he would work on it some more to get it right but I wasn't going to leave it there for 2 more months while I could be tuning/riding the bike.  It was obvious this guy wasn't any more skilled than I at bodywork, and I barely have any.  I gave him a $100 deposit toward the $350 paintjob when I dropped off the tank the first week in Dec.  I didn't expect to get the deposit back and he agreed. 

Lesson learned...... I'll do all my own work from now on.  Im really picky if I let someone do work for me and am almost always disappointed.  I'd rather live with my amateur results.

[sangyo soichiro]

Lesson learned...... I'll do all my own work from now on.  Im really picky if I let someone do work for me and am almost always disappointed.  I'd rather live with my amateur results.

I'm the exact same way. 

[andy750]

The paint looks good but the tank looks terrible - sorry but to me it looks like you have been in an accident. But then I think knee dents are way over done anyway  . But hey as long it runs....the ride it.

[sellitsoon]

The paint looks good but the tank looks terrible - sorry but to me it looks like you have been in an accident. But then I think knee dents are way over done anyway  . But hey as long it runs....the ride it.

now I have more excuses when someone says it looks bad.  "Yeah, I know, its been in an accident." ..... "The dang painter screwed it up" ........"I bought it like this".........."everyone online makes their bike look like this" 

i agree, maybe overdone in our online community of forums, builders, and vintage bike lovers.  Here in my area, there are hardly any vintage bikes on the road let alone ones with custom touches.  Ive never seen a knee dent in real life.

[sangyo soichiro]

now I have more excuses when someone says it looks bad.  "Yeah, I know, its been in an accident." ..... "The dang painter screwed it up" ........"I bought it like this".........."everyone online makes their bike look like this" 

Don't forget to blame Carpy.

i agree, maybe overdone in our online community of forums, builders, and vintage bike lovers.  Here in my area, there are hardly any vintage bikes on the road let alone ones with custom touches.  Ive never seen a knee dent in real life.

Yes!  Most folks here seem to forget about the world (i.e., outside the forum).  They even got me embarrassed to call my bike a "cafe."  But in the real world, my bike is one of the most unique in my area.  Not so in this forum, but on the street I get a lot of attention.  Come to think of it, I've never seen knee dents in the real world either.  All the bikes I see on the street are either HD-type cruisers or crotch rockets.

[andy750]

Fair enough on the knee dents and I wasnt knocking you per se. Anyway I think you did a great job on the painting side it. And I hope it runs well - which after all is the most important thing!

No offense meant

cheers
Andy

[sellitsoon]

No worries Andy......no offense taken

its got pods so it.......runs

[andy750]

Ill be coming down to your neck in the woods in June so Ill buy you a beer and we can compare 750s 

cheers
Andy

[skiri251]

> duplicolor

Is it engine enamel?
I painted mine with yellow followed by clear coat and clear coat seems to be affected by gas.

Paint looks good.

[sellitsoon]

Ill be coming down to your neck in the woods in June so Ill buy you a beer and we can compare 750s 

cheers
Andy

I ran into "Simpson" on here at the local post office.  I was shipping parts and he was picking some up.  His K0 is just unbelievable....wow!  Im sure he would be up for a 750 pow wow.  Crusing the beach on vintage bikes....doesn't get much better.  Look me up in June man!

> duplicolor

Is it engine enamel?
I painted mine with yellow followed by clear coat and clear coat seems to be affected by gas.

Paint looks good.

Duplicolor wheel finish.  I liked the gunmetal color it came in so i used it.  I painted some wheels with it before and it is tough.  I painted right over some rusty steelies with it and 6 months later it looked just as good as day 1.  We'll see about the gas I guess.

[Chris Elliott]

to the original poster... what kind of rear wheel are you using? It looks wider than stock..

[country joe]

I'm not much into the cafe style. Choppers and bobbers for me. (I know, people tell me its' ruining a perfectly good stock bike but I don't care). Your bike looks real nice though. One thing I do think is cool about the cafe style is the bike looks so much cleaner and sleeker than stock. If the tank bothers you (I wouldn't mind) see if you can pick another one up cheap and try messing around with it yourself. You'd be amazed how much you can teach yourself sometimes. Anyway, happy riding bro.

[sellitsoon]

to the original poster... what kind of rear wheel are you using? It looks wider than stock..

Yeah Man..stock rear wheel.  I have a wider tire coming in the mail soon. 

Im over trying to make this thing look pretty....I just want to ride it!
--tires
--tail light solution
--battery
--enjoy!

[borzwazie]

the duplicolor wheel clearcoat will resist gas, but  it's not proof against it. I tried a test of it by painting one of my cb450's sidecovers, then clearing it with the wheel clearcoat.

I spilled a bunch of gas on it and just let it dry rather than wiping it off right away. it slightly dulled the finish (very slightly) but a wax job took it right back up to shine.

[mcuozzo]

Your bike looks good to me! 

But if the tank bothers you there's an easy way to get a good looking tank....

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=53015.0

I bought one of John's tanks (haven't used it on a bike yet) and the work is top notch.

Be glad you have a rideable bike, some of us aren't so lucky (yet!).

Matt

[IainC]

What seat do you have on there? I like it but would want mine with a thicker cushion. Are you considering mounting the light underneath the tail, or drilling into it and mounting it flush?

I like that colour a lot. How did you do the stripes?

[sellitsoon]

What seat do you have on there? I like it but would want mine with a thicker cushion. Are you considering mounting the light underneath the tail, or drilling into it and mounting it flush?

I like that colour a lot. How did you do the stripes?

the seat is the Airtech seat molded specifically for the 750K.  It was very easy to mount and uses the stock seat hinges.  Although I made hinges that were shorter so the seat would sit closer to the frame.  The cushion is about 1 1/2 inches thick.  We'll see how my behind feels but I like the look of the low profile.

Im mounting a LED light strip under the tail section.  I bolted a piece of metal between the turn signal mounts so it will be kind of hidden until it lights up

The stripes are tape pinstripes I picked up at the auto parts store.  I put them on and then clearcoated over them.