Author Topic: Mono's '75 CB550 Restore (Read 22172 times)

mono · « **on:** November 21, 2011, 04:50:41 PM »

decided to post pics... cause you all seem to LOVE PICS! haha.

first thing i really did was tear it all apart.

before i started:

mono · « **Reply #1 on:** November 21, 2011, 04:53:18 PM »

torn down mostly -- just the frame, engine, and front end left on:

mono · « **Reply #2 on:** November 21, 2011, 04:55:06 PM »

everything has been bagged and labeled and put on a bookshelf. kinda strange.

mono · « **Reply #3 on:** November 21, 2011, 04:59:18 PM »

repaired some cracks in my side covers by dremeling out a rough U-groove in the backside of the covers and pouring in some 2-part epoxy. dries hard but still a little flexible so it's not brittle. i didn't get pics, but i sealed the painted side of the covers with blue painter's tape to prevent the epoxy from leaking out of the front. it worked well. a tiny bead came out of the front, but it will polish off.

mono · « **Reply #4 on:** November 21, 2011, 05:06:50 PM »

renovated my seat pan using DupliColor metallic black and the clearcoat. sanded the pan to remove rust, then primed with 3 coats of Rustolem's rust neutralizing primer to kill any little hidden or flash rust. painted 3 coats of black, then let it dry and cure for 2 weeks while i worked on other things.

what it looked like when i started, and after sanding the rust off.

mono · « **Reply #5 on:** November 21, 2011, 05:08:04 PM »

last night i wet sanded with 500-grit paper to remove the orange peel, then repainted with 2 coats of black and used the whole can of clearcoat, which yielded about 6 coats. overkill, maybe - but i may want to sand the clearcoat down and polish it to a mirror-finish (probably not going to though for the underside of my seat).

after priming, and the final product:

mono · « **Reply #6 on:** November 21, 2011, 05:13:53 PM »

took apart my gauges and polished up the chrome housings - here's a comparison shot:

mono · « **Reply #7 on:** November 21, 2011, 05:17:51 PM »

i don't have pics for most of the process - took a bunch when tearing the bike down so i'd remember where stuff goes (labeled everything with masking tape tags before shooting photos).

just been doing a lot of sanding/sandblasting/priming with rust killer. my parents said they know a guy who owns or did own a powder coating company in town, so if i luck out i may be able to get a good deal on some powdercoating.

mono · « **Reply #8 on:** November 21, 2011, 05:19:12 PM »

sandblasted my exhaust flanges, and also my peg mounts:

mono · « **Reply #9 on:** November 21, 2011, 05:30:32 PM »

removing the rust out of the inside of the tach/speedo housings using Gunzilla (a rust remover made for... guns!) and 0000 steel wool. it also neutralizes rust and leaves a light protective finish.

Tews19 · « **Reply #10 on:** November 21, 2011, 06:45:54 PM »

Steel wool 000 is the best thing since TV. I've used it on all my bikes, cleans up and removes rust great

Stev-o · « **Reply #11 on:** November 21, 2011, 06:59:15 PM »

Looking good. Was the bike running when torn down?

mono · « **Reply #12 on:** November 22, 2011, 07:24:10 AM »

yeah she ran fine - carbs needed/still need adjusting, but ran pretty strong once she warmed up a bit. getting new pipes this winter, so the carbs will be adjusted after that. luckily i have a buddy who's a carb ninja.

I'm not planning to take the engine apart at all, except to paint/polish the covers, etc. i bought it with 9500 miles and broke 10K before i started the restore.

mono · « **Reply #13 on:** November 22, 2011, 05:45:04 PM »

took the emblems off of my side covers - they were all chipped up and the white inside of the reliefed lettering was breaking out - picked out the rest of the old paint and filled in the reliefs with new white paint.

I scraped the old chipped black from around the edges - wasn't really stuck to the chrome too well in the 1st place. bad design IMO. not sure if i'll be able to get much else to stick to the chromed surface - already tried spraying some enamel into a container and brushing it on, but it flaked off even more easily than the original paint. may need to scuff it up first to get good adhesion, but that chrome (even over plastic) is tough!

here you can see the "5" on the far left is the old paint - i used a "true white", and the old paint was more of a bone white, but i like mine better:

Stev-o · « **Reply #14 on:** November 22, 2011, 05:59:31 PM »

Those emblems can be tough to restore. A tip from another member: Sharpie now sells paint markers and he used it on his side cover. Looked pretty good. I bought one but haven't tried it yet.

mono · « **Reply #15 on:** November 22, 2011, 06:16:06 PM »

paint marker! duh. that's a great idea, and i'm saying "duh" because i've been pondering how to deal with it, when i used a white paint marker (industrial-grade paint) to get the white paint. *facedesk* sometimes you can't see the forest through the trees! thanks, i'll check out the sharpie marker.

Stev-o · « **Reply #16 on:** November 22, 2011, 06:57:16 PM »

4 bucks, shipped. Many colors...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sharpie-Paint-Marker-Pen-Oil-Base-Extra-Fine-Black-/180751485241?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a15a0c939#ht_2431wt_922

mono · « **Reply #17 on:** April 16, 2012, 08:36:39 AM »

really didn't do much to her over the colder winter months (no heat in the garage), but i've been working on her pretty steadily for the past few weeks.

finally got an impact driver to remove the side covers on the engine - here's some pics of the refinishing process:

mono · « **Reply #18 on:** April 16, 2012, 08:40:25 AM »

been doing the same refinishing to the forks. here's a good before and after with one finished and one the way it was.

mono · « **Reply #19 on:** April 16, 2012, 09:03:37 AM »

carb rebuild kits came in the mail on Saturday -- got a great price and what looks like high-quality parts from sincitycyclepartsinc on ebay. $48 shipped for all 4 carb kits, delivered in 2 days.

Gman · « **Reply #20 on:** April 16, 2012, 05:01:56 PM »

Quote from: mono on April 16, 2012, 08:40:25 AM

been doing the same refinishing to the forks. here's a good before and after with one finished and one the way it was.

Nice work! Makes me want to tear into mine... Are you just polishing/buffing the bits or are you doing something else. My bike looks about the condition of your 'before' pics and I'm gathering ideas for how to proceed w/the clean up when I have the time. Good luck and I'll keep an eye on your progress.

Cheers,
G

mono · « **Reply #21 on:** April 17, 2012, 08:04:56 AM »

Yeah, G, I'm just sanding and polishing everything that's aluminum. I'm finding that almost all of the aluminum parts were factory-painted with clearcoat or some other finish to protect the metal. So refinishing them is a little labor-intensive.

wet-sand with 600-grit to get through the clearcoat and oxidation, then sand with finer grit (800 equivalent), then rough polish with tripoli on a buffing wheel, then hand-polish with metal polish (i'm using Blue Magic). power tools are a huge advantage here - if you have a polishing motor, use it!

this process isn't giving me a mirror finish, but i don't want that high of a polish. right now it's like a slightly foggy mirror, but still very very shiny. in other words, it looks flashy, but isn't going to blind anyone on sunny days.

Gman · « **Reply #22 on:** April 17, 2012, 03:47:12 PM »

Mono,
Thanks for the reply - I'll be looking to see the finished product when it's all buttoned back up.

Cheers,
G

mono · « **Reply #23 on:** April 18, 2012, 01:29:31 PM »

"when it's all buttoned back up" -- haha yeah i'm hoping to have her back together and operational in the next few weeks! *crosses fingers*

TwoTired · « **Reply #24 on:** April 18, 2012, 01:42:10 PM »

Are you clear coating the polished bits?

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Author Topic: Mono's '75 CB550 Restore (Read 22172 times)