Topic: '75 CB400F to make pretty again..finished pics

[nvr2old]

Just a tease..... Blue is on and sanded smooth with 600, black stripes are on, masked and ready for the red pinstripe. Gold pinstripes and decals tomorrow, clear on Saturday. Agonizingly slow progress w/o my shop, but it's getting there..





The under side of the fender will be painted black before it goes on the bike..



The black on the bottom of the tail section should blend into the frame nicely..





I also painted the seam around the tank black and rounded off the front bottom corner with the black, too. Once on the bike that corner should blend in and look rounded instead of squared off.





The most expensive red paint..ever..Dodge Viper red..$150..a pint..



More updates over the weekend hopefully..thanks for lookin'

[Stev-o]

Looks good.  $150/pint.....crazy! How much was Ferrari red?

[thirsty 1]

Lookin Good!!

[nvr2old]

Looks good.  $150/pint.....crazy! How much was Ferrari red?

I know, right..?  Reds are the most expensive pigment on the planet and that Viper red has just enough pearl in it to shoot it through the roof.  I bought it a year or so ago to paint another bike and had just enough left over to do the pinstripes.  It's also a good example of how easy it is to get to $500 for the materials alone to do a 4-color paint job.  The Varnish blue was $100 a pint,  the gold is $100 a pint, primer $100 a quart and the clear is $125 a quart (with hardeners), too...black is the cheapest, a mere $50 a pint.  There are certainly less expensive options available.  PPG is grossly high-priced, but it's really high quality stuff and I'll never use anything else.

[grcamna2]

nvr2old,
That's a Nice Suz. Wes Cooley replica GS1000S in the background of one of your pics;have you had it for a while ?

[nvr2old]

nvr2old,
That's a Nice Suz. Wes Cooley replica GS1000S in the background of one of your pics;have you had it for a while ?

Thanks very much for the compliment on the GS.  I've had it for about 4 years now.  It's the only non-Honda I've ever owned.  I was even lucky enough to have it featured in Cycle World and Moto Retro Illustrated magazines.  It's a blast to ride.

[grcamna2]

nvr2old,
That's a Nice Suz. Wes Cooley replica GS1000S in the background of one of your pics;have you had it for a while ?

Thanks very much for the compliment on the GS.  I've had it for about 4 years now.  It's the only non-Honda I've ever owned.  I was even lucky enough to have it featured in Cycle World and Moto Retro Illustrated magazines.  It's a blast to ride.

it's a Beauty !  I degreed the cams on one back in the mid 90's for a good customer.

[nvr2old]

What I love about that bike is the torque that it has.  You can be in 5th gear doing 20 mph, and it stills pulls like a freight train.  You can red line it, short shift it, whatever you want...for a 35 year old bike, it just hauls ass.

[Stev-o]

What I love about that bike is the torque that it has.  You can be in 5th gear doing 20 mph, and it stills pulls like a freight train.  You can red line it, short shift it, whatever you want...for a 35 year old bike, it just hauls ass.

Another forum member, Honda Dog, recently bought one, great bike.

[grcamna2]

That 8 valve GS motor has a Lot of low end torque stock.

[nvr2old]

I clear coated the parts for the 400 today. Waited for them to dry for 3 hrs. in a 75 degree booth, carefully put them in the car and gingerly drove home. I hung the front fender from a small chain I looped from the coat hanger brackets above the rear windows in the back seat of my car. It's too light not to flop over on it's side and it was still a bit tacky..had to stare at it waving around in my rear view mirror for 50 miles...drove me crazy.

Took some down and dirty quick pics.










I like how the black slims this fender up.







Can't wait to mount this Ducati tail on..







Just need to sand and polish em at this point. Man, it's so cool to get to this stage...it never gets old..

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

The striping came out great.  Unique custom paint while still retaining the original character.

[Stev-o]

Absolutely beautiful combination of colors! I agree, the black trimming really helps the overall shape of the fender, tank and the cowl. Very clever and very professional-

+1.....great paint work

[nvr2old]

The striping came out great.  Unique custom paint while still retaining the original character.

Exactly what I was going for, thanks for the kind words, guys.  Trying to keep a (phantom) factory look was really important to me on this bike.

[tweakin]

Looks great Larry!  I wouldn't expect anything less....

[Kwality]

Awesoem - just read the whole thread.  Lovely work - looking forward to seeing the completed project!

[grcamna2]

Absolutely beautiful combination of colors! I agree, the black trimming really helps the overall shape of the fender, tank and the cowl. Very clever and very professional-

+1.....great paint work

I Love'em   

[nvr2old]

Thanks for the compliments, guys.  I'm looking forward to getting this 400 wrapped up in the next week or so.  A new leather seat is being stitched up as we speak, and I hope it turns out the way I envisioned it.  Polish the parts and reassembly is pretty much all that's left, then I can start enjoying riding it again.

[Jore]

Looks beautiful! what grit did you use when doing the frame? I didn't catch that while reading thanks!

[nvr2old]

Looks beautiful! what grit did you use when doing the frame? I didn't catch that while reading thanks!

I used 180 to sand off any surface rust, followed with 400 grit for the rest and a light sanding of the primer with 400 before painting it with a single stage urethane.

[Jore]

Thanks! Did you jump 180 straight to 400, or did you use other grits in between?

[nvr2old]

Yes, 180 then straight to 400.  You could sand the whole frame in 180 if you want to prime the whole thing, followed by sanding with the 400 to prepare it for paint.  I didn't need to sand the whole frame on mine for primer, just some chips here and there, rough spots on the swing arm and rear section of the frame.  You can spot sand anywhere that requires it to go to bare metal with the 180, as long as you prime it.  180 scratches will show through if you paint over it.  400 needs to be the final grit.

[Jore]

Thanks, great advise, I'll have a busy weekend then.

[thirsty 1]

Ooooooooooooo pretty......

[nvr2old]

 Finally got the 400F buttoned up and polished out. Took close to 7 months, but I'm pretty happy with the results. Glad she's done..





















more coming..