And while everything is getting painted here is what the bike looks like, haha


Notice the liberal use of back strap and zip-ties...


I know, I know...the tank is a little wavy. This is due to imperfections in the metal itself and I didn't want to have to pay for bondo work, etc.

Hopefully the whole bike will look this good, what do you think?


Edit....I have two tanks, the black is going on. The purple, black, yellow is dented and flaking paint. Works until I put the black beauty on. Anyone want to buy it from me? I'll sell it for super cheap.

 

Zip ties FTW!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by marmaladeboy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Zip ties FTW! </TD></TR></TABLE>

They saved my life when I was waiting for my new front fairing to come in, held my headlight up for like a week

 

Would you guys believe me if I said I did that myself with spray paint?

And yes, zip ties freaking rule.

 

Damn what kind of clear did you use?

 

It doesn't matter, its all about prep and such. Just some middle of the road crap from home depot.

First I sanded the f* out of it - 300 grit, 600 grit

Primered a few layers

Sanded more - 600 grit

Base coat

wet sanded 600 grit

Base coat, base coat, base coat

wet sanded up to 1000 grit

Clear, clear, clear, clear

wet sanded up to 1500 grit

Rubbing compound, polishing compound, scratch-x to get out the swirls, then wax.

Just the tank took me about 10 hours, but it only cost about 15 bucks, not bad. Now I Just have to finish the other 7 pieces, lol. What hell!!!!!!!!!!!

But it looks just as amazing in person I can't believe it turned out as good as it did.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by marmaladeboy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Zip ties FTW! </TD></TR></TABLE>

amen

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hybridcrx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">It doesn't matter, its all about prep and such. Just some middle of the road crap from home depot.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

actually, the type of clear you use does make a big difference. I did my friends race RS50 and it came out just like yours but once gas hit the tank....all the hard work went down the drain.

I was recommended by a painter to use this clear - http://www.levineautoparts.com/upclear1uvre.html - its supposed to be almost as good as automotive paint and gas will not eat through it like it would eat through krylon (or similar grade paint/clear)

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by big pete &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">actually, the type of clear you use does make a big difference. I did my friends race RS50 and it came out just like yours but once gas hit the tank....all the hard work went down the drain. </TD></TR></TABLE>

That's what I was thinking.

I have never found an auto clear coat that has made me happy.

 

I was more commenting on how it looks...not the longevity of it. As in I think pretty much any type of clear coat can look as good as mine.

I know if gas hits it I'm fucked....I'll just have to be super careful when I fill up.

 

I hate after putting in gas, you will sit there and tap the nozzle to make sure EVERYTHING is out.. and as you pull it away, the single drop gets right on your tank.

Grrrrrrr

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hybridcrx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I was more commenting on how it looks...not the longevity of it. As in I think pretty much any type of clear coat can look as good as mine.

I know if gas hits it I'm fucked....I'll just have to be super careful when I fill up.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Tanks looks great. I paint myself as well and love it but I think unless you get something better as a top coat you are gonna have big problems with the gas on the tank. You can be the most carefull person in the world but like supgirl said, that one drop will ruin you.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Z Darkside &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Tanks looks great. I paint myself as well and love it but I think unless you get something better as a top coat you are gonna have big problems with the gas on the tank. You can be the most carefull person in the world but like supgirl said, that one drop will ruin you. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Yeah, why not go ahead and have it sprayed with clear only by a professional? Just a thought.

Regardless, that is a painstaking process but it looks great. What color is it. . . in the sunny shot it looks grey but in the other shot it looks to have a greenish-blue tint.

 

I might look into getting the tank sprayed clear on top by a pro, but this was soley a cheap-o project to slightly increase the appeal of my bike and I plan to keep it that way. I paid 2300 bucks for this hunk of junk and I don't plan on putting much more money into it.

It's definetely black. Sometimes it has a bit of grey shade to it due to the lighter primer that I used, but no greenish/blueish tint in real life. My camera was the first digital ever created by man, so that might have something to do with it.