The Honda Owners Club

Back again. My original post for this was under the "Hints and Tips", I stuck it there thinking it was for getting tips not giving! Oh well... In a nutshell the original post was me asking some advice on painting my bike. I had zero experience in painting with anything other than a can or brush so this was a quite a task. A couple weeks ago I got my spray gun and today the weather was good so I took the plunge! As you can see by the pics the paint booth was a little "crude" to say the least. I got the hang of using the gun and a couple hours later here is the results: http://picasaweb.google.com/browns4s/TheRepaint

I chose to do a base/clearcoat and it went on pretty good. The lines are sharp with only a little bleeding and no runs. There are a couple spots that need to be touched up and the seat fairing needs to be repainted and once it's done I hope to have it ready for clearcoat and a week or two. Got to find a better paint booth for that step!

Now I have a question, do I need to wet sand the base coat or can I leave it as it is? It is pretty smooth with only a couple bumps.

Tks for the help

SB

If you are to clear lacquer, its best not to rub down, however if you feel you need to I belive you need to finish with 1200 grade wet and dry.

Well it is about done now and here are the pics:
http://picasaweb.google.com/browns4s/TheRepaint

For the first time ever attempting a project like this I am somewhat happy with the results but still have to buff out alot of runs! I have definitely learned alot from this project. First and foremost a paint booth better than the side of a building or a big ass garage. Why? Well for one it is a controlled environment but most of all is the lighting. Then I put on the clearcoat lighting was pretty bad and it showed in the work. Next, don't do what I did with the basecoat, like read an article a week after I put it on saying "It is best to apply the clearcoat no longer that 2 days after the base is applied because the paint will deteriorate." Not sure if it was true but made me think about it. Also I found that wet sanding with 2000 doesn't blend the colors like 1500 does. I went to visit my parents up in Maine this past week and the last day I was there I got to clear coat the parts in my friends garage. Unfortunately I was late in the day and it was a hurried process. It started out well but the settings on the gun didn't seem to push out as much clear as I would have liked (no I don't know how to adjust it, must learn) and as time got short I got impatient and it showed in the runs that I had. Lots of them but I hope to buff them out. I guess the biggest lesson I learned from this is that putting on the clearcoat is like chatting up a girl in a bar. Take your time, go easy, be patient, be gentle and you will get the results you want. Or you can lay it on thick, think things are going great and the next thing you know, she runs.....

Well powered with some misguided confidence here is my next project!
http://picasaweb.google.com/browns4s/MyNextProject

Yes, I have no idea what I'm getting myself into!

Well, I got the bike put back together and doesn't look too bad as you can see: http://picasaweb.google.com/browns4s/NearlyDone

I took it for a ride and right before I got to the house I ran out of gas, fortunately I coasted into a gas station, saving me alot of pushing on a hot day! I'm going to take it into work on Tuesday and the pull it all apart and start the wet sanding because I have a more experienced friend shoot another coat of clear over it. With any luck after the wet sanding and buffing should make it look better.

This was kinda fun and learned alot from it. I'm looking forward to doing the next one.

SB