Matt's '83 GPZ 750 Project

[shift1313]

I took it outside today to snap a few pics. i think they came out well, they hide all the flaws atleast;)

took some pics of the bike outside. no sun but atleast there is a bit more light.

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/maperez/GPz/Final/back%20left%20close.JPG

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/maperez/GPz/Final/back%20right%20close2.JPG

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/maperez/GPz/Final/back%20right%20close4.JPG

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/maperez/GPz/Final/bottom%20right%20front.JPG

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/maperez/GPz/Final/rear%20close%202.JPG

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/maperez/GPz/Final/right%20close5.JPG

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/maperez/GPz/Final/right%20front%20close.JPG

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/maperez/GPz/Final/right%20front%20close2.JPG

[zx12argh]

Matt that looks great. Top work. You've deffinately got one of the more unique rides in the states now [8D]

You used to people asking WTF is that?

[Gix11]

In the daylight that looks even better mate.

[WATEVR]

matt that is sweet as well done the lines of the paint are spot on as someone else said you have definately got an eye for it.

[shift1313]

thanks guys, zx12, people ask me what it is all the time and there wont be any logos on it this time. It used to say gpz750 and kawasaki all over it. Most people dont know cause its 25years old i guess. I really like working with older bikes.

[zx12argh]

Nice :D Don't you just love to keep people guessing?

[Vcook]

thanks for the updates!

[shift1313]

i couldnt resist and i did a comparo pic with the bike when i got it vs now.

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/maperez/GPz/Final/StartFinish.JPG

[fimpBIKES]

paint looks awesome especially from the side



great transformation all up!!! love it, if only it was a suzu..... :D

quote:Originally posted by fimpBIKES



if only it was a suzu..... :D


Coz then it would be an even more amazing transformation :D

[shift1313]

fimp, theres enough suzi parts on there. I only added suzi parts, probably cause they crash more and parts are readily avail:)

[fimpBIKES]

damn straight!!!! :D

[Iceman]

Hey Matt, it looks like your bike has been on that TV show the Biggest Loser. Some major weight loss there mate.

[shift1313]

about 100lbs thanks for noticing:D they say the camera adds 10lbs as well[:p]

[streets]

Looking good matt. It's amazing how much stuff doesn't ned to be there eh?

[shift1313]

yeah streets, the biggest load was that mutha of a fairing and fairing stay. a good 15lbs easy, plus that stock huge battery. id love to start with a bike that didnt weigh 500lbs and see how light i could get it, next one:)

I got hold of a set of titanium headers for my 9 mate, and that made a huge weight difference, along with the plastics/dash and framework.

Mine had the original 4-2 headers though.

[shift1313]

that kerker muffler in the pic is aluminum and straight through so it didnt weight much. the new system i make wont be much either but def not titanium :). center stand is a big weight as well. Mostly a bunch of little stuff but it all adds up in the end. I wish i had the setup to weld titanium cause i would make one for sure. Mine will probably be aluminized steel then high temp paint over top of that.

Yeah, I just use the centre stand when I'm working on it. Easier to use than paddock stands and just as quick to put on/remove.

[shift1313]

my "new" center stand is just some square tube welded together with two bits of angle on the top. I actually have to lift the back end up and over to get it resting on the frame rails, but this allows me to pull the front or the rear because the stand is right in the middle of both. Its not as bad as it sounds but when the exhaust is on it can be a treat. Once the bike is done ill build a real stand for it

[shift1313]

here are a few pics of the rear sets and tail light.
http://filebox.vt.edu/users/maperez/GPz/left%20rearset.JPG

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/maperez/GPz/right%20rearset%202.JPG

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/maperez/GPz/right%20rearset.JPG

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/maperez/GPz/tail%20light%202.JPG

[shift1313]

and yes the light is crooked at the moment, its not bolted in, just loose:)

[streets]

That tail light looks great, really neat. That gives me a few ideas for my bike.
This is a side issue, but you seem pretty switched on in the handling department. I was doing a wheel alignment on my GPZ and all the rear end qork has resulted in the rear wheel being about 2mm out of track with the front. Should I be overely concerned?

[Benz]

Matt , that chain looks like it is sitting on the swinger, do you get any vibes through the bike when riding?
I like your approach to the footpeg dilema, certainly lighter than my solution.
Just a coupla wires to go in place there too, by the looks of it!

[shift1313]

well i finished my seat pan today, streets i modified the stocker(heavily), heated and bent it then epoxied some bolts in the base before i staple the seat cover to it. this way i can drop the bolts down through my tail section and nut them from the underside, ill get some pics of it when im done incase you havent approached yours yet. I still have to make the under tail and figure out where i want to locate my license plate.

Alot of factory bikes dont have perfect wheel alignment and its not a huge issue. It does mean it will track slightly different one direction then the other. If at all possible i like to make it right on but its not worth a total redo of all the parts. my bike is a headache in that department.

benz, yes the chain does ride on top of the swingarm. Its not really an issue when im on the bike and under slight accel. The back sqwats a little and the chain clears fine. I do have a chain roller on the bottom side, when i let off the throttle the extra slack causes it to hit the lower frame rail so now the roller takes up for that. I would like the motor to sit a bit higher in the frame but its not worth the hassel of moding the swing arm location of the motor mounts. The rubber chain slider on the swingarm takes up the chain noise and vibration.

I dont have much wiring to do, i will actually cut alot of the stock stuff away(ive already done that once). I still dont have a switch for my handlebar. I cant decide if i want to make one or buy one, thats really all thats keeping me from wiring.
still have exhaust and speedo/tach, those are the biggies, plus making some carb adapters to run the gsxr1100 carbs

[streets]

Thanks for the info matt.
As for the handlebar switch, I'd personally go down to the wreckers and just find the nicest looking unit there, then offer them a rediculously low price for it ;)

[shift1313]

well the problem is i dont want turn signal on there. I found one for a good price that just has hi/low, horn and start button, but im thinking of doing a remote start and keyless ignition so that would leave hi/low and horn. I can get a hi/low only switch for an enduro and maybe use an Mx kill switch for the horn. Just dont know the route i want to go yet. I really like not having anything on the bars, super clean that way.

[shift1313]

got my flatslides on and took care of a few more details and did a bit of cleaning. Here are some pics. I got my seat pan made and the foam cut but i couldnt get a staple gun to get staples into my plastic so i have to rething that, might use rivets.

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/maperez/GPz/Rapid/back%20resized.JPG

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/maperez/GPz/Rapid/flatsides%20resized.JPG

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/maperez/GPz/Rapid/raw11%20resized.JPG

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/maperez/GPz/Rapid/raw18resized.JPG

[Iceman]

She looks fuck'n sick Matt, it a credit to ya.

[shift1313]

thanks ice, wish it had a turbo on it:) but it will eventually.

[Iceman]

Ride it around and enjoy it for a while, then turbo it.

[shift1313]

one more pic i uploaded, this time the tail light is straight. I worked on the undertail for a bit today but didnt make any real progress. I was a bit lazy today.
http://filebox.vt.edu/users/maperez/GPz/Rapid/Rear%20Resized.JPG

How big is you're garage mate? It looks huge

[Gix11]

Fuck mate, that's sweet. It looks like it's ready for the gallery. Get me your favourite photo and a short description for the Kwaka gallery page mate.

http://www.streetfighters.com.au/ASF_gal_kawa.asp

[catchmeifyoucan]

mate that looks fucken sweet, that paint job really suits it, should deffinately put it in the gallery, it belongs in there...

P.S. what is the name of that blue you used, or did you get it made up?..

[Large]

Looks like French Blue[V]

That looks great...just needs a little blower and you're gtg[8D]:D

[shift1313]

thanks guys. the garage is 1500sqft. its my whole basement;)

The color blue is dark ford blue, or old ford blue. Its a rattle can. actually 500degree engine paint stuff.

gix, i still have to make my 4-2 exhaust with dumps before the wheel and lots of electric work. If you want some pics now id be more then happy to put some up.

[Gix11]

Yea mate. She looks the goods already. Get me a detailed paragraph like the rest on the gallery page and your favourite photo.

[Tone]

Nice work Matt,that's a tough lookin bike.

[shift1313]

thanks tone:)

[streets]

I like it a lot, really well inteegrated look about it.
You say your doing a 4-2 dump exhuast, that was my plan too. Are you using car resonators or something?

[shift1313]

streets, im going to weld cone baffles in the pipes at the collector but there will be no outward appearance of a muffler. Ground clearance is a bit limited on my bike, i might even do a 4-2 where the two under the bike are ovals, havent decided on that yet. Im planning on running two pipes side by side then have 45degree bends outwards and cut the pipes at angles to the ground, if that makes any sense.

[chadams]

Shift, I luv your work... look in the archive pics and you can see my old gpz11 84. Quick question about the carbs, did you reset the spaces and if so did you buy the parts or make you own? The reason I'm asking is I bought a set of 34mm flatslides that were off a gsxr and I'm look for the quickest way to get them on the z1000j.
cheers mate.

[shift1313]

chad, i tried to adjust the spacing but i would have to machine all the fuel tubes etc that go between the center carbs or order the ones from either 1-2 or 3-4 between those pairs. I shifted the holes in my stock gpz boots to allow enough offset to meet the carbs. What i need to do is order kz1000 carb boots since they were for 38mm carbs, and the 750 had 36mm stock. I dont know about the z1000 though.

I looked through the kaw gallery and i didnt see any gpz11's do you know where abouts it is?

[Gix11]

He means in the forum. It's in a tough spot to find so here's the link:
http://www.streetfighters.com.au/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=531

.....unless you mean somewhere else Chad. If you have the old photos and a write up I can still add it to the kwaka page mate. Send it in.

[chadams]

hehe... here's some more pics:

http://www.streetfighters.com.au/forum/topic.asp?ARCHIVE=true&TOPIC_ID=121

[Jockney Rebel]

nice work matt your fabbiing on the seat units brill mate and how does it run with the 38 s on it ?

[shift1313]

dont know how it runs yet frankenbiker. Im not putting any gas in the tank until i finish the paint job. Was planning on doing it last weekend but with the snow and freezing temps it wasnt happening. Maybe this weekend, then i can try and fire it up.

[shift1313]

chadams, i just looked at the pics of your bike very nice! did you ever get a rear sprocket on there? looks like it would have a few problems in that dept. and also do you still have the old efi stuff off your 12? id like to get my hands on that if i could.

[chadams]

sorry shift, the gpz is long gone and so is the efi... the chain just cleared the tyre, I was running a 530 rear gsxr sprocket and a front 530 off a zzr1100, as it had a bout 17mm offset if i remember correctly.

[shift1313]

just mocked up my undertail tonight in posterboard. Dont know if im going to go with the slots for the light, maybe a bullseye or something else, maybe GPz, anyways here are some pics.


http://filebox.vt.edu/users/maperez/GPz/Tail%20Light/Tail%20light1.JPG

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/maperez/GPz/Tail%20Light/Tail%20light2.JPG

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/maperez/GPz/Tail%20Light/Tail%20light3.JPG

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/maperez/GPz/Tail%20Light/Tail%20light4.JPG

[shift1313]

ps, back to the crappy camera and crappy pics. It was nice when i borrowed the cybershot,

You're not worried about road crap on the lights Shift. Looks pretty trick though.

[shift1313]

well that light was above the rear wheel stock so im not too worried about it. The fiberglass version will probably have a clear piece of lexan behind the cutouts if i decide to use that setup. Still have a few more ideas to play with.

[Iceman]

Love the seat Matt, it blends in and looks so natural. lol.

[shift1313]

i had to clear some room out of my filebox so if any of the pictures in the post dissapear whoops. I tried to keep the ones i knew were on here. any rate i have some rather large high res pics online now if anyone cares to see. i wont put them here cause they are 3225x2400 pixels but here is a linky

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/maperez/Rapid%20Bikes/

[shift1313]

i just made my aluminum undertail and i must say i dont really like it. Im going to have to rethink this one.
http://filebox.vt.edu/users/maperez/GPz/New%20Tail/Apr12_02.JPG

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/maperez/GPz/New%20Tail/Apr12_04.JPG

[Gix11]

What is there not to like about that Matt?

[shift1313]

dont know its just not how it looked in my head. Ill probably get out the leather bag and hammer and try to knock some shape into it. I think maybe its too flat.

[crazyfrog]

think I've seen your bike somewhere before shift

[shift1313]

online? ive got pics on the sfoc board, old pics on bikepics.com, i think i was on a kawasaki board as well plus 750turbo.com. Its an internet whore:)

[shift1313]

well i just couldnt leave it alone. spent about an hour beating on it with a soft mallet and a leather bag.

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/maperez/GPz/UnderTail/Formed%20Undertail2.JPG

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/maperez/GPz/UnderTail/Formed%20Undertail.JPG

i dont have an english wheel so im going to have to beat on it a bit more then fill it with bondo for my fiberglass mold. I didnt want to use bondo again but i dont have a choice really without the right tools.

I also spent a little time on a new taillight design using my cutup 750turbo tail.

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/maperez/GPz/Tail%20Light/Integrated%20Tail1.JPG

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/maperez/GPz/Tail%20Light/Integrated%20Tail2.JPG

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/maperez/GPz/Tail%20Light/Integrated%20Tail3.JPG

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/maperez/GPz/Tail%20Light/Integrated%20Tail5.JPG

I took a piece of lexan and heated it up with a heat gun while putting some pressure on it. I cut out the shape with a dremel(not fun) from both pieces. Its just pressed into that tail but it would be epoxied in if i decide to cut my fiberglass tail. Dont know what to do about bulbs etc, thats just a small tail light that served for mock up.

opinions?

ps, the green on the mock up tail isnt the same as the one on the bike, its hunter green vs hotrod green[:p]

[Iceman]

would be nice if you could hide it a bit more. Maybe tint the lexen green?

[Gix11]

Where's that light going?? What's it doing in the old tail. I'm a bit lost here.....

[Iceman]

This one's a practice go Si, he doesn't want to cut into the good tail just yet. Correct me if I'm wrong Matt.

[shift1313]

no your right ice. i wasnt 100% sold on the tail light where it was so im playing with some ideas gix. The lens would be tinted red and its going to be cut down a good bit, Now ive got a picture to play around with on the computer and see about lens patterns. thats the tail i cut up before i chopped the frame to see if i like it. I kept it laying around for just such an event. nothing is set in stone ever:) I might put the tag where the other light was and just make an led tag border and call it a day, ive got to have the tag on there anyways right:)

[HueyonaBlade]

Matt what about the twin tail light set up of a 916 ? Just an idea

[shift1313]

ive actually mocked up an r1 tail light before but the problem is i dont want anything sticking out past the body lines. The whole idea behind the bike is minimal and clean, hence no gauges or lock cylinder up front. Ive got a few more ideas that i want to try out this weekend if i get a few other things done.

[shift1313]

ive been doing alot of work on the undertail today, but while my bondo and fiberglass cured i began mocking up the exhaust.

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/maperez/GPz/Exhaust/Exhaust1.JPG

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/maperez/GPz/Exhaust/Exhaust2.JPG

[shift1313]

here is the sheetmetal/bondo part on the right and the mold i pulled off of it a few mins ago
http://filebox.vt.edu/users/maperez/Fiberglass%20How%20To/Mold2.JPG

It looks really dirty but its just the pic and some soft paint on the surface. from laying the first coat of bondo to demolding it was about 6hrs. I have some sanding and finishing work before i lay the part, hopefully tomorrow;)

[zx12argh]

Dont you just love fiberglass?

How did you go making your molds matt? Did you need split lines? I'm going to take a mold off my tail piece when time permits and redo it in GRP rather then the 2 kgs of bog - fibreglass and aluminium sheeting it is now...

[shift1313]

for a tail piece you would need atleast a two picece mold. For this one i made the sheet metal piece, used bondo to smooth it out, painted it then laid the glass on. I use the paint as a mold release:). not the best way to do it but its quick. If you have a nice painted part just wax it good using a non silicone based wax. I still havent tried a two part mold so im not much help there. Ill put up a pic of the final piece, hopefull it comes out okay.

[shift1313]

here are a few more pics of the process on the undertail. I have it curing now so hopefully it will be ready in the morning.

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/maperez/Fiberglass%20How%20To/mold%20waxed1.JPG

mold painted and waxed ready for the fiberglass.

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/maperez/Fiberglass%20How%20To/Mold%20layer.JPG

two layers of weave plus some reinforcement spots, should be nice and light.

[shift1313]

made a bit of progress today. got my exhaust done(minus baffles) will have to do some figuring on where to put them. Also made some progress on paint, got final green and blue on the tank, hope to get white and clear on tomorrow. Pecked away at the wiring night mare and i fiberglass another undertail.

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/maperez/GPz/Exhaust/Exhaust4.JPG

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/maperez/GPz/Exhaust/Exhaust5.JPG

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/maperez/GPz/Exhaust/Exhaust3.JPG

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/maperez/Fiberglass%20How%20To/final1.JPG


http://filebox.vt.edu/users/maperez/Fiberglass%20How%20To/final2.JPG

[damo1]

Are you just putting plugs in th eend of the pipes or are
you going to cut them open again and put a actual baffle inside[?]

[exile]

Nice exhaust set up fella, i bet thats gonna sound a bit fruity :D

[Slain]

god i love this bike!

[shift1313]

damo, i planned on using something like this.

http://static.summitracing.com/global/images/prod/large/dtc-72.jpg

or just making my own. I will have to cut them back open and weld it in place, unless its okay like it is(i doubt it). The reason i did it this way is i want to see where to put them. Im going to paint the exhaust system with spray paint and run the bike. Im going to see where it burns off and where it stays cool. I figure a few inches before this point will be good for the baffle. Its hard to tell but there is a little bit of baffling that will happen inside my collector because the pipes are routed into eachother and towards a bend right away. Hopefully i can fire it up today, if i do ill get a sound clip.

thanks for the comments guys:)

[Iceman]

I love the exhaust Matt. I'm still try'n to figure out what to do with mine. Since the dump pipes were way too loud and I don't really like the last minute set up we through together. I like the internal baffle idea, to keep smooth lines. I may have to look into it myself.

[shift1313]

i havent found any small enough for my purpose ice man. the smallest cone i found was 2". Im running dual 1 7/8" pipes. I might cut some discs with several holes in them and tack weld them in the ends(far in ) and see what difference it makes if i cant source anything. What size pipe are you running?

[fimpBIKES]

could flare the end a bit to take the 2inch

[shift1313]

cant do it. the 2"diam cones are like 4 inches long, they need to be in a straight section. I can make one of the cones should i choose to do so. ive got to start the bike first. I had some bad luck with my clear coat today. had the whole tank painted, sanded with 1000grit, layed the clear on and the blue started to crack!!!!. Ive hung it up for the day as im just too tired. Hopefully i can just sand the clear with 400 and the blue with 1000 again without having to recolor the thing, i even painted my gas cap and cleaned the pet cock, it was all ready for fuel. maybe tomorrow night!

[Iceman]

Currently I'm running 2inch stainless under the motor Matt, and I can get my hands on a bit more for when I decide to redo it all.

[shift1313]

sounds like you might be in luck:)

[damo1]

SSSSSSSWWWWWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEETTTTTTTTTTTT[8D]

Im lovin those pipes and with no cans its going to be awesome
ive never seen those cones before[:p]

Yeah, I've seen lots of cones over the years but never like that. Does the mull burn better that way mate?

:D

[shift1313]

they use those cones in header collectors on cars to quite them down. ive never used them before so im not sure how well they work but the design looks top notch to me. especially the larger ones. to give you a scale i think the smallest one in the pic is 2" OD.

[shift1313]

start of rant:
This painting is killing me!!!!! The paint looked great until i put clear on it. now its cracking like i sprayed aircraft stripper on it. Ive already resanded the clear off and done this 4 times and it keeps cracking in different spots. ive been very careful with finger oils etc. Im going to sand it down, repaint it and try another brand of clear, if this doesnt work its not getting clear,
end of rant:

and ps, i didnt mix laquer and enamel, but this is the effect thats happening. no matter what that gas tank will have gas in it this weekend:)

[zx12argh]

Gas? oh petrol ;) Paint can be a real bitch sometimes. I did all the prepwork on my tailpiece did it a lot better then I usually do and I've got a 3cm square patch of paint that is delaminating. bugger.

[damo1]

Shift dont leave the ground coat so long.

You need to have the ground coat able to take the clear so what i do is in between every coat(this includes colour) leave about 15min then come do your next coat.

When you put down your first clear coat dont be to worried about full coverage leave it 15 then the next coat should be a little thicker what this does is it seals the coulour under the first 2 clear coats then leave it about 20min then come in do your last coat and wet it right up this will give you the shine and the deepth your after be carful not to get runs in the coats before the last if you get them in the last no big deal you can knock them out with a bit of ultra fine and give it buff.

If you want a real good shine try not to get any runs and it should be sweet off the gun.Or you could just lightly run a buff over it just to touch it up.;)

It sounds like your just rushing it alittle slow down and let it tack off a little before you put down your next coat.:D

Good luck mate, paint is great if it works and its a real fucker if it dont [^]

[shift1313]

thanks for the advice damo. There was about 15hrs between color and clear, but i did sand the whole tank down with 1000grit before the clear to be sure there was no dust or oils. I also did what you said with the light coat first, this was out in the sun and dried very quick so i only left it for 5-10mins then laid on a second coat, this second coat was where i started to see problems. This is still spray paint also. It was just puzzling because the spots i had problems were different every time. Its supposed to pour down rain tonight so ill get a change to prep the tank for some more and get some headway on my wiring, hopefully the weather will break enough tomorrow to get some more color or clear down.

thanks again for the advice!!

[Iceman]

Hey Matt, I'm gunna have a go at making one of those cone shaped baffles myself. I'll let you know how it works out.

[damo1]

You cant do it in direct sunlight because the out skin of the material dries to quick and traps the solvents under the skin then you have troubles like what you had.

Dont take this the wrong way ;) But the way that paint dries is by the thinners drying out of the paint and thats how it goes off if you dry the outer skin first it traps the solvents(thinners) and thats when the probs will start frying/crinkling paint or even something called solvent pop witch is the solvents making little blisters all over the job.

The reason you are having the prob at different places every time you try is because thats where the edge is of the last coat of paint.

Meaning that you have rubbed back the problem area but still have clear where you rubbed it back to (to get rid of the prob)where the edge of the clear is that you rubbed back to is the next place where the prob will start.

Heres a question that i should have asked earlier is it acyrlic/enamal/2k im gathering by the speed it dried in the sun that its acrylic if so the problem with this is that its always going to move the material under it when you put on another coat.

If you get it cleared in 2k baked enamal it wont move once you get down your first coat as a sealer because it would have already tacked off thats why you can then load up the last coat with no dramas.;)

Maybe lok at getting it 2k cleared to finish it off [?]You can do it your self but it will take about 24hrs to dry and really about a week to totally cure.

[shift1313]

wow, thanks for the info damo. The paint im using is enamel. The paint is high heat and has a ceramic resin mixed in with it. It is supposed to be more resistant to chemicals (says gas and oil resistant) so i figure if i spill gas on it, this stuff would hold up better. It is not supposed to blister, flake, crack or peel and originally i wasnt planning on a clear but thought i would give it a shot. I think becauase of the nature of the paint it will be fine without clear but that extra depth would be nice. The paint and the clear are the same brand and the same high temp stuff. None of the color coats had any problems with blistering or coverage, every coat was applied in the sun outside. When i sanded the tank down i sanded it until i had color on the sand paper and there wasnt clear left. Actually the last area I sanded down im 100% sure there was no clear there and it had a blistering problem. It might be better off with no sanding of the color but im not sure.

the stuff im using is the engine enamel on the left.
http://www.duplicolor.com/gallery/gallery_images/can_engine.jpg


The weather here is crap today so i just fumbled with the wiring but ill get some time with it tomorrow. I got a different clear today but im not sure i should even clear it.

What do you think?

[damo1]

Thats engine and exhaust paint[?]

What the fuck are you using it on the body work for[?]

When you painted it orig you should have cleared it at the same time not waited this could also be a prob because the base coat has had time to dry right out so it may not let the claer adhear to it properly and a result will be the paint flaking off at a later date.

If you had of painted the clear at the same time you wouldnt of had to rub the base colour down you could have just gone straight over the top of it and it would have bitten in to it and been sweet.

The shop i used to work at had a prob with this exact prob once after leaving the putty for 24 hrs and the job came back with the paint flaking off after getting stone chips.:(

Mate im not a hundred percent sure but does the heat proof enamal realy need a clear coat[?]

Be carful not to use acrylic over enamal because you will really fuck up in a big way.;)

[damo1]

Just had another thought are you using wax and grease remover[?]

And if no you should be;)

Make sure you rub it on with a rag thats clean and make sure you rub it back off with a clean clean unused before rag so its spotless:D

[shift1313]

quote:Originally posted by damo1

Thats engine and exhaust paint[?]

What the fuck are you using it on the body work for[?]

When you painted it orig you should have cleared it at the same time not waited this could also be a prob because the base coat has had time to dry right out so it may not let the claer adhear to it properly and a result will be the paint flaking off at a later date.

If you had of painted the clear at the same time you wouldnt of had to rub the base colour down you could have just gone straight over the top of it and it would have bitten in to it and been sweet.

The shop i used to work at had a prob with this exact prob once after leaving the putty for 24 hrs and the job came back with the paint flaking off after getting stone chips.:(

Mate im not a hundred percent sure but does the heat proof enamal realy need a clear coat[?]

Be carful not to use acrylic over enamal because you will really fuck up in a big way.;)




i know its engine paint damo. When i started this process i used krylon fusion paint. Stuck great, good quality, just no color choice. I really wanted it because of the adhesion properties. I used the fusion as a base coat and decided on the most durable paint that i could get a hold of with my color choices. This is why i ended up with this. It was very resistant to chemicals and the ceramic properties would make it thick and rich looking. Having said that this is really the first attempt on something like this. I painted another bike with krylon fusion but nothing like this. I dont know that it actually needs a clear coat. Before i started the clear process(same day) i finished the color. I let the tank sit for several weeks before this, but just before the clear I added another thick coat of each color. Because i did a three tone i couldnt get clear on right away as i had to wait for the paint to cure a bit so i could tape off the green and blue to paint the white, without ruining it. When i went from my last color coat to clear it was a few hours. If its not apparent, i dont really know what im doing with paint, kinda going blind into this one and hoping it turns out well:) after reading all you had to say and going through what has happened with my clearing experience im tempted not to clear it at all. which is ashame cause i liked sanding down the seams where it was masked off. Im going to try this other brand of clear and see what happens.

Do you have any tips one how to take it from color to clear fast? Im not sure how i can paint the color and mask it off without causing problems

thanks damo, you are a world of info and its much appreciated!!!!:D

[shift1313]

back to the drawing board for now. I tried another brand of clear(aerosol still) and i repainted the green on the tank and cleared it while it was curing with ill effects. Im going to put the tank together, finish the rest of the bike and then repaint the tank and tail when i strip the frame to paint it. ill be sure to use wax/grease remover between every coat. Dont know if im going to clear it or not yet though. Its definately been a learning experience. spent a bunch of time on wiring this morning before i took it to a car show/bike show. It cranks, just needs gas:)

[damo1]

You cant really rush the process your talking about because you need time to let each colour
dry before you can mask up for the next colour as you have alredy pionted out you had to do.

So good luck with the repaint and if you need any more advice i may be able to help.

[shift1313]

when i get ready for the repaint i will definately start bugging you about it. I had someone tell me yesterday they clear between each color coat. Is this normal practice?