Bobber Build by a total Newb

[Johnt3]

Dang dilbone! Tins look good man! You have plenty of clear on them for sure.
Wait a few days to start your sanding and polishing.The run shouldn't be a problem to get out,it's not that big.
Just got to love them damn flies don't ya?! I go through times where I'll not have one for weeks,hell months. Then of course when your laying out a really nice paint job, bam! Suicidal fly! I've had them land in a hood and walk across it!

 

[Johnt3]

My Wife said to tell you it's "pretty".

 

[dilbone]

Dang dilbone! Tins look good man! You have plenty of clear on them for sure.
Wait a few days to start your sanding and polishing.The run shouldn't be a problem to get out,it's not that big.
Just got to love them damn flies don't ya?! I go through times where I'll not have one for weeks,hell months. Then of course when your laying out a really nice paint job, bam! Suicidal fly! I've had them land in a hood and walk across it!

Thanks John,
I couldn't believe it...over an hour from starting had gone by and no issues and I literally look up having just sprayed that side during my last coat and see it there...it was actually one of those lady bug looking Japanese beetles or whatever they are...luckily it was stuck wing side to the tank and couldn't walk anywhere!!! It couldn't have landed in a better place unless it would have landed on the bottom...down on the edge is no biggie. I ended up using about 19oz of clear total. I don't know how much would be considered "normal" but it looks and feels pretty thick. I'd rather have too much than too little that's for sure!

I almost took the tins and my clear to a body shop that did some work on my truck and actually gave me some reducer for my primer a couple weeks ago to have them clear it. I just didn't want to screw it up, but I'm glad I didn't. I've done way too much from scratch myself here to have someone else clear it for me even if it isn't perfect.

By a few days maybe 3 or so? Maybe thursday evening? Normally with nitro I level with 400grit and then go 600, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000 then Meguiars scratch x remover on a foam bonnet. Is that ok for this stuff too? I'm in uncharted territory here.

My Wife said to tell you it's "pretty".

Tell her I said thanks...I think...lol

I was actually going for Bad Ass...but I'll take pretty

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

Love that burnt orange and black contrast. Simple/bold striping, not cluttered.

Might find some help in here, follow thru the referenced links:

http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=36483

 

[Johnt3]

Yeah, three days would be fine.You can start with 1000 grit and work your way up from there. I don't use anything coarser than 1200 in the shop unless I'm sanding to re-clear and then only go down to 600 grit.
I'm glad you decided to spray it yourself.Like you said, you've done everything else so far. Something to be proud of.

 

[3dognate]

Deal with the run just like you would nitro... It'll just be tougher to buff out... I have sprayed a lot of Nitro on guitars... 2k is pretty forgiving with it's excellent build properties

Though rattle can 2k I have no idea if it takes longer to cure or not... I usually cut and buff after 2 days. (Before it gets really hard to buff) then it buffs almost like nitro.

 

[dilbone]

Love that burnt orange and black contrast. Simple/bold striping, not cluttered.

Might find some help in here, follow thru the referenced links:

http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=36483

Thanks for the kudos and the links. Some interesting rattle can reading for sure.

Yeah, three days would be fine.You can start with 1000 grit and work your way up from there. I don't use anything coarser than 1200 in the shop unless I'm sanding to re-clear and then only go down to 600 grit.
I'm glad you decided to spray it yourself.Like you said, you've done everything else so far. Something to be proud of.

Sounds good John...I'm thinking 1000 is going to take a while to get the run taken out, but if it will save me time with other grits and polishing by not going too coarse that's good too. I did contact the manufacturer of this clear and their suggestion was similar to yours although he said I should level it all with a coarser grit and reshoot to get a more level coat but I'm not going to wet sand twice and lay even more clear that still have to be cut and polished...I'm only doing this once!!
On top of the fact that I think I have a ton of clear on this right now. I'm loving the depth of it right now.

Deal with the run just like you would nitro... It'll just be tougher to buff out... I have sprayed a lot of Nitro on guitars... 2k is pretty forgiving with it's excellent build properties

Though rattle can 2k I have no idea if it takes longer to cure or not... I usually cut and buff after 2 days. (Before it gets really hard to buff) then it buffs almost like nitro.

Thanks 3dognate, I'm obviously used to waiting forever to be able to wet sand and polish nitro so this 2 or 3 day thing makes me nervous, but I certainly don't want it to get too hard to be able to get it done well. This actually wasn't the rattle can stuff. Everything I've shot on this has been from my gun except the black stripes.
The clear is this stuff from thecoatingstore.com.

And now that I look at the info on the clear again I see I wasn't supposed to reduce it...oops maybe that's why it wouldn't flash off between coats I'm an idiot

I mixed a 4:1:1 instead of 4:1...crap...is this gonna take even longer to cure now?

Now I'm wondering if I shouldn't level it and then hit it again with the correct mix, just when I thought I had this figured out. Maybe I didn't load as much clear on it as I thought I did...about 3oz less

anyway...here are some pics in the sun, nice gloss but plenty of orange peel

actually here are the last of the black painted parts I finished yesterday

and the tins in the sun

 

[3dognate]

Nah, mixing 4:1:1 will just slow it down from flashing... The cure will take hold as usual. The reducer/flow enhancer is an evaporative it's already gone...

I often will level and spray another couple of beauty coats. Makes the final cut and buff go really smooth.

 

[dilbone]

Nah, mixing 4:1:1 will just slow it down from flashing... The cure will take hold as usual. The reducer/flow enhancer is an evaporative it's already gone...

I often will level and spray another couple of beauty coats. Makes the final cut and buff go really smooth.

good to know, well if I have issues getting it level and polished I may have to go back and spray again otherwise I'm going to continue as planned and either tomorrow night or thurs morning start to wet sand and see where I get

 

[dilbone]

After all the drama with paint yesterday I got back to cleaning up the motor. Following 5twins advice I'd seen in other threads I used kerosene as a degreaser, so I got my tooth brush and got to work. It was a freakin' mess, between the grease, gravel, and road grime it was more than I even expected. I should have gotten a spray can of degreaser and taken the hose to it but ultimately it's far better than it was and realistically I probably don't have much left to get it where I'll be satisfied. Taking the hose to it even with taping everything shut still makes me nervous.

I did get some mothers out and hit the clutch side cover a little bit just to see if I could get a little shine out of it which is really all I want...just to looks pretty clean, not brand new.

I didn't get between the fins yet because I need to pick up some green scotch-bright pad to double over and scrub down inbetween. Here are some before and after shots...again it isn't anywhere near "clean" after just a couple of hours of work but compared to where it was it is nearly spotless

 

[Johnt3]

Engine is looking good there dilbone.Worth every minute.
On the paint,I've cut clear down with 600 grit and resprayed with 2 coats and it turned out great,but since you have 4 coats on there now I'd stick with just smoothing it up and polishing. From the pictures out in the sun you did a good job man.
I'm off to bike nite.

 

[dilbone]

Engine is looking good there dilbone.Worth every minute.
On the paint,I've cut clear down with 600 grit and resprayed with 2 coats and it turned out great,but since you have 4 coats on there now I'd stick with just smoothing it up and polishing. From the pictures out in the sun you did a good job man.
I'm off to bike nite.

Thanks John,

I hope you have a blast at bike night!!

 

[dilbone]

There is a light at the end of the tunnel...and it just got a little brighter...
MOTOR IS IN THE FRAME!!!!!!!!!!! YEEEEEEEEEEEHAAAAWWWWW

But seriously. I was able to finish cleaning up the motor, cleaned up the wheels a bit, put the fork tubes back together and decided I'd try to get the motor back in the frame. I covered the build table with carpet to keep the scuffs and scratches at bay during the assembly process and laid the motor down. I was going to have my wife or a buddy help me lower the frame down onto the motor but decided to do it myself as I was the only one home. It actually dropped down very cleanly with only some minor contact with the motor, not enough to actually scratch or mark the paint. I started to put a few mount bolts, but I'll finish it tomorrow when I can get it upright...not sure if I'll try that by myself or have someone actually help me lift it instead of sliding it to stand it up.

Tomorrow morning I'll start wet sanding the tins and see where it takes me. Assembly will be in full swing very soon.

 

[Johnt3]

ALRIGHT!! Good for you dilbone! Feels good don't it?
It's all down hill from here...

 

[dilbone]

ALRIGHT!! Good for you dilbone! Feels good don't it?
It's all down hill from here...

It's all downhill except for the wet sanding and polishing...I HATE this part. It's the one part of a guitar build that I just can't stand...tins for a motorcycle aren't any better.

 

[dilbone]

So I started the wetsanding process this morning...1000 grit made short work of the run then I went to 1500 grit to level everything and it took a bit longer than I wanted it to, but I didn't want to put 1000grit scratches everywhere if I didn't have to.

I just can't get rid of all of those shiny spots...

Finally done with that...here it is after 2000 grit

I used a turtle wax polishing compound hand rubbed first. Here it is with one side of the tank done

And the whole thing done...quite a jump from the 2000 grit

I then went to Meguiar's Scratch X 2.0 and hand rubbed it...a little better

And finally I got my little 5" foam bonnet with my drill and hit it some more with the scratch X...ahh that's a bit better

It's certainly not showroom quality, but it's on it's way to good enough. I had to go out and pick up a couple of microfiber bonnets and decided to get Meguiar's Mirror Glaze 9 Swirl Remover 2.0
I'm not sure how different it is than the Scratch X 2.0 or if it's just the same stuff, but I'll hit it some more and see what I get. Right now I'm taking a break from the polishing and wet sanding the fender...I'm freaking tired of wet sanding........
This part I hate the most, but tomorrow I should be able to get back to assembly

 

[scabber]

Looks good off the bike. Will look even better on the bike. Keep up the good work. Going to be a sweet ride when done.

 

[dilbone]

Looks good off the bike. Will look even better on the bike. Keep up the good work. Going to be a sweet ride when done.

thanks scabber, I think so too and I'm having a hard time waiting to find out!!!

All I know is, I'm freaking tired of wet sanding!!!!!

 

[Johnt3]

Awe hell man! That looks good. I hate wet sanding myself,but who else is gonna do it? At the shop I use a small swirl DA to sand with using 1200 grit then go at it with 3M rubbing compound. Sometimes I'll use a 2000 pad if the job is a black or dark color.
Doing a great job dilbone! Your bike will look awesome.

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

That looks fantastic! Back in the '80s, the best polishing wax to go on urethane clear was "Liquid Glass". Wonder if that's still true today...?