Build Thread...Special to Cafe Bike

OK - well, I’m closing in on it (yeah, I know I’ve said that before) but this time, I frickin’ well mean it.
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My latest passion is painting and in my spare time <hah - that’s a laugh> I have been watching YouTube videos while trying to justify the cost of a professional paint job and....I just caaannnnttt. If I saved up my allowance for a while, I could afford a professional paint job but, and I may be totally nuts, I think I can do a decent paint job on my own and I’d like to try if only for the satisfaction of having done so. Besides, I’ve got three XS650s to paint - and I cannot afford that.
Anyhow, I just wanted to record that, while there a lot of videos out there on this topic, most of them are crap, and have been made by people who seem to know even less than me.
However, one of the best videos I have seen thus far is by a chap in (I think) Cambridge in the UK. He clearly knows his stuff and he deals with all the usual vintage tins problems like peeling paint, old stickers (decals), dents and dings, and clear coating. He stays focussed, describes the materials he is using, doesn’t skip (too many) steps and does not have an annoying sidekick or spouse interrupting him. Plus, he explains what he is doing, clearly and without the usual drama while demonstrating it with decent videography and best of all, what he is saying makes sense to me.
Anyhow - check it out for yourself if you are interested in painting your bike’s tins.

Hi Pete,
I rattle-can my gas tanks then do a fizz-over with 2-part clearcoat.
You could follow a motorcycle mfr's paint strategy. But you gotta pick the right mfr.
Like DOT. (Devoid of Trouble) who made Villiers engined street and sport bikes.
The DOT plant was located right next to the Meccano factory.
Whatever colour paint was in Meccano's dip tank on a given day
was the colour of that day's DOT bikes.
 
I rattle-can my gas tanks then do a fizz-over with 2-part clearcoat.
You could follow a motorcycle mfr's paint strategy. But you gotta pick the right mfr.

Thanks Fred - where do you buy your paint and 2K clearcoat?

I have started to look around a bit here and while everyone knows about it, the retail sources of the 2K clear are not all that obvious....

P
 
Thanks Fred - where do you buy your paint and 2K clearcoat?
I have started to look around a bit here and while everyone knows about it, the retail sources of the 2K clear are not all that obvious....
P

Hi Pete,
at a local vehicle paint store.
I'd suppose while the Walmart paint 'teen wouldn't have heard of 2K clear any vehicle paint retailer would stock the stuff?
 
Hi Pete,
at a local vehicle paint store.
I'd suppose while the Walmart paint 'teen wouldn't have heard of 2K clear any vehicle paint retailer would stock the stuff?

Actually, I did check at a local (well, national) autobody supplies shop here in town called LKQ Canada and they do not stock rattle cans of 2K clearcoat. The can mix any colour from just the mfrs' colour code but no 2K clear.

I guess I'll nip over the US and see whats available...

P
 
Hi All:

I am coiling up to buy my paint for my three XS650s and I’d like some guidance on the stock colours. The easiest way to do this is to buy rattle cans in which the proper paint is mixed.

I plan to use automotive paint codes for the colours and I have now figured out the closest code to the stock Yamaha colours for the 1976 red (it is the 2012 Dodge Ram Code PRP) and for the café bike I will use the British Racing Green shade used by Mazda on their 1994 Miata (it is paint code HU) but I would like to see a really good hi-res colour photo of the 1978 XS650E green colour.

Does anyone have a green 1978 E-model and could you please post a really good clear colour photo of the tank?

Many thanks,

Pete
 
One more thing - does anyone have any guidance on how many typically sized rattle cans it will take to paint the tank and side covers - say 3 coats?

Thanks!
 
One more thing - does anyone have any guidance on how many typically sized rattle cans it will take to paint the tank and side covers - say 3 coats?

Thanks!
Hey Max, I don't have info on the XS, but I've painted a few tanks over the years and typically one maybe two cans (to be safe) is all that's needed, and then one can of clear...but maybe two depending on how many layers you lay down. I've found that if you put the cans in warm water, it helps with flow...depending on the paint. Granted, I typically paint when it's colder (winter) and need all the help I can get.

Also, if you have the time, test out the paint your going to use on a scrap piece of metal and then lay down the clear (As if you were painting your tank) just to be sure the clear and base paints work together...I've had bad luck in the past where they didn't work together and the clear pretty much ate the paint. The approach I used was letting the base cure for 72 hrs, and then came back with clear... so glad I experimented. The way I got it to work was to lay the base paint per usual, and as the last layer was getting tacky, I laid down the clear, and then more clear, and more, etc...that seemed to work. BTW, these were the same brand of epoxy paints/clear....so they were supposed to be compatible. Go figure. Then again, I'm no expert, so I am not ruling out user error on this. :)

Good luck!
 
One more thing - does anyone have any guidance on how many typically sized rattle cans it will take to paint the tank and side covers - say 3 coats?

Thanks!
It should take a little less... but I'd plan for 1 can per coat. Or at bare minimum, 2 cans. You planning on the 2 part cans?
 
Here’s a couple from here in the forum.

http://www.xs650.com/threads/how-rare-is-a-1978-xs650e-standard.11566/
D57683EA-267F-45A4-851E-284139B32C2C.jpeg


Another one , looks a little different depending on the lighting.
2F929F6C-394D-4033-938C-1E0429C2BC53.jpeg
 
The approach I used was letting the base cure for 72 hrs, and then came back with clear... so glad I experimented. The way I got it to work was to lay the base paint per usual, and as the last layer was getting tacky, I laid down the clear, and then more clear, and more, etc...that seemed to work.

Hi Brassneck: I am a little confused about your process...and which one succeeded. Did you:
  • lay down the colour and then wait 72 hours - and THEN clearcoat?
  • or - did you lay-down the colour and then start with the clear soon afterward?
It should take a little less... but I'd plan for 1 can per coat. Or at bare minimum, 2 cans. You planning on the 2 part cans?

Hi Jim: my plan is to use 1K primers and colour and then a 2K clearcoat over top of all that to protect it. I have a mask as I am aware of the hazards of the 2K clearcoat.

I guess I will have 2-3 cans of each colour mixed up and then get half a dozen cans of 2K clearcoat.

Bob - thanks for the photos - I had thought that the '78E green was somewhat lighter - but that is quite close to the Mazda HU British Racing Green colour I intend to use on the cafe bike. Hmmm....
Should be fun!
 
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Hi Brassneck: I am a little confused about your process...and which one succeeded. Did you:
  • lay down the colour and then wait 72 hours - and THEN clearcoat?
  • or - did you lay-down the colour and then start with the clear soon afterward?
Ya, sorry...was rushing when I wrote that. What worked for me was to essentially treat the clear coat as a continuation of the paint. So no delay other than letting it tack up. For whatever reason that kept the paint from being eaten by the clear... it was when I let the paint cure for 72 hrs, the clear had an adverse affect when I applied it (I'm guessing drying times etc. were the issue, but I don't know). I can guarantee that experts in painting will have better knowledge and approach...but that's what I experienced. And again, I simply recommend trying out your process (whichever way you go) on a sample piece to see if it will work as you expect. It may take a little extra time...but you may find it extremely helpful with your end result.
 
Wonder if that technique would work on the hood and cab roof of my '98 Chevy pickup? HMMMMMMM.......

There are a couple of good videos on repairing damaged clear coat on YouTube.

That Kawasaki tank looks beautiful - is that a 2K clear?
 
Hi All:

I am coiling up to buy my paint for my three XS650s and I’d like some guidance on the stock colours. The easiest way to do this is to buy rattle cans in which the proper paint is mixed.

I plan to use automotive paint codes for the colours and I have now figured out the closest code to the stock Yamaha colours for the 1976 red (it is the 2012 Dodge Ram Code PRP) and for the café bike I will use the British Racing Green shade used by Mazda on their 1994 Miata (it is paint code HU) but I would like to see a really good hi-res colour photo of the 1978 XS650E green colour.

Does anyone have a green 1978 E-model and could you please post a really good clear colour photo of the tank?

Many thanks,

Pete
The PO works in an auto repair shop, and painted my bike himself. Although it is a 1977 D model, he painted it in a similar pattern as the E model in this thread. He said he used a dark green metallic from VW, around 2001-2002.
 
The PO works in an auto repair shop, and painted my bike himself. Although it is a 1977 D model, he painted it in a similar pattern as the E model in this thread. He said he used a dark green metallic from VW, around 2001-2002.

Super info ArcticXS - very helpful.

Pete
 
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