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.