Painting Tins. No really...

What color should these tins be?

  • Candy green and white a la XS1

    Votes: 15 30.0%
  • Candy gold and white a la XS1

    Votes: 19 38.0%
  • Candy red and white a la XS2

    Votes: 16 32.0%

  • Total voters
    50
Jim, what size nozzle are you spraying with? I used a 0.8mm, it worked well but at times seemed a little too small. Probably a good choice for frames??

Edit: 0.8mm is a good match for my little compressor as it can give the required 4cft/min at 22 - 25psi.
 
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Jim, what size nozzle are you spraying with? I used a 0.8mm, it worked well but at times seemed a little too small. Probably a good choice for frames??

Edit: 0.8mm is a good match for my little compressor as it can give the required 4cft/min at 22 - 25psi.
I'm not sure Paul. Next time I take it apart I'll let you know.
 
UPS delivery..... Merry Christmas to me :D

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Here's a quick little tip for all the cheapskates out there like me. Bondo applicators get a little frayed on the edge after a while and start leaving lines in the bondo. Don't throw 'em away... a straight edge and Exacto knife will have 'em good as new. I've trimmed 'em as many as 3-4 times before I toss 'em.

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Finally remembered to put the epoxy primer test strip in some gas. It's regular with 10% ethanol. Filled it so half the primer see's the gas and half see's the fumes. I'll pull it out after a yet to be determined amount of time and see how it holds up. Might just make a good tank liner.

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Some minor progress. I wanted to fill the holes in the sidecovers.... you'll find out why later. ;)
Sanded the paint away from the holes and used a countersink on both sides of the holes. The countersink chattered a bit but no matter, still did the job.
Used JB Weld to fill with masking tape on the inside to hold it in place. Once sanded down, it'll be as strong as the cover itself.

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OK, holiday season's over.. back to work.
Today I wet sanded the entire tank. We're sanding over a gloss epoxy primer so we want something fairly stiff, but a little more flex to 'em than the wood blocks used for the body work. I like this 3M hard rubber block. It has just enough flex for large area curves.

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We're wet sanding with 400 paper. Don't remember if I mentioned it before, but I'm also a huge fan of 3M papers. Yeah... they cost a lot more than your Harbor Freight et al papers, but they're a lot more consistent in grain and lasts a whole bunch longer. Ends up being cheaper in the long run. Use the block with light pressure in a circular motion. The idea here is to knock the gloss off the flat sides and top without cutting through the primer. Watch the primer closely. As soon as you see a slight change in color... stop. That means you're about to go through. Now double a small piece of paper and use your hand to do the same with the edges... just knock the gloss off. Use lots of water to keep the tank and paper clean. Clogged paper doesn't work very well.
Once you think you've covered the entire tank, take a clean, wet rag and wipe the entire tank down several times.

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Once all the water dries, you'll be able to see all the defects. These pics don't really do it justice, they stand out like a sore thumb (toe? :rolleyes: )
For this pic I lightly sanded just the top. As I was sanding I immediately saw them, so I wiped it down and took the pic before I finished the whole tank.

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You can also see the pinholes in the bondo. Before you re-prime, take an exacto knife and dig into the pinholes just to make sure you're not just scratching the surface and the hole is actually much bigger.

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If anyone knows how to completely eliminate pinholes... I'm all ears. I always manage to get a few no matter how hard I try not to.:umm: Once you're satisfied it's just a pinhole and not a bubble, give a light sand over 'em to knock off any sharp edges you might have made with the knife. Wipe it down again and when it's dry (or still wet) give it a good blow all over with some shop air.... clean them holes out. Once it's dry, it's time to switch to some fill primer (sometimes referred to as primer surfacer). Give it a couple light coats just on the areas where you have defects to fix. We're just using the fill primer as a base for the glazing putty... we're not actually gonna use it as a filler.

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Once it's dry, fill in all the imperfections with glazing putty... sometimes referred to as spot putty. One again, I'm sold on the 3M brand. On the tank that's on the SG, I tried to use Bondo brand glazing putty. Trust me, that stuff is horrendous. Since we're dealing with small defects, I cut down a bondo spreader to a more manageable size.

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As with the bondo, you're gonna overfill all the defects slightly to account for shrinkage as it dries. The glaze is pretty finicky... if you need to add more, let the first coat dry first. Otherwise the first layer will roll up on you making a bigger mess.

putty on tank.jpg


The putty dries pretty quick in small layers... but I'm in no rush. I'll let it dry overnight and see where we're at. At this point you're kinda on rinse and repeat with the fill primer and glaze 'till all the defects are gone.
 
I once heard from a body man friend of mine, years ago, to lessen the chance of bubbles, don't be an "over-spreader". Working it too much (supposedly) is what causes the bubbles. Shmeer it once. Not enough? Let it dry and shmeer it again. (It works for spackle too.) :twocents:
 
Running low on popcorn. but still watching :rock:
Air holes; go slower when mixing the bondo? Mix on a flat surface not in a container. Scraping corners tends to add air. :shrug: A spreader or a putty knife with the corners rounded off, say 1/4" or 3/8 radius for mixing. More of a push and spread than a stir action. That's all I got.
 
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We used to blow off every coat of sanded filler with air and then wipe with toluene to clear out dust in the pinholes before spreading another coat of filler. Toluene is pretty much banned now. That milky stuff that is hosed off now is a stupid replacement for toluene.

Mixing, don't stir the stuff, you'll be adding air bubbles. Scrape and pull while mixing.

Final coat of filler...…...on your last coat of filler, the skim coat, use more hardener. Using more hardener is like adding thinner to paint. Move fast when doing this. But, since it's your last coat it will be spread thinner and faster anyways. Always stop spreading if the filler starts to clump.

Pinholes after sanding what you thought would be your last coat of filler...…………..Blow and clean out the pinholes and put on another skim coat. Wiping with a clean cloth while blowing with air (at the same time) is good enough between coats of filler.
 
Well, thanks for all the bondo tips guys.... but it's all stuff I already knew. :( Guess I'll just have to accept the fact that I've always sucked at bondo.. and prolly always will. :rolleyes:
Anyway, tank is on hold for now. The guy making the badges is having issues, so I might have to dig out the bondo and go with the Mikes screw on badges. We're in the wait and see mode. :whistle:
 
so I might have to dig out the bondo and go with the Mikes screw on badges. We're in the wait and see mode

Tough news to hear Jim. I have very little body work experience and following this thread has taught me a lot so far. Looking at this as a learning thread and taking a positive view; if you do have to use Mike's badges and dig out the bondo it would add another element of body work to this thread.
 
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