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" WHAT "... accompanied with a few blinks and open mouth when told how much to restore their early Xs. I picked up the chrome today... 8 weeks and $2000.oo.... and we don't mark it up... the chrome shop is between my front door and the shop front door. Note no rims.... that's another $300.oo.... client went new.... we give the client a choice on the headers.... replacements are single wall and will turn blue... or we bake the stock headers (get the carbon-oil out) and have them chromed. We use Mike's Xs mufflers. Paint ! ! .. a quart of red is ... $600.oo add the harder, white paint.... clear coat... primers... time to prep and paint.... to obtain the candy red and white. We do stock paint work... not just Xs units.. but other Japanese bikes, vintage American and Euro bikes.... we don't do skulls and boobs. Powder coating the frame and other frame related bits.... wheel-spokes and new tires... no markup except time to drop and pick up..... usually 1.5 hours. Our current project is a Xs2.. the red and white model... the most handsome of the Xs series... So... $ ? ... between $6-8500.oo... from drop off and done. We don't do many... some folks can afford " turn key " restorations "... we brought a P-11 into the shop.. once ! and learned a hard lesson..... No Brits... we'll paint them... we're just not set up for positive earth and Whitworth. When it's all done.. and we go over the books... no one is getting rich on these projects... mostly it keeps two geezers busy and out of the house... and we have a good feeling handing over the keys to the client. 😎
 

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" WHAT "... accompanied with a few blinks and open mouth when told how much to restore their early Xs. I picked up the chrome today... 8 weeks and $2000.oo.... and we don't mark it up... the chrome shop is between my front door and the shop front door. Note no rims.... that's another $300.oo.... client went new.... we give the client a choice on the headers.... replacements are single wall and will turn blue... or we bake the stock headers (get the carbon-oil out) and have them chromed. We use Mike's Xs mufflers. Paint ! ! .. a quart of red is ... $600.oo add the harder, white paint.... clear coat... primers... time to prep and paint.... to obtain the candy red and white. We do stock paint work... not just Xs units.. but other Japanese bikes, vintage American and Euro bikes.... we don't do skulls and boobs. Powder coating the frame and other frame related bits.... wheel-spokes and new tires... no markup except time to drop and pick up..... usually 1.5 hours. Our current project is a Xs2.. the red and white model... the most handsome of the Xs series... So... $ ? ... between $6-8500.oo... from drop off and done. We don't do many... some folks can afford " turn key " restorations "... we brought a P-11 into the shop.. once ! and learned a hard lesson..... No Brits... we'll paint them... we're just not set up for positive earth and Whitworth. When it's all done.. and we go over the books... no one is getting rich on these projects... mostly it keeps two geezers busy and out of the house... and we have a good feeling handing over the keys to the client. 😎
I restore cars. I understand completely.
 
Yes chroming is getting ridiculous. Fenders are $300 as are rims. When I had my rims done in MPLS for the XS2 ( along with many other items) they were 100 each, however that was some 12 or so years ago but come on $300 now. I think the chrome shops are price fixing because we just did front and rear rims for another Z1900 and the front fender. How much in Idaho yes $300 each. Called another shop yes $300 each. The two bikes i'm completing may be the last (unless I find something in a barn for $100 or so. Just getting way to expensive.
 
Yes chroming is getting ridiculous. Fenders are $300 as are rims. When I had my rims done in MPLS for the XS2 ( along with many other items) they were 100 each, however that was some 12 or so years ago but come on $300 now. I think the chrome shops are price fixing because we just did front and rear rims for another Z1900 and the front fender. How much in Idaho yes $300 each. Called another shop yes $300 each. The two bikes i'm completing may be the last (unless I find something in a barn for $100 or so. Just getting way to expensive.
The cost of copper, nickle and chrome have gone through the roof. The platers aren't making anymore than they were before.
 
I had the points and advance unit covers re chromed along with the 8 rocker nuts and the oil inlet pipe - $200Aust. It's not just chroming that is expensive: 2k paint: $100Aust for one litre! Then there's the cost of parts. I took my seatpan to the auto trimmer to be covered yesterday $350! Building custom motorbikes is certainly not a cheap hobby anymore.
 

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I had the points and advance unit covers re chromed along with the 8 rocker nuts and the oil inlet pipe - $200Aust. It's not just chroming that is expensive: 2k paint: $100Aust for one litre! Then there's the cost of parts. I took my seatpan to the auto trimmer to be covered yesterday $350! Building custom motorbikes is certainly not a cheap hobby anymore.
No it isn't. I have an invoice in front of me right now for grease and wax remover. Solvent based and water based (final wipe before paint), $42,85 per gallon. The epoxy primer I use is now over $200 for a kit (6qts. sprayable)
 
Wow, after seeing the prices on these supplies I feel extremely fortunate on my recent Shovelhead HD paint job. It was a friend of a friend situation out of his small shop at his home in the middle of meth country. I wasn’t looking for a show piece paint job, just a nice rider paint in all gloss black. Fenders were brand new raw steel and the tanks were used but good shape. He even undercounted the fenders with some extra bed liner he had leftover from his previous job on a square body Chevy. $800 out the door for two full fenders and a set of fat bob tanks. I have to assume that a lot of his supplies were leftover from the Chevy as it was also black. I knew my other option was easily double his price, but would have been top quality.
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Wow, after seeing the prices on these supplies I feel extremely fortunate on my recent Shovelhead HD paint job. It was a friend of a friend situation out of his small shop at his home in the middle of meth country. I wasn’t looking for a show piece paint job, just a nice rider paint in all gloss black. Fenders were brand new raw steel and the tanks were used but good shape. He even undercounted the fenders with some extra bed liner he had leftover from his previous job on a square body Chevy. $800 out the door for two full fenders and a set of fat bob tanks. I have to assume that a lot of his supplies were leftover from the Chevy as it was also black. I knew my other option was easily double his price, but would have been top quality.
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Yes, that's a very good deal. Good idea on the bedliner on the fender undersides. Stuff looks great!
 
When I was building my K0 I was looking into getting my exhaust rechromed… the chrome on it was really good had a few spots with some scrapes on the under side.

Quoted 9 bucks an inch. - over 60” per exhaust X 4 - over 2k.

I’ll let the next guy do that haha. Was ok with some scraped on the underside.

Most new chrome is getting quite cheap as well. Definitely not what came on grandpa’s bumper.
 
When I was building my K0 I was looking into getting my exhaust rechromed… the chrome on it was really good had a few spots with some scrapes on the under side.

Quoted 9 bucks an inch. - over 60” per exhaust X 4 - over 2k.

I’ll let the next guy do that haha. Was ok with some scraped on the underside.

Most new chrome is getting quite cheap as well. Definitely not what came on grandpa’s bumper.
There are still some very high quality platers out there. Their work can be seen at places like Pebble Beach and Amelia Island. Big$$$.
 
There are still some very high quality platers out there. Their work can be seen at places like Pebble Beach and Amelia Island. Big$$$.

There certainly is and that’s also where I struggle. I see “restored” bikes and cars that look better than anything that would have rolled off the show room floor.

They look too good.

Atleast that’s the way I see it.

I do surfboard restorations and make it a point to do all the work in a way that would reflect the time period in which a board was built and the techniques they were using at the time.
 
I try to find bikes with decent chrome. There has been a few pieces (brake stay and rod) that I had chrome powder coated. Saved a few bucks and doesn't look to bad.
 
There certainly is and that’s also where I struggle. I see “restored” bikes and cars that look better than anything that would have rolled off the show room floor.

They look too good.

Atleast that’s the way I see it.

I do surfboard restorations and make it a point to do all the work in a way that would reflect the time period in which a board was built and the techniques they were using at the time.
Unfortunately, with a few exceptions, over restoration is the accepted norm. Partly due to the fact that you cannot get many of the materials that were used back then and partly that so many want things to be near perfect.
 
I tend to over restore ,if you want to call it that. For me its just easier than trying to duplicate what they did or did not do when they built these bikes. Some go to great lengths and try to duplicate the finish on the aluminum bits. I just polish and say its good enough so thats automatically an over restoration. In 15 -20 years those polished covers will look pretty much like they did when the bike was built. So I over restore and let nature take its course over the years, but I get to enjoy looking at it in the meantime.:D
 
I tend to over restore ,if you want to call it that. For me its just easier than trying to duplicate what they did or did not do when they built these bikes. Some go to great lengths and try to duplicate the finish on the aluminum bits. I just polish and say its good enough so thats automatically an over restoration. In 15 -20 years those polished covers will look pretty much like they did when the bike was built. So I over restore and let nature take its course over the years, but I get to enjoy looking at it in the meantime.:D
As a painter, I just can't leave as much orange peel as the factory. Oh, don't get me wrong, I can lay down some righteous orange peel, I just can't leave it. Kinda' like OCD I guess.
 
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