K75S DIY painting (& polished tank) thread

[Zagando]

What is your color scheme for the rest of the bike? Or are you going to surprise us?

I'm waitng for your review of the Fuji HVLP system you're using. Been thinking about putting together the same set-up in my shop.

Yes, I'm probably going to be surprising everyone with the color scheme as I still haven't made up my mind.

I have it narrowed down to the final three but occasionally keep reconsidering a fourth and fifth choice as well. I'm usually not this indecisive but the choice I make is something I will to have to live with for the long term. I spend a lot of time daydreaming about what the bike will look like with this color or that color, though in the end, I don't think I can go wrong any choice as long as I do a good prep and paint job (and anything is better than Dakar Scrambled Egg Yellow! )

Ideally, I should have several Beemers in my stable with each a different color, but that thought is only another pipe dream of mine.

FWIW, I guarantee that my color I end up choosing is going to look pretty cool, especially with the polished tank and rear rack (just learned that the rack is also aluminum so that is next to be stripped and buffed).

As for the Fuji Mini Mite 4 I'm excited about using it and look forward to the day I get all the sanding and prep work done on the tupperware at hand. It looks like the weather might turn sunny for a change so perhaps I'll get my chance to paint sooner than I've been expecting. I plan to spray outdoors or semi-outdoors just inside the doorway of my bike shed out back.

I don't know if you saw my other thread in the Campfire Forum in which I listed Roger Phelps's website: www.hvlpsales.com (Thread: HVLP turbine for painting bike)---you may wish to read that, too, if you have the time (sorry I'm always so long-winded)

I did a lot of searching and googling about HVLP turbine sprayers and found a lot of info that related to mostly furniture/woodworking usage. I did run accross a custom car builder or two that swore by the Citation/Accuspray w/ the 10G gun and built-in fresh air respirator. I was about to go that route when I stumbled upon Phelps's website...

It was all the great info given there, his informative how-to videos, a dozen or so assorted package deals with the MM4 plus different spray guns and accessories (at good prices, too) and free/low shipping cost that sold me on the Fuji.

Roger also offers the MM4 with a gravity feed (and pressurized!) Fuji spray gun instead of the usual siphon feed gun that accompanies the Fuji on all the other sites (including Amazon, where I first learned of the MM4). That may have well been the deciding factor for me---the gravity gun offered in lieu of the siphon gun at the same basic price.

Check out his website and you'll see what I mean. (No, I have no affiliation with him other than being a 100% satisfied customer). I called him up on a Thursday and the whole package arrived Monday in Hawaii. Everything was well-packed and looks very well-made. I got the stock 1.4mm air cap as well as a 1.0mm for the finest atomization possible.

Since I wouldn't have a built-in fresh air feed with the Fuji I went with the Breath Cool II with a 50-foot air hose and bump cap/hood. Available from an outfit in CT on ebay for around $350; another good deal IMO.

The hood is a tad cumbersome to put on; what with the ear cups and chin strap going over my eyeglasses but I've managed to get the hang of it. The fresh-air turbine is well-made and delivers plenty of filtered fresh air---I'ved used it several times while stripping the tank with methylene chloride. It's pretty loud, though. The neighbors around me for about a mile must think I have a jet parked in my back yard.

I will be posting a review of sorts on the HVLP setup and how I did with my first moto-paint job as soon as I get to that stage of my project, so please stay tuned and be patient.

I work slowly in my spare time AND when it's not raining here in Hawaii's high-altitude rain forest, which is not very often. Actually the sunshine was out earlier but now it's beginning to cloud up---so I better run outside and get some fine sanding done on the tank while I can.

Thanks again for your interest and let me know if you decide on the Fuji. Btw, I almost forgot to mention something important---the MM4 uses the exact same 4-stage Ametek-Lamb turbine that the Citation and Apollo and all the other top brands use in their 4 stage units---but at almost half the price---so this was another strong point made for the Fuji that absolutely clinched my deal.

[Zagando]

Well, the sun did come back out the other day so I got back to work on sanding and polishing the tank.

Continued where I left off (600 grit) with 800, 1000 and finally 2000 grit wet-sanding. The last two grits I used a circular motion until I couldn't see any real scratches in the surface.

Then I got out the Makita, wool pad and Blackfire Fine Cut Aluminum Polish.

My results were unsatisfactory to me.

While I achieved a mirror-like surface on the top and back side (where I'd already done a sanding/polishing by hand with Mother's Mag Polish as a test), the sides still left a lot to be desired. (see photos)

So it's back to the drawing board (or should I say sanding block?) and I will today try out some rubbing compound on a small section of one side followed by more buffing before proceeding further.

I'm determined to acheive a near mirror-like surface and was surprised my buffing didn't work out as I'd hoped.

If the rubbing compound doesn't improve my pre-polish stage then I'll just sand and resand until it's bound to shine the way it should when I hit it with the Blackfire.



This is after what I thought would be the final sanding:



First buffing results:

[Zagando]

I tried buffing with 3M liquid rubbing compound followed by 3M swirl remover (both on two kinds of foam buffing pads) and then another go with the Blackfire and a fine wool pad.



No significant difference so it's time to get out the sandpaper again and start over.

I believe my problem lies in the fact (or at least this is what I suspect) that the tank was media blasted at the factory prior to its original primer and paint application. There are gazillions of very tiny pits on the surface (especially the sides) that prevent it from accepting a totally glossy polish.

Will get out the 400, 800, 1000 and 2000 grit papers and give it another go. Hope my above premise is correct

[Rudyjo]

If you are anywhere near a place that does Chrome Plating, ask what they would
do. I was once trying to polish out some stainless steel fenders on an old Triumph
and was getting nowhere. I took them to a plating shop and was quoted a
price that I couldn't afford to have them plated. He took one to the back and polished a small area on a polishing wheel, The 1 minute he spent
on it was 99% better than what I could do at home. They have compounds that
you can't buy at the local auto parts store.

[Zagando]

Unfortunately, there's only one place in the whole state that does chrome plating---and they're on Oahu and I'm on Hawaii, 250 miles away. Thanks for the suggestion anyway.

I just took a lunch break and am now heading back outside to sand the sides again. I really think this is what I need to do to remedy my "partial polish situation" as the original test section I did on the back of the tank was well sanded before I polished it by hand with Mother's---and it came out fine as you can see in some of my photos. So I just need to sand it more than I did the first session.

Once I get to where I can see my reflection clearly anywhere in the tank I know I will have reached my goal.

[jhgilbert]

Go to Harbor Freight and ask for their mag wheel polish kit. It's about the same as the Eastwood kit, but a lot cheaper. I've used it before and it did pretty decent.

Oh...Don't bare down on the tank when using the kit. Just let the drill, felts and compound do the work. You can put a pretty good dent in the tank with too much pressure.

[Zagando]

Thanks for the HF kit recommendation, Joel, but I don't need any more equipment or polishes to get this job done.

Yesterday I sanded it up to 2000 and today I buffed it again. Much, much better this time! I still have a few areas where I see my reflection, but it's fuzzy---so my hypothesis of insufficient sanding before was correct---tomorrow I'll re-sand these areas with the 1000 & 2000 and by then I should be good to go for the final polishing at long last.

I'm already so stoked I have the tank in my living room with one of the roundels temporarily stuck in place just so my wife and I can appreciate what it's going to look like.

It's been a lot more work than I anticiapted but I can see that it's all going to be very, very worthwhile once I'm finished.

[jhgilbert]

I'm already so stoked I have the tank in my living room with one of the roundels temporarily stuck in place just so my wife and I can appreciate what it's going to look like.

I'll bet your wife is just as stoked as mine is, when I tell about something I'm doing to the K75.

I'm trying to envision whether a polished tank would look good on the RT. I need to repaint it or something. In typical K75RT fashion, it gets pretty hot during the summer, but fall, winter and spring, it's pretty cozy. I think it might radiate more heat if it was polished.

[Zagando]

Yeah, my wife is helping me with my project sometimes and she gives me feedback when I suggest a color scheme. Yesterday she spotted and pointed out a parked Hummer with the same rare kind of color I'm considering for the saddlebags and top case---so thanks to her, it will be easier to determine that particular color code should I decide to go with it and thus give the Hummer paint code to my paint guy.

As far as the heat from the tank thing goes, I don't think it should make much diiference but I could be wrong. I have left the original paint and reflective heat insulation on the tank's underside intact to be on the safe side. Does your RT have that insulation? I think it may have been an option so I'd check it out, especially living in El Paso.

It was 95 when I was riding my S around Tucson last fall and while I noticed the extra engine heat in slow traffic I imagine it'd be a lot worse on an RT.

Reminds me of the sweltering summer day I was roariing up the twisties in Jerome, AZ on my K100RS. Stopped in town for a cold drink and opened my gas cap to see if I needed to get gas... The gas inside was actually boiling!

[jhgilbert]

Yep...Mine has the insulation. But it's nowhere near enough. I did find a cure this afternoon though....

2002 R1150RT-Dang pretty bike. Anyone want a K75RT?

[Zagando]

Resanded the sides with 1000 & 2000 grits and hit it with the Makita and Blackfire again. Notched up the buffing speed a bit which seemed to help.

Here are my results with a roundel temporarily stuck on one side:





(not as concours perfect as I'd hoped for but close enough; I can see much clearer reflections over most of the tank now---only the back side panels are still a bit grainy)

I got a bit of water in the tank when I was wet sanding so I'll go ahead as originally planned and give it a good cleaning soon; hot water, Simple Green and a thorough hot water rinse/dry before I reinstall the new fuel filter, fuel pump (with a brand new pump sock ($41 at Bob's, yikes!)) and new in-tank fuel lines. I won't have to worry about any bits of dirt in the tank for a while then.

Now it's on to the rear rack which I will start sanding after lunch. I spent a couple hours trying to strip it with methylene chloride to little avail---I think it must be powdercoated as I only got a little of the black paint/coating off and it was in a granular form.

So the rack is the next chore on my long agenda and I'll update my progress and results next.

[98lee]

Now it's on to the rear rack which I will start sanding after lunch. I spent a couple hours trying to strip it with methylene chloride to little avail---I think it must be powdercoated as I only got a little of the black paint/coating off and it was in a granular form.

In my experience, the easiest way to remove paint from the rear rack is to mount a top box to it.

The tank looks awesome!!

What color have you decided on for the rest of the bike? Yellow?

[Zagando]

I only had a bit of paint gone from using the top box but know exactly what you mean, Lee

I plan to line the bottom of my top box with a couple of mouse pads or some protective felt so I don't scratch up the rack once it's polished. Should provide a slight added benefit of a tighter fit, too.

Thanks for the tank compliment. It even looks better in person. If only I could get the same mirrors on the knee panels as the rest... Perhaps in time I will manage to find the best method. I'll have to get out the Mother's or Blackfire and polish it with a microfiber cloth every week anyway. (corrosion prevention)

Haven't decided 100% on what color yet but I am leaning towards one in particular. I just don't want to jinx my tentative choice so will wait to reveal it until after I've gone to the paint store to make the big purchase. Please bear with me, guys. No, it won't be yellow

I got 95% of the black paint off the rack today using 220 grit 3M paper, water and lots of elbow grease. That powder coating is tougher than nails. I tried using 3 different power tools first but none worked as well as the 3M and a sanding pad.

I want to finish getting all the paint out of all the nooks and crannies and then fine sand it right up through all the usual grits for the eventual hand polishing (might use my Dremel with some felt wheels for the tight corners).

At least I don't have to worry about sanding all the way through the aluminum this time

I think I'll wash out the tank in the morning and hope for a sunny afternoon so it can bake itself dry inside of our car with all the windows rolled up.

Should it rain again I already have a Plan B in place: stick the hose from my HVLP turbine inside the tank and let it blow warm dry air inside for an hour or so---the Fuji is kind of like a giant hair dryer!

My progress is slow but I'm having a lot of fun with this multi-faceted project.

I just finished watching the FIM races on tv (Troy Corser finished 6th on that new SS1000R, btw) which reminded me that the summer riding season is in full swing everywhere.

While I'd also love to be out riding around now---I've kind of written off this season* to really dial in my bike the way I've wanted to ever since I got it last year (*While it is possible to ride year-round where I live the rest of the year is pretty rainy so it's really not so ideal as it may seem.)

This is still a fun way to get to know my bike, give it a unique look and make it really mine. I don't have much experience in rennovation and such but I am finding all my efforts are pretty rewarding.

That shine on the tank has already put a smile on my face and I'm looking forward to getting on with everything else on my agenda. Glad I got a new fuel pump sock as I discovered the old one had a tiny but significant hole on one end. I'll probably get some new outside fuel lines, too, and install those when I put the tank back on.

Sorry for my rambling on a bit... but stay tuned; I'll be posting before/after photos of my rack asap.

[jhgilbert]

Lookin' GREAT!

To me the next question isn't the rack....It's the gas cap. What are you going to the gas cap. Paint/Powder/Polish?

I tried shooting mine black early on because it was looking faded, but the black wouldn't stick to the powdercoat. I think it's a candidate for a soda blast and a new coat of something.

[rbertalotto]

Are you going to clear coat the tank to stop oxidation?