Drew's 850 L Restoration

[jsandidge]

Partway done with the frame.

[jsandidge]

Here's some progress. The before shot of the swingarm shows some of the rust I'm dealing with. Everything is solid though.

[jsandidge]

Well, not much to report as of yet. I ditched the blaster in favor of a regular sandblast gun that I've had forever. I should have tried that first! Started using that with the soda in a 5 gallon bucket. It was working ok, but as stated before, the soda does good on paint but not rust. Decided to use some aluminum oxide that I already had on hand. That does work wonders on the paint and rust. Got the centerstand down to bare metal easily. I'll be using that on all the steel, and soda on the aluminum including the motor.

[jsandidge]

Can you post a link to the HF soda blaster you're using for reference? The CL ad has been taken down.

This is the one I'm using.

http://www.harborfreight.com/15-lb-portable-soda-blaster-60802-9946.html

[eil]

Can you post a link to the HF soda blaster you're using for reference? The CL ad has been taken down.

[jsandidge]

On with the blasting! A 20" section of 1/4" OD copper tube and some strategically drilled holes and it works! Easily took the factory coating off of the motor mounts down to bare steel. Doesn't do much on rust though. Now if it will just stop raining...

I moved it to the garage. It does make it more comfortable when I have to lay down beside the bike (no lift).

It also helps in finding dropped parts while keeping them from rolling away.

[jsandidge]

Good luck with the project.
That carpet really brings the room together (big lebowski)

Haha, yeah. The wife wanted a new one for the living room. Instead of throwing the old one away, I moved it to the garage. It does make it more comfortable when I have to lay down beside the bike (no lift).

[Rover]

Good luck with the project.
That carpet really brings the room together (big lebowski)

[jsandidge]

Well, Harbor Freight officially sucks when it comes to parts. They don't supply any parts for my soda blaster, even though it is the current model they are selling. Guess I'll be fabricating a pickup tube.

[Rob S.]

As I was posting those pics, I was thinking how they made the bike look a lot better than it really does. She really looks tired up close.

Don't worry - a lot of our bikes look better in pics than live and up close.

[jsandidge]

So, I was hoping to start soda blasting today, but ran into a snag. The blaster I bought from CL was missing the pickup tube. Hopefully, I'll be able to get it through HF. If not, I'll have to fabricate one. Took off work this upcoming week to get something done on this project. I'm anxious to get going!

[jsandidge]

Has anyone had experience with a soda blaster like this? I plan to look at it tomorrow.

http://norfolk.craigslist.org/tls/4770366477.html

[eil]

I'll be following with interest. Agree with Richard, it's a pretty nice starting point for a project! Looks like a beauty queen as she sits compared to my 850GL! I've been tossing around the idea of a light restoration on it, but if it happens it won't be any time real soon. (At least a year or two away, maybe more.)

[jsandidge]

If my resto ends up looking anything like yours does before you've started, I'll be a happy man.

Thanks for the kind words. As I was posting those pics, I was thinking how they made the bike look a lot better than it really does. She really looks tired up close. I'll be posting before and after pics of all the bits as I go.

Drew