78 GS 750 Rebuild

[DucatiDave]

Sam mentioned spraying clear over both the painted and "raw" parts of the wheel (polished outside edge of spokes and rim). I have read that clear spray paint needs a primer or basecoat of some sort to make it adhere properly. I have not seen any clear primers, so does anyone have experience spraying clear over the bare metal? It was obviously done that way at the factory but not sure how modern clear may differ. I am looking at either VHT or Eastwood 2K clear.
Thanks.

Thanks for the advice, I never thought about dish soap before, it's actually kind of weak here too. I actually used soda water with little results, I'm sure the machine is better.

[Sam 78 GS750]

Man, I'd love if my 77' looked as good as yours. I've been hampered with not being able to find the right cleaning products to take all the dirt off the bike before polishing. The best thing I have is 1200 sand paper. They frown more on harsh chemicals here in Sweden, plus not knowing where to go to find the right stuff. Keep up the good work!

For cleaning products, Dawn dish soap or similar and a stiff brush works, if you can't get your hands on something stronger. If you're talking about removing paint, that might be tough... sandpaper may be your best bet in the absence of chemicals.

If you're repainting, you don't need to go overboard like I do and completely strip. Just get all the loose paint off, scuff with a scotch brite pad or 320 sandpaper and repaint. If you're removing clear coat to polish, just sand it off and polish. Takes a bit longer than things like aircraft stripper, but will do the job.

If you can get your hands on a soda blaster, that works great too...

Man, I'd love if my 77' looked as good as yours. I've been hampered with not being able to find the right cleaning products to take all the dirt off the bike before polishing. The best thing I have is 1200 sand paper. They frown more on harsh chemicals here in Sweden, plus not knowing where to go to find the right stuff. Keep up the good work!

[Sam 78 GS750]

Good point, Chuck. I started by spraying down the whole rim with aircraft stripper and then scrubbing with steel wool. Since I used a matte clear, I didn't clear coat the polished parts. Just hit them with some wizards power seal, and will reapply every so often. If you use a gloss clear, you can unmask after color and clear coat the whole rim.

[chuck hahn]

If you do anything to the spokes and rim where it isn't painted, just use the paint stripper to get the old clear off. Then steel wool them with 00 or 000 grade an some of your favorite light oil ( I use Marvels Mystery oil). Clean them with dish soap and water. Final wiped down with some Acetone before reclearing.

[DucatiDave]

Thanks Brad... great recommendations and I think I will consider painting the spokes but really would prefer the polished look like you have. Your wheels look awesome!

Did you bake the wheels to fully cure the VHT paint? I am thinking of making a "curing oven" using my bike lift as a base (as it is mobile and can be pushed outside as needed). I would enclose the top/sides with insulation with several heat lamps inside, with fans to move the air around (basically a convection oven). I need to test heat lamps to see if I can get enough heat from them to make this work. I want to paint both my frame and engine with VHT so I need a very large curing oven to accommodate, and this would also work for the wheels.

Thanks again for the info, looking forward to seeing your project when complete.

[Sam 78 GS750]

Hey Sam;

What clear and black did you use on your rims?

I used VHT Wheel Paint. SP183 Satin Black, and then SP190 Matte Clear on top. I really like the way they turned out. Time will tell how well it holds up, but folks on here seem to feel the VHT paints last... I would have rather had them powder coated, but I couldn't find a powder coater willing to do them 2 toned like that. None of them wanted to mask the polished areas.

any other words of wisdom regarding polishing methods or compounds for the 'spokes" and outer rim?

Yup. Don't polish the 'spokes' and outer rim...

Seriously though, masking took forever...now I know why none of the PC guys wanted to touch the job. If you want the 2 tone look, consider just polishing the outer rim and painting the spokes. Masking the outer rim went pretty quickly using 1/4" fine line masking tape and following the curve. After I had the curve masked off regular masking tape just slapped on covered the rest. To do the spokes I ended up using 1/8" fine line which was a b*tch to find and is expensive...and like I said took forever.

Polishing the spokes was also a pain. I ended up doing it by hand with progressively finer sandpaper because I couldn't fit my polishing wheel in there. I tried a Dremel with polishing attachments, but didn't like the results. The outer rim can be done with pretty much any polishing wheel very quickly.

I was bound and determined once I started, and I love the way they turned out. If I had to do it on another bike though, I'd probably just paint the spokes and call it a day.

If you're set on polishing the spokes I can offer some more advice as far as what I would do differently having already done it once. Maybe some other folks can chime in and tell me I'm an idiot for doing it by hand, and there's a much easier way lol

[DucatiDave]

Hey Sam;

What clear and black did you use on your rims? I will be doing the same very soon... any other words of wisdom regarding polishing methods or compounds for the 'spokes" and outer rim?

Thanks!

Dave

[chuck hahn]

Farenhiet degrees.

[Sam 78 GS750]

I haven't baked them yet, so maybe they're not completely 'ready to go'. I did the engine parts and the rotorsa at 200 for an hour, but had them sit in the oven while it slowly got up to temp (about 10 mins or so). I'll try 150 first and see if that makes a difference.

[roeme]

Have you baked them yet? Helps cure and harden the paint. I had an old rectangular electric roaster like everyone has at a pot luck dinner...used that for baking parts. Start out at around 150 for 1/2 hr and then go 200 to 250 for 1 hour. Set aside to air cool and put in the next batch.

°F or °C ?

[GSXR7ED]

OMG!

Definitely bake them...I didn't do that and my caliper peeled. Good job, though!


Ed

[chuck hahn]

Have you baked them yet? Helps cure and harden the paint. I had an old rectangular electric roaster like everyone has at a pot luck dinner...used that for baking parts. Start out at around 150 for 1/2 hr and then go 200 to 250 for 1 hour. Set aside to air cool and put in the next batch.

[Sam 78 GS750]

All prettified...went with a satin black. I figure it will make the polished forks, etc. pop a bit more than a gloss on the calipers. Same thinking is why I used a flat clear on the rims. That ended up looking really good, so I went with the same idea here.
20180312_125503 by samL9, on Flickr


unmasked and ready to go. Now I just have to wait for new seals, etc. to come in. Ordered them around the same time I started digging in to these guys. I hate waiting for parts...
20180312_132228 by samL9, on Flickr