1984 Katana 7/11

[Guest]

Cheers Larry! Yep, pretty happy with the strength of the repair for sure, now I just gotta make it smooth and look pretty

Good tips! I wear my overalls and a shirt underneath and gloves with a mask and glasses so that's all good but haven't thought of taping the sleeves before, that's a great idea! Typically the two areas I end up itching is wrists and feet... tape will fix the wrists and I need to put my crappy old boots on instead of my thongs which will fix the feet...

[Fjbj40]

Apparently if you rub talk powder on exposed areas of skin it does not allow the small fibers to imbed and cause the itching. I have never tried it, I do as you do and also tape up sleeves and wear long boots.

[Guest]

Good to know another trick! I'll keep that in mind as well

Fingers crossed tomorrow is a productive day.

[steve murdoch]

Pete, i can't tell you how much i have enjoyed this resto so far.
I have learned numerous things from you and contributing site members. That and along with your diligent documentation has made for a great read.

[Guest]

Cheers Steve, glad you're enjoying it! I'm glad to hear when my posts help others for sure, I learn a lot myself from keeping stuff updated here and elsewhere and it's always helpful when other guys chip in with tips and different ways of doing things I wouldn't have thought of.

Here's hoping I can keep the momentum going after my coffees and the gym this morning and get some serious sanding done!

[Fjbj40]

Yes Pete, I look everyday for progress!

I have started talks with someone to acquire a Kat! Hope it comes through because I think the Katana is so ****ing cool!

[nvr2old]

Came across a bit of Kat clip art today..

[Guest]

Hopefully I can keep the momentum up guys! And Daryl, good luck!! Yes, they are cool bikes, I'm itching to get this rideable! I'm thinking I'll be finding reasons I need to ride places once she's done, even more so than I did once the 450 was freshly done You must post pic's and details if it all works out!

Larry, love it! And I 100% understand that smile on the dude's face!

Back on the power tools yesterday, managed to get the bulk of the paint gone. Incidentally I figured out how to use the spin saw thing properly so it doesn't eat all the fibreglass... just need to take the pressure off and let the grit do the work.

I'm back to block sanding now and that's working so much better now the glossy paint is gone.

Still a fair bit to go but aside from the awkward bits at the front under the headlight all the top coats of paint are gone and 99% of the high bits on the patches are gone.

Once I finish getting it all pretty even I'll get some filler in the few remaining spots on the patches that need building up (some screw holes didn't fill), then finish off with some blade putty for a nice smooth even finish.

I'll get a cheap tin of black aerosol paint to give me a guide coat once I get to that point.

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

[nvr2old]

I'm assuming the pink colored areas is the factory primer, Pete..? Good progress. Always looks really ugly before it magically starts to look pretty again.

[Fjbj40]

A tip for the holes that did not fill.

I use a countersink bit or large drill bit to create a countersink. It is easier to fill a bigger diameter hole than say a small 1/8" hole from a screw. I just counter the surface, be careful and don't make it a larger through hole.

[Guest]

Yep Larry, pink is the primer, not sure if it's factory or not but it's under what appears to be correct 13L silver, which is under the white paint. Trying to get it back to the white gelcoat where I can. There are some high bits where I've actually had to go through the gelcoat as well but that should all smooth out nicely once I get to that point.

Daryl, that's a great tip and makes perfect sense! I happen to have an old school hand drill here that would be perfect for that.

Do you guys do anything special to assist with sanding the concave areas like alongside the headlight protrusion? The flat cork block I use for block sanding is obviously no good there, and I find just using my fingers doesn't really get enough surface area sanded. I'm pretty sure I have some PVC pipe scraps around here somewhere that I can use to give me more surface contact area with the paper.

[Fjbj40]

I just use my fingers or roll the paper to get a "close" shape to sand. Or I use a softer less dense foam which can be made to take contour by pulling the sandpaper tighter.

[nvr2old]

Anything that fits the shape of what you're sanding is good, Pete. If you have some PVC that is close, that's a good choice. This is the time you want to replicate the curves and shapes as close as possible. It's the foundation for everything that follows.

[Guest]

Cheers guys, I'll see what I have around, foam sounds like a good alternative too if I don't have the pipe I was thinking of.

[Guest]

Getting there slowly but surely... I did discover last night though that the 40 grit I'm hand sanding with is designed for timber which is probably not helping. Might explain why it seems to lose effectiveness pretty quick.

I also discovered a second shade of pink on the right side that seems to be body filler as opposed to primer, guess this cowl has definitely had a hard life!

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr