GS850G frame touchup?

[Guest]

Hi All. My GS850G has many chips and dings in the frame. None of them are serious enough to affect anything, but collectively they're pretty unsightly. My thought is to use an air brush with epoxy paint to touch them up (after thorough prep work, of course). Has anyone ever done this, and if so, were you happy with the results? Any tips or tricks I should know about? I don't want to make my bike to look like it's got chicken pox or something. Of course, the CORRECT way to do it would be to strip the bike down to the bare frame and start fresh, but that's a lot more time, work and money than I'm willing to invest in this bike - at least for now.

 

[Burque73]

Somebody mentioned a while back the paint that they brushed on and it laid down and apparently looked really good. I've been digging through old threads trying to find that post.

 

[Guest]

Somebody mentioned a while back the paint that they brushed on and it laid down and apparently looked really good. I've been digging through old threads trying to find that post.

Hi Burque73. Thanks for that reply. I actually have a "paint pen" by the fine folks at Sharpie that I've used for the same issue on my '81 Honda CB900 Custom, and it worked pretty well, but if you look very close, you can see that it doesn't blend perfectly. If you could find out the kind of paint that other guy used, that would be great.

 

[Burque73]

Hi Burque73. Thanks for that reply. I actually have a "paint pen" by the fine folks at Sharpie that I've used for the same issue on my '81 Honda CB900 Custom, and it worked pretty well, but if you look very close, you can see that it doesn't blend perfectly. If you could find out the kind of paint that other guy used, that would be great.

I'll keep diggin' and reply if I find it. My battery vent trashed the paint in a couple of spots and is the first thing that draws my attention whe I look at the right side of the bike.

I like the CB900 custom mentioned in your sig. Been watching one for sale here for some time.

 

[nvr2old]

I don't think an airbrush will give you the look you're after. It will leave a dull circular edge with each spot you shoot. I think I would sand each portion of the frame weld-weld, mask it, and then use a good quality spray paint and do the whole section. It will blend in nicely that way. Less time then trying to use an airbrush with better results in the long run.

 

[Gorminrider]

I use brushed semi-gloss ("satin") Rustoleum/Tremclad mixed with the hi-gloss from the little brush cans ..."Semi/Satins are a little "flatter" than old frame enamel but I mix in some hi-gloss to get it closer per "patina" where it shows,..Or , conversely, I plan to try and flatten down from gloss which might be better yet. (Iwish I'd kept track of proportions and where they were used)
Try it out in less seen places like the swing-arm or under the seat. Follow directions-2 coats. Admit I have yet to get it perfect- new paint can never be old paint until it's old ie: enamel glosses dull fairly quick from the first "tack"super-shine .... (wish I'd kept notes). Bristle brushes are another subject. They are getting hard to find and I am still very unhappy with anything synthetic.)
Tremclad/Rustoleum is quite soft and takes a good while to get truly hard so avoid rubbing feet or saddlebag straps across it as long as you can, Aged, it becomes a pretty good paint, even on handlebars, given time and warm weather.

(Talcum powder is said to be the flattening agent added to gloss to make it flat but it's hard to find "straight" without scent added. I have some baby powder I might get around to trying as a lark someday)

editadd. If you have a spray paint you think matches, you can spray it into a deep can and use a brush but it's wasteful and you don't get much time. idea: if you pull the little spray tip from the nozzle, you might be able to attach a tube (as in the tube from spray on chain oil or wd40 etc

 

[gregp]

I got some good results using rattle can gloss black and doing one section at a time. It takes some time to do some disassembly and masking but I didn't pull the engine. I removed the forks (I was going to paint them anyway) and painted the front portion of the frame, then removed the tank and seat and painted the middle section and rear section. I had the wheels pulled so I removed the swingarm to paint it. I think you could get good results even it you do less disassembly (tank and seat are easy to remove). Here's a pic and some more in subsequent posts.

 

[gregp]

rear section...swingarm done separately...you get the idea

 

[Guest]

I used Testors model paint on my chips with a pencil point brush. I filled the stone divots and weld rust as it occured.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I'll probably end up using some sort of hybrid method from a few of y'alls suggestions; my Sharpie paint pen for the little chips, and sanding and shooting the larger sections. I'll post pictures when I get it all done.