Painting my 450

[Guest]

Nice work Pete, I'm looking forward to seeing the bike put back together with the "new" bodywork.

Thanks Trevor! Needs a good buff and polish still though.

The way it's looking it'll be another two weeks before I get the polishing action going...

Hopefully I'll at least be able to get some time in between now and then to get some stuff to do it...

 

[oldrookie]

Nice work, Pete! Looks really good. Can't wait to see it polished and assembled.

 

[Guest]

Nice work, Pete! Looks really good. Can't wait to see it polished and assembled.

Thanks mate, me neither!

I couldn't help myself tonight though and took a bit of a teaser photo when putting the tail piece away...

 

[Guest]

Now, on the subject of polishing...

I ducked up to Supercheap this avo to pick up a couple of electrical odds and ends and checked out their polishing aisle while I was there.

First of all, I think I'm going to do the buffing and polishing by hand as I don't trust myself with a power tool for that at the moment...

Brand wise, it looks like Meguiar's is the best they have, and their stuff is usually ok. No 3M stuff at all.

They have these applicator pads for hand use which look useful:

http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/on...icator-Pads-2-Piece.aspx?pid=1510#Description

But where I get confused is the cutting/buffing bit...

I'm assuming the process is:

- Sand if necessary (I need a quick one I think)
- Cut
- Swirl remover
- Polish

Sanding I'm thinking try 1500 then 2000 and skipping the 1000 as it doesn't seem to be too bad. I mainly want to get rid of the bits of dust and crud that got stuck in the clear while drying and there's not a lot of it.

Next up, cutting, will this be too aggresive?

http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/on...laze-Cleaner-473ml.aspx?pid=10150#Description

And should I rather stick with this?

http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/on...Glaze-Cleaner-473ml.aspx?pid=1508#Description

They have swirl remover:

http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/on...r-2-0-Polish-473ml.aspx?pid=10152#Description

And some polish to finish up:

http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/on...Glaze-Polish-473ml.aspx?pid=10151#Description

Am I on the right track here or way off? I seem to remember seeing swirl remover last somewhere, but that's confusing me as it's still a cutting compound... ?

I will head back through this thread shortly because I'm pretty sure one of you guys has already mentioned something of this nature...

 

[SVSooke]

The Meguiars fine cut is what I used on Old Yeller,as recommended to me here http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=174973 .Yes the question has been asked.

 

[Guest]

The Meguiars fine cut is what I used on Old Yeller,as recommended to me here http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=174973 .Yes the question has been asked.

Aaaah cheers Greg, I went through this thread again and saw fine cut and polish, so sounds like the way to go

Did you do yours by hand or with a power tool of some sort?

 

[SVSooke]

Knew I forgotBy hand,works just the cats pajamas

 

[Guest]

Knew I forgotBy hand,works just the cats pajamas

Cool, if you can cut/polish all those fairings by hand, I can do a tank and some bits and pieces

 

[Guest]

House mate rocked up with these today:



That means I have everything from 800 up to 2000 grit wet/dry for sanding, but I still need to work out what I'm doing for cutting and polishing yet...

 

[Guest]

So I had an "off-air" chat with Larry, and I also remembered Paul (laverda1200) had some sanding/polishing tips on the first page of this thread, so I'll take both of their advice which gel nicely together and get sanding and polishing properly.

Here's part of Paul's post again:

get a bowl of some sort, put a drop or two of dish soap in it, and fill it with cool water. Start wet sanding with about 600 grit, then go to 800, 1000, 1500, then 2000. The clear will be getting smoother and smoother, and duller and duller, although by 2000 grit it may be starting to shine a bit again. Don't panic, the purpose of the wet sanding is to eliminate the dust particles, dog hair, insects, runs and sags, etc. and to get the surface as smooth as possible, even if it isn't shiny yet.

get a power buffer, a foam polishing pad, and, and some fine cut polishing compound. Go at the surfaces at say 2,000 - 2,500 rpm with the fine cut, and watch a mirror develop in front of you. Then switch to a fresh foam polishing pad, and go at the surfaces with a proper machine glaze product and watch your show paint job come to life. Don't wax for about a month, you have to let the paint breathe while it continues to set up for quite some time after it is sprayed. months even.

Larry's advice is close to word for word the same.

I love it how you guys don't give contradictory advice, or if you do it's something that makes no difference

The trick now is to find a reasonably priced polisher or drill bit adaptor and some pads...

 

[Guest]

See Leigh .
He had a turd polisher that he may not be using at the moment .

You need to build a better Zorst bracket old mate . Those cheap Chinese ones melt . Stainless cable ties are the go .
You may want to look into your oil light as well . Those paper ones blow away right when you need them most .

Don't thank me for the advice Pete , it's freely given .

Cheers , Simon .

 

[Guest]

See Leigh .
He had a turd polisher that he may not be using at the moment .

You need to build a better Zorst bracket old mate . Those cheap Chinese ones melt . Stainless cable ties are the go .

Don't thank me for the advice Pete , it's freely given .

Cheers , Simon .

Hahahaha thanks Simon, and yes I forgot about Leigh's turd polisher! He's taking a break for Chrissy so it should be free for loans

And thanks for the advice too, will definitely be sure to find a better alternative for that bracket... haha

PS. I'm still on track for a hello on the way to the island if you come this way...

 

[Guest]

We'll be there .

That pipe looks the gear . Veery nice . (You're gonna have to make a reallly smick bracket for it) .

You know , if you got your arse into gear , ......................
January .......
The Island she come ..................................................

Cheers , Simon .

 

[oldrookie]

Porter Cable random orbital polisher. Were we a bit closer, you be welcome to borrow mine. Bit pricey, but oh so effective.

Here's the back of a bass I refinished last year. I used the PC orbital to polish it up.

 

[Woodsy]

i've got a random orbital, they are safer to use than a rotary polisher, i use one for detailing, mines abit bulky though. I also have a random orbital sander with a variable speed on it which i am looking for pads to fit it to try that out instead.

 

[Leigh]

You know , if you got your arse into gear , ......................
January .......
The Island she come ..................................................

Cheers , Simon .

Just in case you forgot, Pete..
Reminisce here


Oh and don't think those turd polishing digs will be forgotten..

 

[Guest]

We'll be there .

That pipe looks the gear . Veery nice . (You're gonna have to make a reallly smick bracket for it) .

You know , if you got your arse into gear , ......................
January .......
The Island she come ..................................................

Cheers , Simon .

Yeah I still find myself staring at that pipe... and yep it has a bracket, just gave it a nice shiny black coat of POR 15 Blackcote

While the bike's on track so far, I still won't be able to make to the island, but definitely keen to say g'day on the way through and maybe add some km's with you on the way through depending on what's going on. That would be a blast for sure

I will definitely have to start working on the next island trip though...

Porter Cable random orbital polisher. Were we a bit closer, you be welcome to borrow mine. Bit pricey, but oh so effective.

Here's the back of a bass I refinished last year. I used the PC orbital to polish it up.

Mate that's a nice effort! Very shiny I got looking at orbitals today but they're a tad pricey...

i've got a random orbital, they are safer to use than a rotary polisher, i use one for detailing, mines abit bulky though. I also have a random orbital sander with a variable speed on it which i am looking for pads to fit it to try that out instead.

Hmmmm everything I've found so far says random orbital is good, but the price is the issue at the moment... I've still gotta get tyres, a headlight, do something about the seat, and rego. so expensive tools at this stage are going to put big dents in the budget...

Just in case you forgot, Pete..
Reminisce here

Oh and don't think those turd polishing digs will be forgotten..

Thanks for the reminder Leigh, I definitely will get there one day! Wish it was this time but it just ain't gonna happen... I am keen though

And I'm sure once you get the fat girl cafe'd she'll be all pretty and totally un-turd like

 

[Guest]

So I finally dug out the house mate's polishing stuff tonight. He had a couple of pads that are now in the bin as they're quite perished and dodgy.

However, he does have this:



5 inch backing pad plus a couple of brackets to turn a drill into a polisher.

Looks like that's the way forward for me, just need some polishing pads and polishing and I'll be all set after sanding.

Looks like there's both wool and felt pads available and probably lots of others also. Any tips on which material is better? Same for all polishes or is it like metal polishing where some materials work better with some compounds?

 

[SVSooke]

I'm sure those polishers are needed,for a car.I'm sure they will work on a bike to.Pete you've done all the sanding by hand,polishing it by hand will be a doddle for you.

 

[Guest]

I'm sure those polishers are needed,for a car.I'm sure they will work on a bike to.Pete you've done all the sanding by hand,polishing it by hand will be a doddle for you.

Cheers Greg, I shall see how it pans out... and yes, definitely will be sanding by hand...