Grr!!

[courier11sec]

Started sanding my tank a little while ago and the paper kept loading up really badly on the top surface. I scratched my head about it for a while and figured it must be residual glue from the ugly stick on moulding strip that was on there. Nope. Seems the guy went and used some sort of truck bed coating or something on the top of the tank. It's about a quarter inch thick and kind of soft. A device that moves abrasive material at any sort of speed causes it to melt and turn to plastic.
Great...

 

[mark]

yuck, sounds awful. Who knows what the PO had in mind. Hopefully there's metal under there somewhere.....

 

[Pharkmeh]

..... A device that moves abrasive material at any sort of speed causes it to melt and turn to plastic.
Great...

ahhh, I see you met my Ex


good luck with that...

 

[courier11sec]

Used a paint stripping disk on my grinder. Got the goo off the top surface of the tank, but I'll have to get another disk to finish the job.
Metal under the tank looks great! not a dent or any external rust whatsoever. I may finish it up tomorrow and start painting. We're having a nice little heatwave here (80 at this time of year is nearly unheard of) and I'm dying to go for a ride! Unfortunately, I still have neck bearings to change and broken ribs to heal before I can ride.
Need sidecovers badly! I'm getting the impression they are nearly impossible to find though.

 

[Rake78GS]

Keep checking Ebay. I finally found one after two years of searching!

 

[billthebike]

interesting.
i drove from st. louis to chicago about four years ago to pick up an 82 gs1100e. bought it off ebay for $1500.00. i get up there (6 hours) and meet up with the diamond pinkie festooned, cigar chomping owner. drive over to the garage he had it parked in. he rolls it out and YIKES!the bikes got a black, quarter inch thick truck bedliner material covering the top and back of the gas tank. "what the f***?", i exclaimed. " (of course the one picture of the bike in the listing was a frontal view that did not show this, or the ripped seat). "oh i did that to cover up the scratches, looks pretty good huh" was the owner's retort. i passed on it. twelve hours on the road and i end up with the big goose egg. ( the sad part is that was the second time i drove to chicago to pick up a gs liter bike i bought off ebay, and came back empty handed.)
i find it interesting that the bike you own is cursed with that same idiotic coating. good luck

 

[courier11sec]

heh. Well I feel better knowing I didn't have to take a road trip to get it. Sheesh!

 

[Jethro]

That truck bed coating is awesome... for truck beds! It can boggle the mind what some folks think is a good idea.

 

[courier11sec]

Just got the first coat of primer laid down and discovered I should try my hand at a bit of body work on one small dent.
Casualties:
Two paint stripping disks for a 4 1/2" grinder, my ears, and my trusty 4 1/2" grinder (all the magic smoke came out).
Still have to strip the front fender. Guess It'll wait until after I get it a new grinder.

 

[courier11sec]

Funny how laying down color makes it obvious how rough a seemingly decent part is. Oh well. I ended up with a nice twenty footer. Pictures to follow.
Before:

Different angles:

Same angle with and without flash:

Short video. (might be a while before it's veiwable)
http://videos.streetfire.net/video/0E22E2B0-1B5A-4662-A365-F9EB2006DA3D.htm

video from photobucket's server:
http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/courier11sec/Suzuki%20GS%20850G/tank%20pictures/?action=view&current=tankvideo.flvhttp://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/courier11sec/Suzuki GS 850G/tank pictures/chameleon4.jpg
Is there a way to edit the title of this thread so I can add a dialup warning?

 

[supergus]

what paint??

what paint??

so i gotta know... what is that paint and how did you do it? that is an awesome scheme/color!!

inquiring minds wanna know... well, i guess just me 8-[

 

[semerm]

ebay tip

ebay tip

I think many people do not look on the bottom of the page where it says "additional items". I find the items aboev are bid on regularly but people do not look on the bottom. I have seem many side covers there for the 81 850's. Good luck.

 

[courier11sec]

so i gotta know... what is that paint and how did you do it? that is an awesome scheme/color!!

inquiring minds wanna know... well, i guess just me 8-[

It's Duplicolor Mirage. I bought it at Schucks Auto Supply. There may be a Checker or Kragen near you depending on where you're from.
They have a few different colors of this Chameleon type of paint. It's a three step process, so it takes quite a while. If you're impatient when it comes to cosmetic things like I am, it's a bit frustrating. I put eight coats of the color changing paint on, but could have gotten away with six I think. I also put on eight or nine coats of clear, so If I want to later I can go back and color sand it to get rid of the orange peel. If you are decent at painting/bodywork and have a good spot to do this, you can make it come out way nicer than mine. The pictures don't really do it justice and in the sun it really kicks butt.
Enjoy.
http://www.duplicolor.com/products/mirage.html

 

[Jethro]

I'm digging on the sliver/green they offer...

 

[supergus]

Thanks Ray! I am digging the Magenta/Gold combo. how many cans did it take you? it looks like the kit only has one can of each, and i am sure that would not do the tank & fenders.

 

[courier11sec]

The tank used up pretty much the whole kit. I'd say another kit for the fenders and sidecovers would be enough.

 

[Metaldrummerjosh]

wow, i rattlecanned that same exact color on my gs 2 paint jobs ago...i have a habit of getting bored and repainting it every summer heh. I love that stuff though, it works great, and looks awesome.