Cafe and Paint Help

[shoeless_000]

I just got done painting and applying some custom decals to my tank and fenders, and I'm ready to clear coat over them. I am wondering what is the best option for something I can do at home that will keep my body pieces from chipping/scratching. I want something really tough and resilient, preferably one that resists solvents (ie gas).

I'm also curious who can tell me the best place to buy larger jets. It's a 77 GS550 with a custom intake so I know I need to go up about three sizes but I'm not exactly sure where to get them. Thanks in advance for any help.

[Ironriot]

z1enterprises.com has good things on the somewhat cheap. bikebandit.com might also work. Only problem is that people don't like the idea of aftermarket jets becuase of quality control issues. I.E. the jet being the wrong size or of improper design.

Hmm well a tough clearcoat would be any automotive one I guess. A good DuPont or if you have big pockets House of Kolor..... you can never go wrong with house of kolor IMO

[TheCafeKid]

z1enterprises.com has good things on the somewhat cheap. bikebandit.com might also work. Only problem is that people don't like the idea of aftermarket jets becuase of quality control issues. I.E. the jet being the wrong size or of improper design.

Hmm well a tough clearcoat would be any automotive one I guess. A good DuPont or if you have big pockets House of Kolor..... you can never go wrong with house of kolor IMO

Z1 to the best of my knowing, sells actual MiC jets...

[shoeless_000]

I appreciate it. I'm still trying to figure out a clear coat that I could use. I mean I want it as close to being unscratchable as possible.

[Ironriot]

Hmm I don't think I know of any that are THAT strong. All clear coats are rather weak when it comes to how well they resist scratching. I stand behind House of Kolor. But maybe you should ask a painter in your area

[PAULYBOY]

While clear coats can be UV and chemically protective, I woulkd imagine that a really scratch resistant coating would also be highly inflexible. Since tanks and plastic sidecovers on bikes will stretch and contract with the changes in temp, that woulkd probably ultimately lend itself to failure by cracking, instead of stretching with the surface.

[TheCafeKid]

Pauly...paint job..when do you want to come take a look at this stuff and take it outa here? Ive almost given up the ghost on riding this year...you can at least take a tank and sidecovers...im not going to use this tank as its got way to much bondo in it. i dunno main im thinkin lots of stuff..wouldnt mind pitchin in a hand just to see how its done...not that i expect nothing for it, just for shi7s and giggles.

[shoeless_000]

I get what you're saying but there's got to be something that can at least harden up a bit , I mean I don't want to have to watch the zippers on my pants everytime I want to ride for fear of scratching.

[TheCafeKid]

I get what you're saying but there's got to be something that can at least harden up a bit , I mean I don't want to have to watch the zippers on my pants everytime I want to ride for fear of scratching.

From experience...NOTHING in a rattlecan clear wise is going to stand up to gas. I spent days on painting my tank, then baked it...first time i got gas on it it f-ed it up somethin awefull. sucks...i would suggest if you're that worried, get it pro painted. that seems do be the only clear thats going to stand up to it.

[hotbox05]

if you don't want damage from zippers use a tank pad/protector.

they sell them in clear.


and worry of solvents ya just gotta be SUPER careful filling up it's not that hard

[BentRod]

if you want the hardest, msot resilient clear coat, you going to have to find a 2 part paint, which is basicly a clear epoxy. and ya, they are super brittle.

I was told when painting my tank to just use a lot of layers of clear coat. I put about 7 on to start, and now when i get gas on it, it is just a matter of a little sanding, spraying on a couple coats, quick sand and polish. I don't do it all the time, but its as good as i can manage

[n1elkyfan]

I'll vouch for 2 part clears being a lot stronger but there not brittle. Your gas tank will be in really bad shape before the clear cracks. The only real problem would be if it wasn't prepped rite.

[Muser3]

clear coat

I'm also looking for a good clear coat. I finally broke down and ordered a new left side panel for my 82 GS1100EZ and after paying about 60+ for the panel and decal it came in BLACK, not red as ordered. Suzuki said that's all it's gonna be from now on. So I took the right side panel to the color auto paint folks and they got another piece of my cheap bastid arse to the tune of 50 bucks for 4 oz paint and 16 oz reducer. You can understand how I REALLY want to protect that finish. The auto paint guys said that any clear coat would work with the Deltron 2000 paint i'm using, but I want to get this right. My paint is a PPG product so I'll probably use their clear coat too. Glad to know about the 2 part stuff. You probably have to use a "respirator" to shoot that stuff. Lee

[spyug]

I have just painted my tins with a gloss black from rattle cans. Tomorrow our weather is supposed to get up to about 60F so I will get out to the garage and shoot the clearcoat. Last winter I did a set in my basement workshop and the overspray covered everything and floated through the house so thats a big no no.

Like some of you, I had tried all the rattle can clearcoats and they are useless around gas so now its only 2 part auto clear from PPG that I use.

I find this stuff to be hard enough to resist gas spills and casual scratches and you can help the odds by laying on lots of carnuba wax once the paint cures and fully outgases ( 2 to 3 months).As Hotbox says the best protection would be a plastic tank protector. As a cheap alternative, you can get a clear sticky back film from some art supply stores or your local sign maker and custom make something that suits.

I think you'll find the 2 part auto clears to be fine. If you get a couple of coats on, you should be a ble to polish out any casual scratches easily. Gouges are another matter and usually require a repaint.

Give it a try and see how it turns out for you.

Cheers,
Spyug.

[maparker]

I'm certainly no expert, but I rattle-canned my 450 last winter. I tested several types of paints and ended up finding the best right on the shelf in my garage...Rustoleum! I painted the tank and side covers blue with a 2" white strip under the badges. Turned out pretty good except for some orange peel that was more me than the paint. Resists gas no problem and has held up great so far. I don't think I spent $30 for everything