Restoring 650L Side Covers

[Agemax]

maybe a couple of layers of fibreglass matting on the rear of the panels to strengthen them and give you enough "meat" to route into the cracks before filling?
just an idea.....

[exzachtly1]

maybe a couple of layers of fibreglass matting on the rear of the panels to strengthen them and give you enough "meat" to route into the cracks before filling?
just an idea.....

Good idea, if it comes to that I will definitely try. But things are starting to go better now. Spent an hour or so sanding and they are looking much closer. I've been sanding and filling in with bondo glazing putty (THANK YOU for this excellent recommendation, it works wonderfully). The edges are much closer to being blended in now... and things so far are holding firmly with the reinforcement on the back of the panel.

In this pic I had just applied some glazing putty so the red surfaces have not been sanded yet.



A little more elbow grease and we'll be ready for the first "real" prime coat.

BTW, I have found it nice to work on the sanding with a coat of primer on there. Makes it easy to see where you have and have not yet sanded so you don't miss spots. Very easy to systematically get the edges this way.

[Steve]

And please don't refrain from giving advice, that's why Im here! even if the advice is "you're doing it wrong" I still want to hear it

I can not say with any authority that "you're doing it wrong", but, since the covers are ABS plastic, I would have made some slurry and not worried about all the JB Weld and/or Bondo.

.

[Steve]

The slurry would have been good for the cracks, but may have been too difficult to use in replacing large chunks of missing material that need formed to shape.

For those, you simply get some ABS plastic sheets, trim them to shape and glue them in with slurry.

.

[Agemax]

sorry guys but what is "slurry", in English!?

[loud et]

You can take little chunks of ABS plastic or old, broken side covers put them in a bottle with acetone I think it is and and it makes a creamy paste. once it hardens it turns back into hard ABS plastic. Search for slurry and a thread should pop up.its like abs glue made from abs its self.

[Agemax]

ok cheers guys

[nvr2old]

I've been lurking around watching your progress and trying not to interfere, but I think you've revealed to yourself what the problems are. You have to get the side covers ground down below the cracks and repairs to have enough area to fill so that it can be sanded down flush again. Everything you've done is just sitting on top, and no matter how much fill material you put on, it's just going to sand down to the original breaks. As you mentioned, using a dremel to "V" out the cracks will help, front and back. The glazing putty should only be used for surface scratches. It's just not strong enough for repairs. There's a fiberglass filler called Duraglass that would work great instead of a plastic filler such as Bondo. It's much stronger and will harden like concrete. You can use 36 grit and then 80 grit sandpaper on the Duraglass to shape it quickly, faster still if you start sanding and shaping it while it's still "green" and hasn't hardened completely. Then use a skim coat of the glazing putty to fill the scratches left by the coarse paper. Sand the glazing putty with 360 or 400 and then start the primer coats to fill those scratches. Hope that helps a bit.

[exzachtly1]

I've been lurking around watching your progress and trying not to interfere, but I think you've revealed to yourself what the problems are. You have to get the side covers ground down below the cracks and repairs to have enough area to fill so that it can be sanded down flush again. Everything you've done is just sitting on top, and no matter how much fill material you put on, it's just going to sand down to the original breaks. As you mentioned, using a dremel to "V" out the cracks will help, front and back. The glazing putty should only be used for surface scratches. It's just not strong enough for repairs. There's a fiberglass filler called Duraglass that would work great instead of a plastic filler such as Bondo. It's much stronger and will harden like concrete. You can use 36 grit and then 80 grit sandpaper on the Duraglass to shape it quickly, faster still if you start sanding and shaping it while it's still "green" and hasn't hardened completely. Then use a skim coat of the glazing putty to fill the scratches left by the coarse paper. Sand the glazing putty with 360 or 400 and then start the primer coats to fill those scratches. Hope that helps a bit.

Thanks, hopefully it won't come to having to do the rework. I think it's pretty close to where I want it at this point.

So far I am only using the glazing putty on surface scratches / dings. There's one spot where it's on kind of thick so I may end up having to go back and fill that with something else.

In case I do have to go down this path, where does one buy acetone and ABS sheets? I thought about doing that when I first started but didn't know where I could get that stuff. Hence ending up with the JB weld process

Edit: looks like I can buy acetone at the big box stores, but what about the ABS pieces? Just by something made with ABS (plastic pipes??) and cut it up somehow?

[oldrookie]

Think I remember somebody on here using Lego pieces to create the slurry. Filed that info away in case I needed.

Some very creative and inventive folk on here.

[exzachtly1]

Hah! Nice I have some old legos in the basement. I hate to melt down my childhood memories though, but I suppose it would add a nice personal touch to the bike

What do you guys think about painting acetone onto the cracks with a small paint brush to bind the existing plastic together? From the back side maybe...

[Steve]

What do you guys think about painting acetone onto the cracks with a small paint brush to bind the existing plastic together? From the back side maybe...

If it's just a hairline crack, that might be enough.

At the very least, I would do that as a "primer", then put some slurry on the inside surface.

.

[exzachtly1]

Decided to go for it yesterday. I got the side covers sanded to the point where any imperfections are barely noticeable. They were not perfect, but a heck of a lot better than where they were before I started.

Here's the left one:



Put the top coat down, took about 4 coats. The paint I used was Duplicolor Dark Metallic Blue, originally a GM color I believe. It's definitely that 80's metallic blue I was looking for, even if it doesn't match the tank perfectly. I really love the way it turned out!







I decided to throw one on the bike out of curiosity. Needless to say - it doesn't really match that well, which I'm a little bummed about, but I think once the chrome part is painted (currently taped) and the badge is on it should blend in nicely. If it doesn't I suppose applying a decal might help, or I'll just have to paint the tank to match



Today or tomorrow (weather permitting) I am going to apply the chrome paint to the accent piece and then clear coat.

And a question! When it's time to do the chrome I will need to tape off the main sections. Will regular (blue) painters tape work for this or will it damage the fresh blue paint? I'm afraid to cover it up and have it peel or gunk up the fresh paint.

[Agemax]

i would let the paint dry properly for at least a few days before you start sticking masking tape on it. just my opinion

[exzachtly1]

i would let the paint dry properly for at least a few days before you start sticking masking tape on it. just my opinion

That's what I'm thinking, just wanted to be sure. Maybe applying a clear coat to the area I already painted would be better? Originally I was thinking of painting both pieces and clear-coating the whole thing but now I'm thinking this approach would be best.