Painting my 83 gs1100e

[trevor]

Yes stay away from 600 on the clear. For some reason I thought I used 2000 wet after knocking some high spots off. I would wait at least a week; test with your fingernail under neath.

And the best way to polish after sanding? Thanks again,

[posplayr]

And the best way to polish after sanding? Thanks again,

Ed is a very good painter so please listen to him as well as other here. I'll gve a general description tomorrow but I can not guarantee I remember what I did last. One thing you should do if you have some pretty thick runs is to cut them off with a sharp single sided razor. Hold it plat and cut slowly like sawing. DO NOT CUT through the COLOR. You are just trying to avoid having to sand through 0.20" of a drip using 1500 grit. It is best to do this when soft (like now).
It will be slightly dull but hardly noticeable. I did this on my 1100 and did not even bother yet to color sand and buff. Hardly noticeable.

If it is a long sag, then you can do it as well just have to be very careful and work slowly. Take of a little as a time, then next cut do as deep as you dare. You can quit anytime as you will be coming back to sand.

[TooManyToys]

They have adjustable paint run planes that hold the razor at automotive paint stores. They work best an the flatter surfaces.

[suzuki_dog]

This is a great and informative thread. Thanks for posting. The paint looks great, I like the lighter shade over the darker original.

[trevor]

Ed is a very good painter so please listen to him as well as other here. I'll gve a general description tomorrow but I can not guarantee I remember what I did last. One thing you should do if you have some pretty thick runs is to cut them off with a sharp single sided razor. Hold it plat and cut slowly like sawing. DO NOT CUT through the COLOR. You are just trying to avoid having to sand through 0.20" of a drip using 1500 grit. It is best to do this when soft (like now).
It will be slightly dull but hardly noticeable. I did this on my 1100 and did not even bother yet to color sand and buff. Hardly noticeable.

If it is a long sag, then you can do it as well just have to be very careful and work slowly. Take of a little as a time, then next cut do as deep as you dare. You can quit anytime as you will be coming back to sand.

Thank you, I will.

They have adjustable paint run planes that hold the razor at automotive paint stores. They work best an the flatter surfaces.

Cool. I will look for one today.

This is a great and informative thread. Thanks for posting. The paint looks great, I like the lighter shade over the darker original.

Glad it is being of service. I have learned a lot too. Just a reminder of how great this forum/club is!

[glib]

Just a little suggestion though it may seem like common sense. Do the finish sanding and buffing when you are fresh and not tired. When you can take your time and be patient. Like you are working on safety items and don't want to make costly mistakes. Maybe practice on the old side cover to see what it's like to buff out after sanding with 2000 grit. Also, it is challenging to get back to that really wet looking finish once you've sanded it. Patience, patience.

Beautiful job, Trevor. My dad was a painter/artist. I would give anything to spend even a day painting with him.

[nvr2old]

Using the razor tool to shave your sags back is a good idea, but be careful..it really cuts..and only works on a really flat surface. If there's any contour, it will not work. I might also suggest using 600 and a soft block to get them flat, too. You need the courser grit to actually cut the runs out. 1,500 or higher will only soften them, but will never cut them out. The 600 will work quickly, which is what you want. If you only have a couple of coats of clear, you'll need to be very careful not to take too much area off around the runs before sanding through. Good luck.

[posplayr]

Using the razor tool to shave your sags back is a good idea, but be careful..it really cuts..and only works on a really flat surface. If there's any contour, it will not work. I might also suggest using 600 and a soft block to get them flat, too. You need the courser grit to actually cut the runs out. 1,500 or higher will only soften them, but will never cut them out. The 600 will work quickly, which is what you want. If you only have a couple of coats of clear, you'll need to be very careful not to take too much area off around the runs before sanding through. Good luck.

If it has not been mentioned before, BE VERY CAREFULL
I have never used a blade holder for cutting sags. As mentioned that would only work for a flat surface for which there are very few on a motorcycle. I do a hand cut using two hands.

The blade is held between my two index fingers and I saw back and forth (pulling toward me). You can control the depth of cut and adjust to even a very contoured surface. But as should be obvious the blade is flat and the surface is curved so think of it more like an old style log stripper. I cut down until the contour of the drop/sag follows just about follows the rest of surface. The sand the rest, don't try to take it all out with the razor (unless you are very brave and have a steady hand).

[Nessism]

After cutting off the run, I agree with using 600 to remove the remnants of the clear run. Wrapping the paper around a piece of wooden paint stick helps you focus your sanding efforts. If you are careful you can go straight to the sanding stick if you are unsure of your abilities to control the blade.

Since there is only two or three coats of clear you need to be careful to avoiding sanding too deep, particularly in the areas adjacent to the run (as mentioned by nvr2old).

You can bring the gloss back after sanding using a two step process: light cutting and then polishing compound. A small DA type electrical polished will do fine for a project like that.

[trevor]

Thanks guys, I think I will skip the "cutting"...I don't want to ruin any of the paint that's for sure.
Might even take it to a motorcycle paint guy I know to finish the process.

[TooManyToys]

There are a good number of YouTube videos about removing runs, some good, some scary. There's another way of using a razor to diminish a run, by using it like a wood hand scraper at almost 90 degree to the surface. I also like to grind off the sharp corners to a rounded profile as well and wait for the paint to fully harden and avoid pullout.

All of the mentioned techniques work, cutting, scraping, sanding. You probably should grab a can of Krylon with some throw-away items and paint some runs as a practice medium before working on that beautiful work you and your dad did.

[trevor]

Got it back together today...

[azr]

The bike looks amazing Trevor especially with the new Yoshi pipe!, congratulations

[trevor]

The bike looks amazing Trevor especially with the new Yoshi pipe!, congratulations

Thanks buddy...

[Sandy]

Sweet. Very sweet. Is that your ride to the rally?