1980 GS1000S Progress!!

[Frank Z.]

Pure lust.

[chuck hahn]

Frank..did you notice he is using the decals..like i was saying that they came from the factory with decals. I know some want them painted on, but stickers was the factory standard.

[Vmass]

Decals

I never discussed the pros and cons of the decals vs. painting the lettering. Although, I suspect very time consuming to paint them on.

The bikes did come from the factory with decals and I purchased OEM decals for the tank.

Out of the facory, you could feel the decals under the clear. Larry mentioned that he uses many coats of clear and you will not be able to feel the decals on his work.

[chuck hahn]

Yes he does use many coats and he has painted 3 tanks for me and i can feel the decals under each one. If he added clear till you couldnt feel the decals the clear would be ridiculously thick and it would take him 6 months to build it out that thick. I know you never mentioned having the striping and letters painted on. I was at Franks today and we were looking at the thread and his bike. We were talking about how some people have Larry paint the entire scheme instead of buying the decal kits.

[Vmass]

Yes he does use many coats and he has painted 3 tanks for me and i can feel the decals under each one. If he added clear till you couldnt feel the decals the clear would be ridiculously thick and it would take him 6 months to build it out that thick. I know you never mentioned having the striping and letters painted on. I was at Franks today and we were looking at the thread and his bike. We were talking about how some people have Larry paint the entire scheme instead of buying the decal kits.

It is possible that I misunderstood Larry, regarding the clear coats.

[chuck hahn]

In any case, Im not complaining or saying one thing bad about anything Larry has done for me. You can feel the decals from the factory and thats just the nature of the beast I guess. Larry does spectacular work and he has no shame in his game what so ever.

[Frank Z.]

Frank..did you notice he is using the decals..like i was saying that they came from the factory with decals. I know some want them painted on, but stickers was the factory standard.

Yep. Talked to the man (Phil K.) whose design team originally made the decision to nix badges in favor of decals when the S model was conceived. Still think the b/w stripes on my tank are painted on... Ed would know fer sure.

[nvr2old]

On all the GS1000S's that I've done, I've put enough clear on to completely bury the stripes and 99% of the decals. Those babies are thick, especially if they come from Reproduction Decal, which makes a nice product, but they're heavy. It takes a lot of clear to cover them. But, you do it in stages, with plenty of time to dry. 2/3's of it actually gets sanded off in the process so there's never a huge buildup. The main reason I paint the stripes (and would rather paint the decals, too), is because not only is painting them artistic, and just plain..cool..they're so much easier to bury under clear. 1/3 as much clear, which translates to a lot of money saved in time and materials. I always ask a customer how far they want to take it. If they want it to be absolutely factory/concours correct, I probably wouldn't even rub them out. Most people want a high-end finish but still look factory correct by using decals, so I leave a hint of the decal edge, such as Chuck's. His bikes are all so beautifully factory correct, I made that call on his. So far all of my Cooley customers have wanted all the edges to go away, so that's how they get em. Either way, they look really nice, I think.

[chuck hahn]

Larry..You give things that little extra that for some reason just makes the depth and color pop...thats the difference between a painter and a professional job. Youll see my cooley as well as the Hondamatic someday. And I always pass on your name to anyone that asks about my bikes.

[nvr2old]

Thanks, Chuck. You've been a good customer. I look forward to working with you anytime.

[Vmass]

On all the GS1000S's that I've done, I've put enough clear on to completely bury the stripes and 99% of the decals. Those babies are thick, especially if they come from Reproduction Decal, which makes a nice product, but they're heavy. It takes a lot of clear to cover them. But, you do it in stages, with plenty of time to dry. 2/3's of it actually gets sanded off in the process so there's never a huge buildup. The main reason I paint the stripes (and would rather paint the decals, too), is because not only is painting them artistic, and just plain..cool..they're so much easier to bury under clear. 1/3 as much clear, which translates to a lot of money saved in time and materials. I always ask a customer how far they want to take it. If they want it to be absolutely factory/concours correct, I probably wouldn't even rub them out. Most people want a high-end finish but still look factory correct by using decals, so I leave a hint of the decal edge, such as Chuck's. His bikes are all so beautifully factory correct, I made that call on his. So far all of my Cooley customers have wanted all the edges to go away, so that's how they get em. Either way, they look really nice, I think.

Larry, By all means.....feel free to run with your artisticinis's, and paint those decals on.....

[Vmass]

Yep. Talked to the man (Phil K.) whose design team originally made the decision to nix badges in favor of decals when the S model was conceived. Still think the b/w stripes on my tank are painted on... Ed would know fer sure.

Cool...How did you make that connection?

[nvr2old]

Larry, By all means.....feel free to run with your artisticinis's, and paint those decals on.....

oops..too late..

[Vmass]

Things of Beauty.... can't wait to hang em on my tree!!

[nvr2old]

I'll let the parts continue to dry and the decals to gas out for another day or so then start the clear again. I enjoy this stage..all the work is starting to pay off at this point..cool.