1984 Katana 7/11

[Charlie G]

I'm following along here and soaking up all this prep talk. Cheers...

[pete]

Ok cool cheers Daryl and Larry, think I'm all set now!

Nice to have you along for the ride Charlie

I hope to get back into the sanding today but will likely finish it up tomorrow as it's supposed to be a bit wet. Wednesday should be a good day for the next lot of high build to get laid down.

Yesterday was occupied getting the Kat its new home in the garage, no more sitting outside under a cover. The old Festiva is getting put out to pasture later this week so there's going to be a lot more room in the garage later today. Excuse the mess, still a lot to sort out, but it's exciting having both bikes in side by side

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

[pete]

I got a bit more sanding done than I hoped yesterday, probably about 50% there.

Definitely need more high build primer.

There are a couple of spots on the tail piece that may need something more substantial like some blade putty, and the spot I had to plastic weld on the rear of the front mudguard will likely need that as well. They're a touch more than just a low spot.

Aside from those spots, looking good!

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

[nvr2old]

Lookin' good, Pete. Sand, sand, and when you get tired of sanding..sand some more. From what I can see in your pics, your guide coat is doing exactly what it should be doing. Don't be afraid to sand it with the 180 till you hit plastic filler again. Sometimes that's necessary to get it down as far as it needs to go, plus it keeps the build-up to a minimum. If you go that far and there are still a few pinholes or what not, maybe use a bit more filler. Your second round of primer will do wonders. Your parts are coming along very nicely. You'll be really happy with the results. I can already tell.

[pete]

Cheers Larry, yep definitely happy with how things are looking!

All sanded ready to go for the next lot of high build primer. I gave them a real good wash down with the hose but tomorrow I'll give them a go over with high pressure air then wax and grease remover.

I had to go through to the fibreglass and plastic in places but it's all nice and smooth, but definitely needs another go round.

I did find some big pits and divets I'd managed to miss on all three pieces, so I did add a little body filler in a few places to fix those up. You can see one spot on the mudguard there.

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

The side covers are pretty much ready for primer so if tomorrow works out I'll try to prime those as well. I should've finished sanding them today but I forgot all about them.

Fingers crossed the weather's good for it tomorrow, today's "shower or two" turned into a storm with torrential rain.

[Sam 78 GS750]

Man, there's way more to paint than I thought... Learning a lot here.

[nvr2old]

That's a common thought for most people, Sam, who've never seen or gone through the correct process. There's a lot involved in a quality paint job. Prep and finish work are 90% of it. Material and labor costs can get pretty expensive to have it done by a pro, but the results usually speak for themselves. Pete's doing a great job.

[pete]

Yep, my admiration for guys like Larry who do superb paint jobs has escalated enormously since I did my 450, and is increasing even more this second time around.

I'm still taking a bit of a shortcut by not bothering about what the inside of the parts look like, or under the front mudguard (although I did give them a clean at least), but the time spent making the parts right as a base for the paint is time well spent.

The painting really is the easy bit as long as you know how to set the gun up right (which I learnt from the very helpful fellas on here last time 'round).

The prep work is really where it's at, and it really is worth putting the extra time and effort into it, the paint really won't mask poor prep work.

The same goes for aerosol jobs too, not just 2K applications. I've learnt that the hard way also

And cheers Larry! I'm keen to make this a good job for sure.

Humidity right now is a little higher than it should be but forecast to drop, so fingers crossed by the time I get the side covers prep'd and everything cleaned down it'll be low enough to get that second lot of primer done.

[nvr2old]

[QUOTE=pete;2464914]

I'm still taking a bit of a shortcut by not bothering about what the inside of the parts look like, or under the front mudguard (although I did give them a clean at least), but the time spent making the parts right as a base for the paint is time well spent.

Aww c'mon, Pete. It only takes..another..hour or so to spray the inside of the fairing, back of side covers and under the fender with satin black.. You'll be glad you did. It's those little touches that take em to the next level.

[pete]

Well... the sidecovers and front mudguard will be ok the way they are (already pretty tidy to my mind) but the front cowl and tail piece are a different story. I'll see if I can get motivated to mask all the fresh paint off once they're done and squirt some satin in there. Pretty sure I have enough of a can of it left in the shed actually.

I got the second round of high build primer done today including the side covers and choke lever.

I definitely noticed some little pits and things though, so it all definitely needs another good sanding. I noticed some bits show up on the side covers so I'm glad they got the high build as well.

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

I also made a decent run on the tail piece just below this nice big divet I found... not sure what the deal is with that! Might have to brush a little primer on it or something then rub it back.

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

It's all had a guide coat applied as well.

While moving the crankcases during the garage clean up I got reminded of an issue I need to fix in the stator area of the top case. It looked like a bit of a dodgy repair to me.

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

So tonight I broke out the files and got stuck in.

I have no idea what was used but it's way too brittle and flaky to be JB Weld and it just came off real easy without too much effort with the files. The gasket surface part of the repair was extremely uneven and there's no way that would be oil tight without a bunch of gasket goo or something.

It needs a go over with a dremel to clean it up properly but I'll have to wait for daytime when I can make some noise to do that.

Anyone got some photos of this area I can use as a reference when building it up properly with JB Weld? Need to get myself a stator cover to help with that too! There's one on eBay I'm eyeing off, I need a GSX1100 rather than a Kat one as I have the larger GSX type stator/rotor setup.

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

[nvr2old]

The parts look great after the 2nd prime. Cut your runs out with some 180, Pete, then go to 400. It'll be way easier. You might try mixing up a small amount of plastic filler and forcefully pushing it into that pinhole with your finger. That should take care of it.

I've fixed an area like that on your engine with JB Weld before, too. Even re-made, drilled and re-threaded a mounting boss. Such a versatile product.

[pete]

Cheers Larry, yeah generally they're looking great, just that one spot on the tail piece and a couple of spots on the cowl I'm not 100% happy with. Might be a good spot to use a touch of that blade putty I tried earlier as it's real easy to work and should sit in those little holes very well.

Stupid question time... once it's all sanded back and smooth, I still need a go over with the primer as a surfacer prior to the base colour coat right? I'm mainly thinking of colour coat over the putty or filler not being a great idea. Then sand with the 600 ready for colour.

I remember the JB on your CB cooling fin I'm pretty sure it was? It's good stuff alright! I did that mounting post in the rear master cylinder reservoir earlier in this build.

I figure the same idea with some scrap aluminium coated in anti seize to form the inside curve of the repair should make it a much neater end result than what was there. I'll just make sure to build it up above the gasket surface, file it back close, then finish off with sandpaper so it's smooth and oil tight to match with the rest of the gasket surface.

Just need my hands on a stator cover to match the outside shape up neatly and I'm hoping one of the Katana folk or someone with an 1100 can snap some pic's of the area so I can hopefully get it close to looking how it should.

[nvr2old]

[QUOTE=pete;2465152]

Stupid question time... once it's all sanded back and smooth, I still need a go over with the primer as a surfacer prior to the base colour coat right? I'm mainly thinking of colour coat over the putty or filler not being a great idea. Then sand with the 600 ready for colour.

Not a stupid question at all, Pete. Yeah, I would spray a couple of coats of primer mixed about 50% thinner as a sealer before spraying your base coats (really try to avoid runs at this stage) and, yes, a final sand with 600. That should give you a nice, smooth, consistent finish for color.

[pete]

Cool cheers Larry, makes good sense. I do know how I got that run on there, easily avoided again. Basically I stopped paying attention mid spray and leaned in too close... easy not to repeat!

I'm hoping I can get started on some sanding later today, but the weather's not looking great for my ride tomorrow nor getting the paint done next week, forecast is definitely looking dodgy for painting.

Forecast.jpg

[pete]

Man I'm so over sanding... found lots more pinpricks and low spots again today and had to resort to body filler in places as I was going through the primer again.

I've still got a few areas on the front cowl to finish sanding in the morning but fingers crossed the next lot of primer will end up all set for the colour coats.

I decided to give myself a little distraction tonight and throw all the bodywork on the Kat with the new tank and have a double check for fitment. Nothing bolted or screwed so they're not all sitting quite right but looks good to me. Excuse the mess, still a bit to sort out in the garage yet.

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

On the downside, I did discover an issue where the fibreglass around the top mounting hole for the front cowl has cracked. Not sure how I didn't find this earlier, very frustrating!

Untitled by starpoint73, on Flickr

The only thing I can think of doing is sand it right back underneath to bare fiberglass so I can add a layer of matting to it. I can't build it up any higher as that will lift the front of the cowl up too much and interfere with the headlight.

Of course that will put paid to any chance of getting the next round of primer on tomorrow, although the forecast isn't all that brilliant for painting anyway.

However, I'd rather find that now so I can fix it before the colour goes on... I'd be a bit peeved if I saw that crack the gloss black and clear when I mounted it!