"Stealth" project F3

Bobo88 · 01-13-2007, 3:15 PM

I've been doing some research lately on reparing my fairings and repainting them.

I'm going with a matte (flat) black paint finish with metallic red highlights. Micron has a nice shiny red exhaust I'll be picking up.

Here are some links I found with guides to repairing fairings and then self custom painting.

SBN :: Motorcycle Forum :: Basic Guide - nice bike in under $2000
paint guide

Sport Rider Hands On-Repair your motorcycle's aftermarket fiberglass bodywork
repair guide

This project will probably go fairly slow due to my busy schedule and the weather around here currently. But I openly welcome any tips, tricks, and suggestions and even opinions. Pics will be posted as progress is made, but please forgive my lack of a decent camera.

Here is my bike currently:

Bobo88 · 01-14-2007, 4:19 PM

Here are some shots of the fiberglass repair and bondo work and also the priming begins.

I finally got all the fairings off too. what a PAIN!!!

Triax · 01-19-2007, 5:28 PM

good work, where in lies the "stealth"?

Bobo88 · 01-19-2007, 9:35 PM

haha. i was mocking all the other bikes painted flat black that are being called stealth. mine's gonna be flat black too...

triggerzer0 · 01-21-2007, 11:48 PM

did you airbrush that yourself?

Bobo88 · 01-21-2007, 11:52 PM

no, but i spray paint myself! =b

triggerzer0 · 01-22-2007, 1:13 AM

I meant the bike, sorry if I was a bit unclear

Bobo88 · 01-22-2007, 10:14 AM

oh you mean the previous job. no i didn't airbrush that myself. it was done in a shop and cost $4k actually.

what i meant is that i'm spray painting the new job myself. i hope that clarifies.

This week I intend to get the rest of the body work sanded down and repaired. Then I'll move on to priming and painting. Hopefully I can get the time in between preparing for the move.

Bobo88 · 04-23-2007, 3:13 PM

well it's been awhile, but i got the painting started. after moving to my new place, i found the time to finish the repair work on the fairings and have begun spraying with paint. check out the new images.

Bobo88 · 03-12-2008, 9:16 AM

I wasn't able to complete my project by years end of 2007, unfortunately. But here's what I was left with before hitting storage for winter.
http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z...e/PIC-0025.jpg

Unfortunately, I'm going to have to replace most of the fairings this year. My repairs held up quite well, but other damage has caused an unwanted look, lol. Shortly after finishing what you see in the above picture, I went for a ride down the local highway. I came over a bridge crossing another highway and either the wind gust or, by coincidence, the left fairing screws came loose just at that moment.

All I remember is thinking "Did the road just jump up and bite me?".

The left fairing cracked in half, flipped up and whacked me me on the leg! Fortunately I had a bungee cord with me so I disconnected the remaining screws and bungeed it to my seat.

Also, going down the same highway in the opposite direction, nearly at the same exact point, my left rear fairing's "pegs" snapped off and the whole fairing started fluttering in the wind. I had to wrap the entire rear end in duct tape just to keep it on the bike lol.

So yea, I have a bigger and more costly project ahead of me this year. Can't wait!

Here's some other angles of last years finish:
http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z...e/PIC-0020.jpg
http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z...e/PIC-0019.jpg
http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z...e/PIC-0018.jpg
http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z...e/PIC-0017.jpg

What the hell, I might as well throw in these images of my dad helping me replace the clutch, sprockets, and also a new tire job. I was doing the cosmetics in between while everything was apart.
http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z...e/PIC-0009.jpg
http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z...e/PIC-0008.jpg
http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z...e/PIC-0007.jpg

-Z- · 03-12-2008, 9:29 AM

Not to threadjack, but here's a pic from when I last painted my 99 VFR....

Bobo88 · 03-12-2008, 9:34 AM

that looks nice. what kind of paint are you using?

-Z- · 03-12-2008, 9:48 AM

I've used Dupont's Chromabase system each time.

In all honesty, although it doesn't show in the pictures, that last paint job I did was the worst one I've done. I kinda hurried it and didn't check everything, and so there's a spot or two on the edges of a couple of the fairings where I didn't apply enough clear and it came out a little dry.

Here's a picture of the tank and the nose fairing.

Bobo88 · 03-12-2008, 10:04 AM

The pictures do make it look really good. Do you know of any such system that works well with matte colors? I'm really quite partial to the flat black, metallic/chrome red scheme I'm after.

CBR400RR · 03-12-2008, 1:47 PM

Just to let you know fiberglass and bondo is not the propper way to repair ABS plastic as it's just covering up the crack and not bonding it back together and it will fail over time. I do a lot of motorcycle repair at my shop and the only way to guarantee a propper repair is to plastic weld the cracks using the same plastic. Using anything else on plastic is like trying to weld aluminum to steel.

Bobo88 · 03-12-2008, 3:19 PM

To my knowledge, the fairings are fiberglass. This was considered when researching and purchasing supplies.

Any tips on how to know for sure?

Also, for clarification, the repairs made are still intact and very strong. The left fairing actually cracked in half, literally. I should post a pic. The side fairing's tab is what broke off in the rear. It was the only one left =(

The bondo was used for "resurfacing" the scratches and imperfections. Bondo was not used to fill any holes or gaps. I left the old paint job underneath my repairs and new paint. So the bondo work was only for cosmetics.

Definitely thanks, though, for the information! =)

CBR400RR · 03-12-2008, 3:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobo88

To my knowledge, the fairings are fiberglass. This was considered when researching and purchasing supplies.

Any tips on how to know for sure?

Also, for clarification, the repairs made are still intact and very strong. The left fairing actually cracked in half, literally. I should post a pic. The side fairing's tab is what broke off in the rear. It was the only one left =(

On the inside of all fairings there should be a code something like <ABS> or <PA6+ABS-GF10>

If you put a fiberglass patch over a crack it's like putting a bandaid over a cut, your just covering it up and not actuall repairing the crack. You work came out very good, here is a link to a repair that I did by plastic welding.
Scotts Motorcycle Service - Work Done

Bobo88 · 03-12-2008, 5:14 PM

Ahhhhh, thanks man! Too late now, but now I know for the future.

Nice work on that Triumph. Can you rebuild broken tabs? =b

CBR400RR · 03-12-2008, 5:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobo88

Ahhhhh, thanks man! Too late now, but now I know for the future.

Nice work on that Triumph. Can you rebuild broken tabs? =b

Yes I can, I have even repaired fairings that had holes the size of softballs. I keep a stock of broken plastics so I can use them for parts or templates.
Here are a before and after pic of an FZR600 side fairing that had a huge hole that was misssing so I had to make a piece to fit.
Before
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-...4/IM000722.jpg

After
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-...4/IM000736.jpg

-Z- · 03-12-2008, 6:31 PM

CBR400RR is right. Bondo is not nearly as flexible as ABS plastic. I work with this stuff on an almost daily basis. Granted, there are other products out there that would be as flexible and resilient, but they have all sorts of other tradeoffs, like one product I know of that is so flexible it can only be used in really small amounts or it will simply flex from something as simple as the wind. Or another that works great but is insanely expensive. Plastic weld is the way to go.

That being said, I will say this for my handiwork. I did the repairs to the plastics on that bike back around the turn of the century when I first picked it up. Almost 8 years and 6 paint jobs later, I have yet to redo any of the repair work I did.

Twincam · 03-12-2008, 6:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CBR400RR

I do a lot of motorcycle repair at my shop and the only way to guarantee a proper repair is to plastic weld the cracks using the same plastic. Using anything else on plastic is like trying to weld aluminum to steel.

jacobflyin · 03-12-2008, 7:14 PM

O no I just painted my 954 flat black and now every one is doing it Opps but it looks good, but it does not make the bike any faster I tested mine O and unlike the stealth radar and lazer will still get you!!!

-Z- · 03-12-2008, 7:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jacobflyin

O no I just painted my 954 flat black and now every one is doing it Opps but it looks good, but it does not make the bike any faster I tested mine O and unlike the stealth radar and lazer will still get you!!!

Bobo88 · 03-13-2008, 8:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jacobflyin

O no I just painted my 954 flat black and now every one is doing it Opps but it looks good, but it does not make the bike any faster I tested mine O and unlike the stealth radar and lazer will still get you!!!

lol, thanks for the warning...

I actually began planning this project around Christmas of 2006, didn't start it until January 2007, and am now looking to finish it this year.

CBR400RR -
What method do you use for repairing the broken tabs? I ask because I've ran it through my head several ways how to do it. The most effective way I've came up with is by somehow molding a new tab and attaching it with really strong epoxy (in the case of not still having the broken tabs).

CBR400RR · 03-14-2008, 1:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobo88

lol, thanks for the warning...

I actually began planning this project around Christmas of 2006, didn't start it until January 2007, and am now looking to finish it this year.

CBR400RR -
What method do you use for repairing the broken tabs? I ask because I've ran it through my head several ways how to do it. The most effective way I've came up with is by somehow molding a new tab and attaching it with really strong epoxy (in the case of not still having the broken tabs).

When I need a tab or part that is missing I make a template of the part by coping one on another part or side of the bike. I then if I have another broken fairing for parts cut the part off to match the template I made. When this is not an option I hand cut and shape the parts out of a scrap piece of plastic. Then I plastic weld it on and when it's a high stress area you can use a stainless steel mesh screen for support or I some times use an industrial grade plastic epoxy with a plastic fiberglass mesh to give it extra support making the part a lot stronger then it was from the fatory.