Budget Paint Job

[silverstrom]

http://www.motorcyclepartsx.com/cheap-m ... inting.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And this I found on the web years ago.

TREMCLAD PAINT JOB

Here's how i painted my car for about $50, it's actually very easy and the results are amazing. First off, get a can of Tremclad real orange (or what ever color u want) in the can, not spray, yes Tremclad, it is a acrylic/enamel paint which is very durable. next prep your car as if was any other paint job, fix all the rust, ect....no need to prime the car since the Tremclad already contains elements which allow it to be painted over bare metal. next, after prepping the car get a small 4" professional FOAM rollers, it's tiny and has one end rounded off, and the other cut straight, and is a very high density foam. u also need a jug of mineral spirits to thin the paint. The thing i really like about this is that there's no mess, no taping the whole car, just key areas, and u can do it in your garage, since your not spraying there is virtually no dust in the air, just clean your garage first, also it doesn't really smell at all, dries overnight and it super tough paint. also it you decide to paint the car professionally later, just prep and paint, there's no need to strip the Tremclad. I have done this to a few cars, and i can say it works amazing, u just have to be patient. next u thin the paint with mineral spirits so it just about as thin as water, a little thicker. get out the roller and paint away, don't get the paint shaken when u buy it, enamel is stirred, otherwise you'll have bubbles in the paint for a week!!! after u do 2 coats, wet sand the whole car, then repeat, 2 coats, wet sand, 2 coats wet sand. i painted the charger using a can since your not spraying the car u use all the paint and not spray 50% in the air, use progressively finer sand paper each time. it's not really that much work, cause u can stop and start any time, u can do just a door, or the hood, etc.. do one panel at a time, and don't stop once you start. once your done the final coat, wet sand with about 1000 grit to a totally smooth finish, and then using a high speed polisher i use a buffing bonnet and turtle wax polishing compound. do the whole car with this, and I'm telling u, depending on the amount of time and patience you have, the results are amazing. laugh if you want, but for $50 ($30 for paint, about $20 for rollers, sand paper, etc....) it really looks good. also you can do these steps overnight, paint one evening and by morning u can wet sand. i have personally done a lot of painting, mostly single stage acrylic enamel, and I've sprayed several cars in my garage with really good professional results, just it stinks, it's a real pain to do, easy to make a mistake, messy, and expensive. The Tremclad is awesome paint, the "real orange" is an amazing hemi orange, and almost looks like it has some pearl in the sun, awesome color right out of the can. I used this technique on my 1974 beetle also, here are the results:
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/6 ... ture10.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
the car before:
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/6 ... 000475.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
another after pic:
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/6 ... C00164.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
here is a car i sprayed (71 beetle, midnight blue metalic):
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/6 ... C00194.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
here is the car before (71 beetle):
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/6 ... cture1.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

here's a few pics of the charger done:
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/6 ... C02764.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/6 ... C02769.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Zedixe13]

Yes I tought about this one , I painted the gas tank on my LC with some Tremclad , as an oil based paint it take forever to dry thoroughly , it's near impossible to get a nice polished finish without swirl marks and it's very fragile . There are better oil paints available on the market like acrylic enamel that will give a better finish . I used some from Sherwin Williams in rattle can and the finish was outstanding on the first try .

[mike YPVS]

Jon, the screen was on the bike when I got it. It's standard F1 screen isn't it?

[mike YPVS]

TREMCLAD PAINT JOB

this is what I found on the internet that gave me inspiration to try it. I did a few test pieces and kept getting a crap swirly finish. I found that rubbing down the final coat was a big mistake. What I eventually came up with was:- keep putting on coats and wet sanding every coat with progressively finer wet and dry paper until I was down to 2500 paper. And the final couple of coats I mixed the paint thinner. The final coat wasn't sanded at all, when it was dry I just hand buffed it with Farecla G3 10. There isn't any swirl marks or orange peel, as you can see it's a very high gloss finish, and this was achieved just by hand.

Each coat was dry enough to sand in about 4 hours, so I gave it a coat every night and went to bed. I found it very important to have plenty of "tack wrags" to wipe it down before each coat. And I didn't use a roller more than once, each coat had a brand new paint roller (they cost virtually nothing)

Like I said at the beginning, the plan was to make this bike tidy without spending a fortune on it. This bike is to ride and not to look at. I have made the mistake many times in the past of restoring a bike to a very high level, so high that you don't want to take it out anymore. This kind of spoils it I think as bikes are made to ride. In fact the way I look at things these days is:- keep it original as it has a kind of paterna (not sure if thats the correct spelling), every scratch, every ding has history, it's life story if you like. Unfortunatelly in this case some previous owner had taken to painting it and made a bugger of it, so it had already lost it's originality.

Here is my last money pit!!!! the one that made me say to myself NEVER AGAIN!

[ZedSledder]

This is great stuff. I've always liked tremclad but didn't admitt it. I thought it might not be "proper" stuff to use. This should be in Tech tips.

[jzanutto]

you have exposed something that most people dont consider for a great looking paint job and that is the continuous leveling between each coat, with the finer and finer grit medium. It gives you that perfectly flat look and gives it depth without it actually being an inch thick. Final cut with 2000 or so and then final polish will make it look like a mirror. This is a LOT of work and it is far easier to just spray and let it be as is. But the results are beyond words

[mike YPVS]

In hindsight it probably was quite a bit of work laying on about 10 coats and rubbing down between them but I actually found it quite therapeutic lol.

BUT!!! it saved me a lot of time afterwards NOT having to get rid of "spraying dust" from every surface in my garage. I have used rattle cans in the past, and got a very good finish, but hell it's a messy business.

Not everyone's cup of tea, but just shows what can be done with a little time and effort and for very little money.

[mike YPVS]

One question for you guys.

Do you think it should have a "350" decal on the side panel?

[ZedSledder]

maybe a "ypvs" decal up on the tail.

I've used the 2 part urethane clear coat , where you bang the bottom of the can, and the catalyst mixes in the can. Its aresol and looks good, but its $42 a can. its called 2k.

[JonW]

Jon, the screen was on the bike when I got it. It's standard F1 screen isn't it?

yes it is, I'm just looking for one is all, I have an aftermarket one for my F1 and would love an original, I was just hoping someone had made a good copy

[silverstrom]

I have an aftermarket one for my F1 and would love an original, I was just hoping someone had made a good copy

MRA is your best bet Jon. High quality screens with perfect optics and they do make a nice RZ350/500 clear screen with the black outline. You can see the screen on eBay here. They are much cheaper outside of eBay. With shipping I usually pay in the $135 Cdn range. http://www.ebay.de/itm/Yamaha-RD500LC-R ... 4acb0c9684" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

You can order direct from MRA or through a dealer. I use MRA screens on all my bikes and order from a guy in Toronto. It can take a few weeks as they are often made to order in Germany.

[JonW]

Thanks John, do you know any German sites that sell them?

[JonW]

Answering my own question...

http://www.motorradtechnik-engelmann.de ... -gelb.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

just gotta find one not in a silly colour LOL

[mike YPVS]

ah I see what you mean now Jon, been looking at your website again. You like the F1 model then?

I didn't know it was anything special until after I got mine. My fairing had a bit of damage around the screen area, but I had to fit the bike with a top yoke and high bars from the earlier LC2 due to health issues anyway, so I just removed the damaged bits. The clear Yamaha F1 screen was on the bike and was undamaged, luckily it seems!

[silverstrom]

Thanks John, do you know any German sites that sell them?

You can order direct from MRA also https://www.mrashop.de/erp/catalog/navi ... ion.action" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;