Well I'm working at it again

So... like a week after removing the swingarm off my bike and getting it back to stock, the paint job from the original owner was pissing me off. Scratched up and had some bubbles and chips in them. I was looking at my k&n air filter and decided to just take the bike apart and get going.
I picked up mineral spirits, 80 grit,220,600,1500,2000 sand paper, plastic primer, metal primer with etch in it. and i've yet to get my main coat mixed up and my clear coat. Also draining the coolant because it was a little low and I'm not sure when it was done last. Also going to take a look at the cam chain because it may be loose.
The whole time I believed that my suspension had something wrong with it, because I would get a loud knock over large bumps, just to find that a rubber piece was missing and would allow the tank to travel and hit the frame... the person that painted it was a ****tard


Oh and by the way, I will be rattle can spraying all of this.
Sanded all of the pieces today and got to priming. I'll be taking a lot more pictures as the process goes on. Also, the person that put the bike together the first time left like half of the fasteners so I'll have to get more of them.











UPDATE:
Finished priming all the plastics and they are now drying. The plastic primer was clear so it was a little difficult to get completely even coats, which is okay because i'll sand it and that will be perfect. Just finished the tank with metal etch/primer combo. Wasn't sure as to how well the combo primer would work but it looks like I got some really good results. It filled in the 80 grit sand marks almost completely and after I sand it really well with wet 220 up to 600 it will be smooth and ready for my base coat. The colors don't do it justice, it looks a little light but it's going to look so good with the black frame and windscreen and other black accents.





Update 3:
Finished the tank and front cowling. The tank turned out really well after 1500,2000, rubbing compound and polishing compound. I'm going to do it one more time tomorrow when I go to do all of the plastics. I finished all the rest of the fairings and they all turned out really well. I wouldn't say this would pass as a completely professional job, but I think it looks amazing for rattle cans and well under $100. I'm very proud of this job and I think it's going to look great. I have a black tank protector coming in the mail and the black windscreen also. More pics tomorrow, I'll probably just finish all the plastics and put it back together wednesday.

[Jono]

Nice work! Can't wait to see how it turns out. I am planning on painting my tank in a few weeks. (Gas tank that is)

Originally Posted by Jono

Nice work! Can't wait to see how it turns out. I am planning on painting my tank in a few weeks. (Gas tank that is)

Good luck man, from what I hear, the plastics are easy, and the tank requires a much better job. Are you rattle can or spray gun painting it? I'm a little bit scared of doing the tank especially with a rattle can. My uncle owns a body shop so I may prep the parts with primer then go to his shop to spray gun the color coat and clear. But I also may do it with the rattle to prove to him that I can do a good job

[Jono]

I plan on using the rattle can method. With a lot of sanding in between coats. If it ends up looking terrible I will sand it back down and try this method....http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Paintin...ith_Rust-Oleum

[BFisher244]

Good stuff! The stock swingarm looks much better! What color are you painting her?

[ninja_thresh_hold]

paint it lime green

[alex.s]

I like where this is going.

Originally Posted by ninja_thresh_hold

paint it lime green

Originally Posted by BFisher244

Good stuff! The stock swingarm looks much better! What color are you painting her?

Originally Posted by Jono

I plan on using the rattle can method. With a lot of sanding in between coats. If it ends up looking terrible I will sand it back down and try this method....http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Paintin...ith_Rust-Oleum

Originally Posted by alex.s

I like where this is going.

She's getting painted this color, but getting paint made is pretty expensive and i actually saw a color at lowes in spray cans for like 5 bucks that looks almost just like the color on the bmw but a tad darker so I MAY get that.

[Jono]

I love that color!!!

Originally Posted by Jono

I love that color!!!

I didn't do that exact color, but I found one that's pretty awesome and is a bit lighter. I'm uploading more in the original post

[Jono]

Eh it is purty close. I can just see it now. It is going to look really nice when it is complete.

Originally Posted by Jono

Eh it is purty close. I can just see it now. It is going to look really nice when it is complete.

Thanks, i'm getting excited to get back to riding!

[nautica]

Weird, I thought I saw you out riding but guess not. I passed another bike that same color and at first glance thought it was a gsxr, but not sure. It also had a blue HID. Nice color, though.

Originally Posted by nautica

Weird, I thought I saw you out riding but guess not. I passed another bike that same color and at first glance thought it was a gsxr, but not sure. It also had a blue HID. Nice color, though.

Thats crazy! Where are you located??

[nautica]

Originally Posted by codestp202

Thats crazy! Where are you located??

I passed the guy near the stow/kent border.

Originally Posted by nautica

I passed the guy near the stow/kent border.

Oh okay! Im in painesville for the summer but ill be living in kent year round starting august 15th, lets get some of the guys together and go riding next month before i start back at kent!!

[LoD575]

Looks good.

[choneofakind]

huh. Aqua gixxer. Come visit Hudson when it's done haha
Posted via Mobile Device

Originally Posted by LoD575

Looks good.

Originally Posted by choneofakind

huh. Aqua gixxer. Come visit Hudson when it's done haha
Posted via Mobile Device

Thanks guys. I'll be back in kent in less then a month so I'll be very close then!

[choneofakind]

I'll be heading out to Ada then and won't be able to ride the motorcycle at that point.

damn. I just realized that I literally have 4 weeks until classes start.

[Jono]

^
Haha it sucks to suck!



I don't start til August 27th! And I get to commute to campus on my ninjette 4 days a week! I love the fall!

Originally Posted by choneofakind

I'll be heading out to Ada then and won't be able to ride the motorcycle at that point.

damn. I just realized that I literally have 4 weeks until classes start.

Originally Posted by Jono

^
Haha it sucks to suck!



I don't start til August 27th! And I get to commute to campus on my ninjette 4 days a week! I love the fall!

SUCKS TO BE CHONE. I get to ride my bike everyday to class also wont be far... like not even 5 minutes lol.

[Monkeytofu]

Wow, very nice color. I bet it would look even better when you get a couple clear coats on there.

Originally Posted by Monkeytofu

Wow, very nice color. I bet it would look even better when you get a couple clear coats on there.

I actually put clear on, and as of today, I redid almost all the plastics except for the gas tank which turned out awesome. I just wasn't happy with the job the clear did. I didn't put enough paint down and the rubbing compound and polishing compound would eat right through. I sanded all the plastics back down with 2000 grit and made it look butter smooth. So it was the blue color but a matte texture (probably 3-4 coats of blue underneath). And I put 1 heavy coat over that. It looks fabulous! I'm going to let it cure and it is has been so hot out so it probably shouldn't take long. I don't really plan on clear coating them again I am so happy with the shine they have I think I'll either leave them alone and buff them out a few days later. Then put a layer of wax when the paint is hard enough to take the wax (1 month). The paint looks 10x better today with no clear then it did yesterday with 4 coats of clear. I just didn't do a good enough job with the clear coat.

[Monkeytofu]

Originally Posted by codestp202

I actually put clear on, and as of today, I redid almost all the plastics except for the gas tank which turned out awesome. I just wasn't happy with the job the clear did. I didn't put enough paint down and the rubbing compound and polishing compound would eat right through. I sanded all the plastics back down with 2000 grit and made it look butter smooth. So it was the blue color but a matte texture (probably 3-4 coats of blue underneath). And I put 1 heavy coat over that. It looks fabulous! I'm going to let it cure and it is has been so hot out so it probably shouldn't take long. I don't really plan on clear coating them again I am so happy with the shine they have I think I'll either leave them alone and buff them out a few days later. Then put a layer of wax when the paint is hard enough to take the wax (1 month). The paint looks 10x better today with no clear then it did yesterday with 4 coats of clear. I just didn't do a good enough job with the clear coat.

How did you apply your clear? Aren't you supposed to clear coat, sand, clean, then another coat, lightly sand, then polish/buff out with a machine?

Edit: The issue with not using clear coat is if you drop any sort of brake fluid/ gas on to your tank, your paint job is just going to get ruined almost instantly.

Originally Posted by Monkeytofu

How did you apply your clear? Aren't you supposed to clear coat, sand, clean, then another coat, lightly sand, then polish/buff out with a machine?

Edit: The issue with not using clear coat is if you drop any sort of brake fluid/ gas on to your tank, your paint job is just going to get ruined almost instantly.

The tank has lots of clear on it. That is the only thing I didn't have to re-do. The tank has 3-4 coats of primer, 4 coats of blue, and 4 coats of clear. The plastics don't have clear anymore.

[choneofakind]

Originally Posted by codestp202

SUCKS TO BE CHONE. I get to ride my bike everyday to class also wont be far... like not even 5 minutes lol.

ride a bicycle if it's that short.

Seriously though, I have no use for a vehicle when I'm at school except of coming home, which I'd rather have a car to bring home a suitcase anyways. So the bike gets put in storage when I go to school.
Posted via Mobile Device

Still to come are a black windscreen and black tank protector which are in the mail as we speak. Then i need to decide between black or white decals. Any opinions?

You guys suck, no responses
Well here the bike with decals, still waiting on my black windscreen. theres a black tank protector on there, cant see it though

[BFisher244]

Looks amazing. Good job!

[LoD575]

The black decals give excellent contrast with the blue.

Good looking finished product.

[rawbert625]

That looks awesome! those decals really ties it in good!

[Mountain Dew]

You HAVE to throw some tangerine one there for a classic Gulf livery.

What were you doing with the swingarm?

[Jono]

Turned out great!!!

Originally Posted by Jono

Turned out great!!!

Originally Posted by Mountain Dew

You HAVE to throw some tangerine one there for a classic Gulf livery.

What were you doing with the swingarm?

Originally Posted by rawbert625

That looks awesome! those decals really ties it in good!

Originally Posted by LoD575

The black decals give excellent contrast with the blue.

Good looking finished product.

Originally Posted by BFisher244

Looks amazing. Good job!

Thanks guys! And when I bought the bike, it had an 8 inch swingarm extension. So i had to remove all of that, cut down the chain and bring everything back to stock. It was A LOT of work.
And What about tangerine? You lost me lol

[Mountain Dew]

[ninjamunky85]

Looks good man Don't see many bikes that color. I agree that some tangerine orange could look cool.

Glad you got rid of that stupid swingarm, don't think anyone can talk sh*t about your bike now.