Painting - '85 Limited Edition

[Rednaxs60]

Posting to share my experience with painting. Have finished my 1500 paint project and with the C-19 issue, have decided to continue with a couple of major projects such as rebuilding the engine of my '85 Limited Edition, and giving the bike a fresh coat of paint.

These projects are very telling when it comes to the lineage of the bike. Have mentioned on many an occasion that this bike is my retirement project, and will probably never be completed, always thinking of something else to do.

Have done the electrical and mechanical maintenance, and installed the mods that I want so the next step in the evolution of this bike is to rebuild the engine and give it a fresh new look - paint.

The engine rebuild is going well. I am posting my experience on the Classic GW forum: https://www.classicgoldwings.com/forum/ ... 24&t=14067 Takes a bit of time to keep all these threads going.

Part of the engine rebuild was to vapor blast the engine casings and parts/pieces. Gives a very good finish, but if you are considering painting, vapor blasting makes the surface too smooth. The vapor blast process produces good results. Here are pics of the rear case: First is the case cleaned, and free of grease done by myself:

Here is the rear case after vapor blasting:

Not going to paint, but did find a CERAKOTE product MC-5100 Aluminum Clear that the company has verified will adhere to the finish. Have ordered the product and look forward to application. Applying the CERAKOTE to protect the finish mainly because the engine is encased with body panels and crap gets into areas that are not easily accessible without removing the engine or other parts.

I had formed the opinion that this bike had been in an altercation some time ago before I bought it, but the PO was not forthcoming with any information, and I never asked the question.

I noticed a long time ago that there were two gold colours on the bike, the front fender was the most telling. There was also three different pinstripe schemes. The factory installed pinstripe was two different schemes, and the front fender pinstripe was black pinstripe tape applied on top of the clear coat. The factory installed pinstripe was under the clear coat. Here is a pic of one of the factory installed pinstripe colour schemes:

Here is the front fender pinstripe:

There is a noticeable difference.

I was thinking that Honda used the pinstripe to hide the interface between the gold and brown metallic colours, but it did not. The factory pinstripe was applied to the various areas on the gold metal flake around the brown metal flake. This picture of the side panels illustrates this:

Finding a suitable pinstripe replacement is not easy. Since the front fender pinstripe was a 1/8" and 1/16" black tape may very well be using this as I go forward. Individual tape sizes are easier to bend around corners, and there are some sharp bends.

Have removed the front fender support brackets to facilitate painting the underside of the fender, and to "spruce" these up for the final product. Pic of bracket rivets to be removed:

Pic of bracket removed - definitely needs a fresh coat of paint:

Honda used tubular rivets that have a shoulder for locating the rivet in the fender hole. Working on a solution for bracket attachment.

Have decided on a paint process. Will first be doing the brown metal flake, then gold metal flake, and finally pinstripe. The brown will be clear coated before doing the gold colour. This allows me to tape the brown colour and not be concerned about damaging the brown colour when tape is removed. The gold colour will be applied and clear coat covered before pinstriping is done. Once the pinstripe is on, the entire part/piece will have clear coat applied to seal everything. This process may be modified as I proceed.

Working on freshening the emblems as well. The emblems on the rear all need some form of TLC. The Honda emblems on the front fairing are in good shape and are being left alone. The issue with the emblems is the gold finish. Have yet to find a way to replicate, but will keep looking. In the interim, have settled on a KRYLON gold metallic paint/primer combo spray. The colour is very complimentary to the bike. Here are a couple of pics to illustrate:

Applied Dupli Color high gloss clear last night and will post new pics today.

Good project shaping up and going to like the finished product. More to follow. Cheers

[Rednaxs60]

Went out to the garage and took some pics of the emblems I've done. These emblems have had clear coat applied and are the final at this time. Working with black paint is a challenge. The finished product is better than the weathered look:

I have been cleaning other parts and pieces because of the painting and engine rebuild. When I did the heads winter of 2018/2019, I did a lot of aluminum polishing - took various parts/pieces to the bare aluminum, buffed/polished and sealed. Did the front forks the other day. here is a pic of the front forks, right side freshly buffed/polished, left side cleaned with a damp rag:

Here's a pic of both buffed/polished:

Not a lot of difference from initial work. Used the Flitz product line and it has stood up well.

Have some ABS repair to do such as for the front fairing:

The rear trunk lid and case needs attention as well.

Forgot to mention that the brown trim will be done, fairing dash and rear speakers.

[Rednaxs60]

Keeping with the painting theme, specifically the CERAKOTE application for the 1200 engine, working on cleaning the spare 1500 rear wheel I have. Once it is cleaned up intend to install a Dunlop E4 and attach the new rotor. Rim is cleaning up nicely:

Using a degreaser with a soft bristle brush on the polished chrome area, and a brash bristle brush on the anodized section. Cleaning up the polished aluminum with 320 to 3000 grit paper, gives a good shine. Cleaning this rim so that I can clear coat it with the CERAKOTE MC-5100 at the same time I do the 1200 engine. Should protect the finish.

[Rednaxs60]

There are some nice to do items such as the inside of the saddlebags and trunk. A fresh coat of black will look good. This little detail always makes a good impression and doesn't take a long time considering everything is apart. Most of the undersides and backs will be done as well, gets rid of the roughness on these areas, rough equates to crud catcher. This work doesn't require a lot of setup, and can be done at my leisure. haven't been able to buy more Eastwood plastic restorer so I'm thinking Dupli Color, or VHT product(s) for an alternative. Have tried the SEM black trim, but not a fan.

[Rednaxs60]

Been getting ready for doing CERAKOTE on the 1200 engine and the spare 1500 rear rim I have. The CERAKOTE arrived the other day.

Been working on the 1500 rim for a couple of days. finished up this morning and removed the old bearings, new to be fitted after CERAKOTE. Have settled on the Dunlop E4 for this rim. The Dunlop and the Avon Cobra series are the only two manufacturers that I could find that have the size for the 1500. Others are one size up or down.

Here is a partially cleaned up rear rim:

Here is the final product:

Got all of the black crud off the rim. Was thinking of having it vapour blasted, but it is out of sight mostly, and the prep for any coating is the same, clean, get rid of dirt and grime, degrease, scuff for the product. It's all in the prep.

Will be doing a degrease with rubbing alcohol and SEM Prep, then a good wash with water and dish soap - DAWN as per CERAKOTE instructions. Doing this rim in conjunction with the GL1200 engine parts/pieces. Looking forward to the finish result.

Have ordered an airbrush to have a second go at the emblems. Like the initial product, but think I can get a better finish with the airbrush. This is the one I ordered, not bad reviews and YouTube videos for this make: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071J4M3X6/?tag=goldwingdocs-20 ... 50_TE_dp_1

Have aluminum tape coming as well to tape up the engine parts/pieces.

Thinking I'll buy an inexpensive Princess Auto sand blaster unit to have at some of the structural parts of the bike such as the front fairing cowl stay, and front fender supports. Only $35.00 and if it doesn't work always get to return, PA has a great return policy. Looked at videos to make one, but time and energy is worth a lot to me. There are three to choose from. Here is a pic of one of them:

[Rednaxs60]

Started the prep work to get ready for the CERAKOTE painting session:

Using aluminum foil tape as I have to wash these parts/pieces before painting.

Surveyed the rest of the parts/pieces for the CERAKOTE session. Looking at next Sunday for this, may change. Took the liberty to start on some polishing of some of the parts. The CERAKOTE is supposed to be able to adhere to polished aluminum. Did one cylinder injector intake. Turned out pretty good:

The piece on the left is the finish from the vapour blast, on the right, a little polishing. Could have stayed with the brushed look, but polished aluminum is so addictive and it's nice to have a bit on the engine. We'll see how the CERAKOTE protects these polished pieces.

Took the final drive gear cover and did it as well:

Continuing with the injector parts. Had a look at the tools needed for polishing. Bought these a while ago:

Have a few more little bits to go with these. Thinking to myself that I have these so use them, and I will do a better job than a shop because it's my bike and project. Progressing well, starting to gain some momentum.

Once the CERAKOTE painting is done, can start to assemble the engine. Will be working on the body panels, saddlebags, and trunk as well during this time.

[Rednaxs60]

Today was a giant leap forward. Have all parts pieces ready for wash and then paint. Finished polishing aluminum pieces. The injector/intake units polished up nice. Before:

After:

Have the requisite amount of polished aluminum to accent the engine:

There are a couple of other pieces such as the timing covers that are polished as well. Will be applying CERAKOTE to the polished aluminum parts/pieces, won't be coating the timing belt covers or the valve covers.

Toyed with the idea of using an airbrush to do the emblems, and the colour choice should be better. Bought a small unit by Gocheer:

Good information and comes with three tips 0.2/0.3/0.5 mm. Did a trial run with one of the emblems. Using paint by "Golden" - Iridescent Gold:

It's much lighter than the first run at a match:

The paint I used flows out nicely and the airbrush is easy to get used to. Expect a few oops, and since it's only paint, can always redo. Won't be able to get the gold chrome finish that the original emblems had. Noticed that the amount of paint that is sprayed with the airbrush is significantly less than from a spray can. This will result in a smoother, nicer finish. Will do a topcoat of clear.

[Rednaxs60]

Plan C on the emblem front. Most of the emblems were weather and polish worn so I took the polishing tools I had and after a dip in paint thinner, sanded/polished the remaining gold colour off the emblems. This left a polished chrome look on all emblems except the HONDA emblem for the front fairing. Sonya has done the black accent and will soon do the red. The look is quite good - some touch up to be done:

The picture looks like a gold sheen, but it is not. The HONDA emblem for the front fairing is plastic. Looking at options to do a spray on chrome. Looking at SPAZSTIX Mirror Chrome.

Progress! Engine parts/pieces have the CERAKOTE product applied. Have to let sit for 24 hours to fully cure. Be able to start on engine assembly very soon.

[Rednaxs60]

Looked at the parts/pieces this morning. I like the look of the CERAKOTE finish. The product flows out nicely, and the finish depends on the surface of the part/piece. Have a lot left over so have to think of some other items that may require CERAKOTE such as the final drives. Will let the parts/pieces sit for today and start tomorrow on engine assembly. Here are a couple of pics of finished items:

The CERAKOTE MC-5100 Aluminum clear is not hard to apply. Need a clean, grease free aluminum surface (no paint), and washed with DAWN dish soap, then spray.

[Rednaxs60]

Changing to paint mode for the '85 project. Have to wait for parts to continue with the engine rebuild.

Have been toying with the idea to make a blaster to remove old paint, rust, etc. Have viewed several on YouTube and not that complicated. Went to Princess Auto, picked up a $4.00 air nozzle, filed a cutout for the product to flow through, took a water bottle and drilled the neck to accommodate the air nozzle, and used granulated sugar (biodegradable and easy on the environment :music:)for proof of concept. Here's the blaster with product container. The arrows show where I modified the items to suit:

Used the front fender support brackets to demo. Start of blasting:

First pass:

Not too bad, took off the old paint. Since this works, will order some walnut shell blasting product to finish this. Will have to relocate to outside, thinking the backyard to do this with walnut shells, may try a sand medium as well. Should work well with small parts. A good wire brushing with a bench grinder would be nice.

Cheers

[Rednaxs60]

Have been prepping the body panels that have the gold/brown paint scheme. Sanding the ridges out and doing a couple of panel fixes. The shelter is not ABS so had to notch the panel, sand, use adhesion promoter, and then apply ABS cement to fill and bond around the crack(s). Wet sanded most of the body panels except the front fairing. Mentioned in another post that I was considering painting the backside of all body panels. Took the time today to do this to the two side panels, and front fender, put an unpainted piece in for contrast:

This is the front fender before paint:

Smooths the surface finish - now that I have started have to continue with all the others - will be worth it when finished. Using SEM Trim Black, not my favorite product but one I had on hand. Thinking I'll use Dupli Color black when I run out of the SEM product, be less expensive as well.

Picked up a sand blasting unit today. Consists of the abrasive hopper and sand blast nozzle:

Price was right, did offer less than asking, but no joy. The hopper is about half full of a silica sand product as a bonus. Will be blasting some parts this week. Looked at using walnut shells for the abrasive medium. Have watched videos regarding this and using walnut shells should be good to clean up aluminum parts such as the final drive. Thinking that this may be an inexpensive alternative to vapour blasting when I do the 1500 engine rebuild. The final drive on the 1200 will be the test case.

[Rusti1]

Just like to say your hard work and effort is coming along nicely, and looking so good. With this and your engine rebuild projects completed, is gonna be a muchly rewarding and renewed "Mr. Clean" proud show piece. Keep checking this thread, as no doubt many others here are too, with much interest of this continuing project.

[Rednaxs60]

Thanks - as you mention, a lot of work, but this is the year to do it. Going to concentrate on getting the painting out of the way before the fall, better painting weather. Should be done painting before end September, have to take living into consideration. Cheers

[Rednaxs60]

Have been progressing the painting. The fender brackets have been done. Before:

After with clear applied:

Picked up the paint for the bike to do a colour test. The colour is the same for the '82 GW, "85 Limited Edition and '92 1500. The brown metal flake trans red oxide component was not available so a substitute was used. After applying the brown and gold colour, I'm pleased with the results and think no change is needed with the brown metal flake. Will be discussing this with my paint guy tomorrow. The colour does change depending on the light and how you are looking. Here are couple of pics of the first go round:

Had to think about timing for removing tape after applying the first colour, 30 to 45 minutes after painting seems to be good. There is a ridge that builds up between the two colours. If I cannot sand this out for whatever reason, will use the pinstripe tape to "mask" this feature.

Going to leave these pieces for a few days then do a sanding test, one piece one day to determine how long I need to let the fresh paint cure and harden before being able to do a high level wet sand. This picture shows the old pinstripe lines so a sanding is required because of this, and will, pay more attention to this aspect when I finish prepping the other two colour pieces:

Have a couple of very small oops that will need to be addressed. These are mostly due to setting the spray gun up,to where I wanted it.

Used a Meiji mini spray gun, very similar to the Iawata LPH80. Has a max 3 inch fan pattern, 0.8 mm nozzle and flows a lot of product. Air pressure was set at 20 psi. Good detail gun, but may step up to my Princess Auto special that I did my 1500 with for the next go round, especially for the one colour pieces: however, it was nice to have minimal cleanup after this test. Will be thinking on this.

[Rednaxs60]

Have completed a lot of small issues that are progressing the project. The wind deflectors at the side of the bike are SS. Scrubbed these with a red scrubby, apparently equivalent to 320 grit, does scuff the surface very well. Used 2K epoxy primer on these and the other metal pieces:

Have painted the backsides with SEM Trim black and have painted the air wings with gold metal flake. Have a small oops on one of the wind deflectors so a respray will be done.

Freshening the wheel rims. Took on the front rim:

Prepped for paint:

After Painting:

Going to CERAKOTE the rim and metal parts today:

Should look very good and the finish will be protected. Rear rim will be done. Takes about 5/6 hours from start of cleaning to prepped for paint - lots of crud to remove.

I have mentioned this before - I think - that the CERAKOTE product MC-5100 is primarily for coating aluminum products, but I'm thinking a clear coat is very universal and it will work with on other surfaces if the surface prep is good - have a lot of this product left over from doing the engine parts/pieces - had to buy a quart. We all know that the prep work leading up to painting is the secret to a good finish.

Used my airbrush to start the rim painting:

Changed the nozzle to 0.5 mm and was expecting a good result. Expected the process to be slower, but almost no over spray. Unfortunately the mini compressor that came with the airbrush is not quite up to the task, so will be getting a fitting to connect the airbrush hose to the my compressor and get a better air volume and more consistent pressure. Should make a difference. Have some smaller pieces to trial this on. Finished off with my newly acquired mini spray guns - Meiji F55 - very similar to the Iawata LPH80, but half the price - from Japan. This gun has a side cup. Didn't know what to expect at first, but the side cup is quite nice to use - can be oriented to suit how you are spraying.

Cheers

[Rednaxs60]

Parts/pieces needing CERAKOTE applied are done - lathered it on fairl liberally. Notice there are some small oops, but if you can see them, I've run you over. The front rim turned out very nice:

Need to cure/harden for 4/5 days. The black paint is a Toyota gloss black, nothing special. Think this is the way the rims looked when new. Now that the rims will be done, the brake system components need to be spruced up as well - snowball effect. Have two spare brake calipers and will look for the third. Can't remember which of the front calipers I need, but this will be a small project down the road before next year. Might get the rear done during this work session - hmmmmmmmmmm.

The snowball effect is coming into play. Make something in one area look really good, then have to do the rest. The front forks have a nice polished shine:

The front wheel rim is sparkly, now have to do the brake calipers to match. Back wheel is going to be done, and the surrounding parts/pieces will have to be addressed. Will it ever stop!

Down tools for a few days while we go for a weekend away. Back at it next week.

[Rusti1]

Parts/pieces needing CERAKOTE applied are done - lathered it on fairl liberally. Notice there are some small oops, but if you can see them, I've run you over. The front rim turned out very nice:Front Wheel Finished.jpg

This is coming along greatly! Looking sharp indeed..2 thumbs up!.. I can't see any oops, if there are any...but as you said if someone can see them, you've run them over! I laughed out loud on that one.
-Russ

[Rednaxs60]

Have been working at prepping pieces, but have taken some time off for personal time. Went to Quadra Island for a weekend, did some kayaking:

Every now and then have to recharge the batteries.

Prepping for painting, seems that's all I get to say of late, but has to be done - no one stepping up to the plate to do it for me. Daughter and son-in-law have sent me my birthday gift - BB8 coffee mug from Star Wars:

Cute mug but not conducive to drinking coffee. Now to get BB9 - the bad ass duplicate of BB8.

Need some beige primer, have a grey but think it will be too dark for the gold and brown colours. Have looked at pics for original colours. The plastic corner pieces on the saddlebags were originally black, one of the PO painted these a gold colour:

they will be painted black before install. The side mirror accent panel(s):

were also painted a gold colour, but are a silver colour from the factory. Going back to silver. Thinking this will be the only colour changes.

Picked up some tracing paper today to do templates of the various brown colours. Want these to make sure I get as close as possible to what is there before I paint.

Working on the rear wheel. Should have it done by end next week. FD to come off be cleaned up them apply CERAKOTE. Still pondering over the swing arm and centre stand. This was supposed to be a freshening of the gold/brown metal flake paint job, and has now morphed into a bit more, teach me for being an inquisitive person. Might as well do as much paint refresh as possible now while I have it torn apart. It will get done.

Talked to my paint guy yesterday. Got the chocolate brown for the trim pieces, inner front fairing, speakers and such. We discussed the pinstripe. Watched a video where a painter did the pinstripe in 3 steps. Did a base colour applied tape where the pinstripe was to be. Dialed in his spray gun, applied the next pin strip colour over the first pinstripe, used a 1/8 inch tape for separation and applied tape over this second colour. Sprayed the final colour, then removed the tape. End result was very nice.

Thought about my pinstripe requirement. Will spray the gold metal flake first - have taped the pieces so that I have a 1/2 inch inset:

Honda sprayed all pieces with gold metal flake first, then brown, then applied pinstripe and finished off with clear. Taping the smaller area allows me to spray the gold then remove the small ridge before spraying the brown colour. After the brown colour is applied there will be a small ridge, but not much can be done about this. Tape for pinstripe and use the small airbrush to apply the black pinstripe, then clear the complete piece. If there is a small ridge, the time to remove it or minimize it is after the clear is applied.

Have ordered the connectors so I can use my larger compressor:

connected to the compressor (the small compressor unit that came with the airbrush doesn't cut it) to spray the black pinstripe. Then 2/3 coats of clear and all should be good. Will try the airbrush on other black pieces first to make sure that the finish is what I expect. Using the airbrush keeps over spray to a minimum. Have Plan B ready to go if this process does not work.

Today is shaping up to be first paint day. Hopefully get some parts/pieces completed and the two tone pieces ready for brown metal flake, gold metal flake on first.

[Rednaxs60]

Good paint day today. Have quite a few pieces done/finished:

I'm pleased with the difference between old and new:

Here's a better pic of the finished product:

Will be prepping for another paint day Wednesday.

The four two colour test pieces have been painted with the gold metal flake. The outline of the brown metal flake is visible and this will make taping for the brown colour easier.

Feels like it's coming together, and I'm moving forward.

[Rednaxs60]

Forgot to add some technical details. Used the Meiji F55 mini spray gun:

equivalent to the Iawata LPH80. Mentioned that I bought these with the CERAKOTE. Spraying at 18/20 PSI. Fan open about 1/3 turn, fluid approximately 1 1/2 turns. Used my home made spray booth:

There is a furnace filter between the spraying and fan. Had the door open so the fan discharge was direct to outside. Worked well and kept the fumes, etc down to a minimum, especially with the clear coat.

Have the four two colour test pieces ready for the brown metal flake:

Have these taped and masked off. The taping is done a specific way to facilitate the pinstriping:

The orange tape is outlining the brown metal flake area, but also is the 1/8 inch pinstripe location. The blue tape is just touching the orange tape so that I can pull the blue tape off without removing the orange tape. The paper to make sure there is no spray on the gold metallic is applied with a green painters tape, so I will be taking the tape off in layers when finished spraying, leaving the orange tape on as a guide for the pinstripe process.

Once the brown metal flake is cured/hardened for 24/48 hours, will use the orange tape as the guide tape for masking off for pinstripe. Will use the 1/8 inch tape on either side of the orange tape, apply a 1/16 inch tape as the second pinstripe location, then a 1/8 inch tape on the side of the 1/16 inch tape. Here is a pictorial:

Applied the brown metal flake to the four test pieces this morning. Turned out not too bad, may have to do three of them again, too picky I know. The front fender turned out pretty good so I taped it for the pinstripe paint as I mentioned in my last post. Need to have less coffee or have someone younger with more steady hands apply the tape; however, not to happen so I taped and sprayed with the Meiji F55 mini gun. Set at 15 PSI, zero-minimal fan and 1 turn on the product. Worked out well for my first time ever:

Needs clear coat now.

Cheers

[Rednaxs60]

Busy paint day. 5 more pieces done, brown metal flake, gold metal flake, black trim on side covers and pinstripe done today waiting for clear coat:

Lots of taping and masking to get this far. Expect Sunday will be the clear coat day. 4 large pieces to do, couple of small ones and the front fairing. Have the brown for the trim pieces. Still working on the rear rim.

[Rednaxs60]

Clear coat applied to the pieces in the above post:

Thinking I did okay.

[Rednaxs60]

Not a lot to report regarding this project. Have 3 more larger one colour pieces finished, and working on the pinstripe for others. Long days when doing two colours and pinstripe. Painting black tomorrow, pinstripe and a couple small pieces. Moving more finished pieces into my exercise room, use the Nordic Track - the bike is for looks:

After tomorrow it's on to the front fairing. Have some cracks to repair first then paint.

[Rednaxs60]

More pieces painted. Getting at the smaller items. One oops today, lower right corner of the trunk lid:

Didn't notice it when I sprayed the black. Thinking of what can be done. Possibly apply the tape and use a pinstripe brush to fix. Rest turned out good. Have a couple of colours to spray tomorrow: two small pieces for silver, two small pieces for brown and pinstripe and the small piece under the headlight. Think I'll break out a couple of spray guns to expedite the process. Then it's on to the rear wheel rim, brown trim pieces such as the rear speakers, and the front fairing. The exercise bike in the post above is making a good parts holder.

Fixed my oops and it will look good. Have 14 pieces ready for clear coat tomorrow:

Lots of small pieces to do.

Finished the clear coat on the 14 pieces. Look very good. Happy with the progress to date. Spent yesterday prepping the rear wheel rim for paint and CERAKOTE. Starting to look at what is left to paint besides the front fairing. Spent time cleaning the front fairing and addressing the corner cracks. I had mentioned in a previous post that the rear left corner needed attention:

Used the dremel to V the cracks:

and applied a coat of ABS cement. Will let sit until tomorrow then do a sanding and make a determination as to whether use more ABS cement or a finishing filler.

Took the final drive and centre stand off to clean and paint. Now is the time as the centre stand needs the exhaust system removed to take it off. The FD cleaned up nicely, two coats of epoxy primer and is painted with a silver metal flake - had it on hand:

Will be doing a CERAKOTE finish in a couple of days, along with the rear wheel rim and some other pieces.

[Rednaxs60]

Paint day today. Last of the big items(I hope) are mostly done. The FD and rear wheel rim are finished:

The front fairing has the gold and brown metal flake applied:

Going to let the front fairing sit overnight then tape for pinstripe. Should have pinstripe and clear coat applied by end week. Will only have the black and brown accent pieces left, but these are small pieces and do not need clear coat.