FZ1 Paint Touch Up

ddemlong

Well-Known Member
Alrighty, last few days I was working on fixing 3 spots on the FZ1. The rear where it looks like either luggage rack or just hauling things by the PO scratched the rear, and the 2 dings in the tank from the drop he did in the drive way.

Needless I wanted them fixed. I like my bikes to look decent from 5 feet or less away.

So I sanded, filled, sanded, primed, sanded, painted with a Sherwin Williams premium single stage Liquid Silver and used a 2K clear. Since Stock moto paint is so damn thin the area's I fixed have a much deeper look to the paint. It turned out good in my opinion and I am letting everything rest for now until I buff it Sunday.

This was my first my real first attempted at spot repairs. Feathering in the color definitely takes some practice to do. Give it another 2 weeks and I plan on touching up the front end on the bike. I am waiting for the plastex to arrive to fix a small 1 1/2 inch crack.

Before
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DURING/ AFTER


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Outside after clear dried.
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another angle
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All in all not bad. Little disappointed since I rushed some. I couldn't see the dent following the body filler on the left side. After it was primed and sanded it looked perfectly smooth. It wasn't until after I started painting the silver I could see the line(s). Not very noticeable unless you are looking for it but much better to look at that the dent that's for sure.
 
Couldn't you have had the dent pulled out instead?

If I wanted to tap it with screws and use a slide hammer sure. Only problem then is I still need to fill the holes I now have created and still apply filler to the area to get it smooth.

Personally on a tank I would not use that method. Mainly out of fear of puncturing the inner bladder of the tank and causing a fuel leak.
 
I think your work looks pretty darned good. Bump and paint work is a lot harder to get perfect than most people think. That's why it costs so much to have a pro do it. I just did the same thing to a 1982 Honda CM450 that "had fallen over". It actually looked like it took a pretty good left side crash to the ground. I also though I had all the dents in great shape till I got the paint on and I could see a very slight outline where my body filler ended.
Seeing how I only paid $350 for the bike, I decided it was good enough. I doubt anyone else would notice but because I did the work, I knew where to look. Like anything else, the more a person gets to practice, the better the finished work gets. It's very hard to go back and sand, fill, and repaint after getting a piece 99.9% better than when you started especially when the cost is taken into consideration.
 
I think your work looks pretty darned good. Bump and paint work is a lot harder to get perfect than most people think. That's why it costs so much to have a pro do it. I just did the same thing to a 1982 Honda CM450 that "had fallen over". It actually looked like it took a pretty good left side crash to the ground. I also though I had all the dents in great shape till I got the paint on and I could see a very slight outline where my body filler ended.
Seeing how I only paid $350 for the bike, I decided it was good enough. I doubt anyone else would notice but because I did the work, I knew where to look. Like anything else, the more a person gets to practice, the better the finished work gets. It's very hard to go back and sand, fill, and repaint after getting a piece 99.9% better than when you started especially when the cost is taken into consideration.

I appreciate the compliments. You are right, although paint its self can be pricey it really comes down to labor and practice. Hence why a really great paint job can run you 5-10K on cars and 2-5k for bikes. My uncle just had the exterior painted on his 68 Camaro and a decent job cost him about 4K, nothing fancy just a repaint of the stock yellow.

Kinda the same situation with you and the filler. I thought everything was perfectly smooth and flush until the paint and clear dried. Once it cured and dried it really molded more to the body and was only then visible. The good thing is, unless you are looking for it you will more than likely miss it unless you are intentionally examining it.

The right side ding turned out perfect but on the left you can see a small line about 2 inches long. The rear turned out perfect but that was just sanded and primed/painted/cleared. All in all several months have passed and its holding up just fine. I think next time instead of using just a single stage BC I will use a 2 stage with a hardener. Who knows when that will be if ever, my next bike will probably be new or practically new
 
I think your work looks pretty darned good. Bump and paint work is a lot harder to get perfect than most people think. That's why it costs so much to have a pro do it. I just did the same thing to a 1982 Honda CM450 that "had fallen over". It actually looked like it took a pretty good left side crash to the ground. I also though I had all the dents in great shape till I got the paint on and I could see a very slight outline where my body filler ended.
Seeing how I only paid $350 for the bike, I decided it was good enough. I doubt anyone else would notice but because I did the work, I knew where to look. Like anything else, the more a person gets to practice, the better the finished work gets. It's very hard to go back and sand, fill, and repaint after getting a piece 99.9% better than when you started especially when the cost is taken into consideration.
The shiner the paint the harder it is to get right,good old matt black is the way I go with most things
 
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