30% of the way there...

I start making her pretty this weekend.



​

 

That's a pretty snazzy booth setup you've got there.

 

Built it from an old pallet and cheap plastic drop cloth.

But hey, it works.

 

Lower is primed.

 

Now onto the upper half.

 

Now we wait...

 

Bleh!

 

Engine side covers-

peel the YICS stickers out and when you’re done painting, put NEW replacement stickers in. Len Chacal carries them.

 

About 20 years ago I took that idea one step further and used two pallets as a floor. Sealed off the areas on the sides of the pallets with cardboard and made a plenum for a fan off the back also out of cardboard. Cheap and easy down draft paint booth!

 

Oh yeah? I'll look for them. Thanks for the tip!

 

Yep
The only difference is that the original red letters have flat endings, and Len’s have rounded endings. Other than that, they’re the same. Only a keen eye or knowledge of that detail would even know theres a difference.

 

Header prep is done.

 

Looking good! I can't tell in the photo, did you remove the header chrome? Or just buff it up to accept the primer? What is the ceramic coating and baking process you've got?

 

Unfortunately the chrome was too far gone, so I had to strip it. I'm using VHT Flame Proof on it.

 

More progress.

 

Isn't the idea of a ceramic coating to retain the heat ? which would be the opposite of what you'd want on an air cooled engine

 

I love me some Vice Grip Garage. Makes me feel at home.

I also love me some "I Do Cars" if you need some more fun stuff to watch: https://www.youtube.com/@I_Do_Cars

 

If the ceramic needs to be cured then what disease does it have?

 

Oxidation Ugliness.

 

Yes. If you can keep the heat inside of the pipes, it's cooler on the outside. And if you keep the heat inside of the pipes, you get better exhaust flow, and more power.

 

I have de-badged the fuel tank.

 

Now I have to find the paint I want.

 

Nice work, that and a great make shift paint booth. I guess one of these days I will have to make one. I too have some painting to do, once it gets warmer.

Looking forward to seeing the project finished.

 

I can understand doing a ceramic coating on a pipe for that reason but not to an aircooled engine where you want to shed heat and not retain it

 

Sometimes it's best to leave the "Bill Nye the Science Guy" mentality out of the picture and just accept the fact that there's more than likely ZERO reason to be concerned. You could probably say the same thing about chrome, the epoxy finish they come out of the factory with or you could possibly even make that point with just plain old paint but in the end the truth still remains: It ain't YOUR bike so keep your nose out of it!

 

Are you his Mum ? does he need you to hold his hand ?

If he or any other member didn't want comments and questions then they don't have to post or they can ignore any question

I am simply curious as to the reasoning being doing it when ceramic is primarily used (from what I have seen) for heat retention,

 

Why eas it his place to make man question his decision after the fact? Seems to me it does nothing other than to "prove" he thinks he knows something.

Again, it's not his project and it ain't his business.

 

Cleaning the carbs...

 

The bowl on the left looks to have a blocked enrichment jet, need to make sure they are all cleaned out and flow liquid before putting them back together. Looks great other than that.

 

Yeah, I rinsed the baking soda away.

 

Fleabay offered me a $15 refund after I spent over $40.

 

Painting continues.

I swear, the painting portion seems to be 90% of the work.

 

The clear coat turned white in a few spots. Weird.

 

Beginning work on the side covers.

 

Wouldn't it be best to remove the badges until you're done painting?

 

I started to, but they're so old and brittle they started to crack when trying to remove them. So I figured it'd be best to leave them be.

 

Painting has begun.

 

looking good, silver tinted green, no argument from me!

 

It started off as a 1969 Pontiac Limelight Green Metallic. But it was a touch too dark. So I had him add a few drops of white, and an additional ounce of silver to lighten it up. It came out exactly as I wanted.

 

I was able to get the badges off without them breaking (used a heatgun).

 

Those look sharp! It's one of those little things that all add up to create a nice looking restoration.

 

Starting the artwork.

 

Finally finished the tank.

Just have to wait for it to cure, then I can buff and polish it.

 

Hot, sweaty work.

 

Rims are done! They just need new rubber now.

 

Awesome work on the bike so far!

Looking at all the carb parts pictured above, $40 makes me worry about the quality. I’ve found that today’s gas destroys the cheap aftermarket brass and O-rings.

I only use OEM or high quality aftermarket parts in my carbs and OEM only for brass. I’ve found Keyster and K&L to be okay for O-rings/gaskets but others on this site have had various results.

Of course it’s your bike, just trying to be helpful .

Thank you for sharing your build!

 

One small step for man... during the workweek.

 

Heat curing the ceramic coating on the engine.

 

A YouTube Short from yesterday.

https://youtube.com/shorts/nrZq2b0fmmc?si=mrMqI88biEBeA2Tg

 

Very nice!

What paint did you use? Did you do anything to the bare aluminum areas besides clean (polish etc)?