Getting Close to Tank Painting

Stripped & sanded.....deciding whether to paint original black or have tank chromed....

Probably will just go back to original color ( keep it stock )......will paint myself.....

Tank is in great shape......need to get the inside taken care of first.....medium rust from previous cleanings & then never coating the inside with an epoxy sealer.....time to acid wash it & then seal inside with Caswell product....

 

Would never chrome a tank. Glare and sun reflection would probably be too much to stand.
Saw a VMax with a chromed tank. Looked good, but wasn't functional to ride unless the day was cloudy.

 

looks pretty cool that way too!! Paint some rivets on it then a coulpe coats of clear

 

Midnite, That's what I was thinking if chromed...the glare....especially here in SoCal.....I have decided to go with original black......keep it original.....

 

Man that's gonna look great! What kind of bars are those anyways? Very cool looking!

 

those are stock bars from day one........all 1982 XJ750J Maxims came with these bars.....I just put them on a polishing machine....the alum turns to a real brite shiny look when polished......

I am not quite happy still with them...but I will keep polishing them until they are like mirrors......I will paint them black where they were originally...in the center of them.....

better shot of bars.....

 

Those bars are sweet! I absolutely hate the bullhorn bars I have. I'm thinking Daytona's, but man Five, those are some sweet bars and a sweet bike! That the EBC rotor too? How's the braking on that compare to a newer bike?

 

everything you see on this bike is stock....in 1982....all Maxim looked this way......except for that ugly looking gas tank right now.....cover off pickup assembly also.....engine guards purchased after buying bike new.....but otherwise stock.....add new stainless steel brake lines from Chacal.......I still have original brake lines.....I believe they are still functional.....but decided to switch out with new technology.....

Those are stock original rotors......

 

The bike is real nice, but plain, you could go with a fancy paint job on the tank, a splash of colour, maybe.

 

I am a plain shame.....back to original black it is.....but thanks for the suggestion.....these are antique bikes.....worth more money when original.....LOL

If anyone buys these for an investment to possibly make money off them on re-sell......it would be a first....

 

Good luck with the paint job; I'm painting my XJ750E II back to original colours tomorrow, Black with pearl white and bright red stripes; not looking forward to the masking job ahead.

 

Or you could go yellow. :wink:

 

Yellow is one ugly color

 

Just curious, were you able to salvage your tank emblems?

 

Depends on the yellow, and what it's going on. Flat black with a yellow stripe would look good.
Personally.....I'd just wire brush the tank to even it out a little more, and then shoot it with clear.

 

Yes, tank emblems on a '82 Maxim are held on with double sided tape......I was able to salvage the emblems......I sanded off the gold flake and will repaint the "Yamaha" with a silver flake.......I always hated the "gold flake"...I believe silver will look better....

I will do the same with the sidecover emblems as well.

 

I still have the side emblems from my Max. They're in rough shape. Still trying to figure out what to do with them.

 

how bad are they ??? or do they just look like crap.....????

 

They're in one piece. They just look like crap. the PO thought it would be a good idea to paint them black.

 

here is a pic of my tank emblems & sidecovers.......

I believe you can sand them to remove the gold flake off....then go to a craft store a get some silver or gold flake paint & use an artist paint brush & repiant them......or you can rub the paint on them per instructions.....I will let you know how they turn out.....

 

would have been nice if the original badges were silver.I find or think gold badges on a chrome and what ever color bike looked stupid,silver on black emblems would match all the colors better with the chrome on the bike.

 

Absolutely agree......why the Japs thought gold emblems with black & silver on these bikes looks good....I will never understand their thought process on that one

 

It was a trending style. Pontiac Firebirds had a gold on black color scheme at the time. I think that leaving the chrome trim was a cost-cutting measure on Yamaha's part.

 

Here is one unpainted & the other handpainted with one coat of silver leaf with artist's paintbrush.....I will sand with 1500 grit between coats & put 3 coats on it........& then clear coat it.....

I just could not stand that gold coat look...UGLY

Let me know what you think.....It is OK to disagree.....

 

Now if they would have made them look like that originally they would have looked so good on any color bike and would have matched nicley with the chrome.That is going to look really good when the bike is done.Nice job.

 

thanks,

Well, I temporarily taped one to the tank & from a distance & they don't look bad....it is a silver paint....it is not a silver metallic reflective tack film like the gold was......

Up close, one can tell that they were hand painted.....

I am still undecided.....I will wait & see what it looks like after tank is painted back to original black....

 

Wet sand what you've done, then lay on another coat. but this time "float" the paint on. Don't let the brush touch the emblem. It's a semi-advaned technique, so practice on a bit of scrap plastic to get used to doing it. You don't want the layer of paint to be too thick or it will wrinkle (you my need to thin the paint a little). The final result will look like it was sprayed on.

Alternatively you can just keep wet-sanding after each coat, and do a final coat of clear with a spray-can.

 

Thanks K-Moe......will take your advice......I dry-sanded after an hour...one little area with 1200 grit......paint started to come up......

I will try the wet-sanding technique & float the next couple of coats on.....

Defintiely, silver looks better than YELLOW GOLD.....

I am using a silver paint....it is not a silver flake which is meant to wrinkle when put on....

The Japs should have Platinum coated these emblems.....

 

love to see these on the black tanks,with the chrome will look awsome

 

Biggs,

Strip your side emblems....& restore.....gold or silver...whether your preference is...they will clean up nice.....& then double sided tape them back on.....good as new.......

Still working mine.....beats buying new ones....