The Cleanup Work Continues

Not being a "body man" ... is not an asset when you're trying to do "minor" jobs...

Sanding the "shine" off saddlebags to repaint shouldn't be that big a deal should it... Ha... only me could make it be. Turns out... Fiberglass ain't that level, so even a quarter sheet sander with really fine sandpaper finds all sorts of low spots... and taking the "shine" off to repaint turns out to be a lot more work than it would seem. ;)

ah well... she'll look good once I get the job done.

I've been stalling during a patch of iffy and windy weather... too cold to paint so why sand... right? ha ha... good excuse for procrastination... and giving the vagaries of life an opportunity to bail my ass out of having to sell her off? ... yeah well... that hasn't worked yet...

Got the pipes back from the powder coater... He's done several motorcycle and atv exhaust systems and one set of sprint car headers... with this high temp (1000 degree) material and says after a few months he's seen no failures... so I took the $145 chance.

Yeah... unlikely to get that back... but my thinking ran this way... with the pipes UGLY... it just might interfere with selling at all... so... a "had to" sort of thing...

*Custom Coatings in Berthoud Colorado - Refinished Motorcycle exhaust*

Big improvement over how they'd come to look. One thing I'll say... if I'm ever in the market for aftermarket pipes again... I will NEVER... buy Hard Chrome brand...

*Hard Chrome Big Straights finish Failure*

Maybe this failure of the finish IS just a weird freak that will never happen again... but that's not my problem... the Refusal of the Hard Chrome company to even communicate and address the issue is the deal... Their "Customer Service" in this instance SUCKED big time...

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice... Shame on me... They'll not get a second chance.

The weather seems to be breaking and I'm nearing completion of the Stitching Horse I'm working on to help with the restarting of my Leather Shop... So I should be able to bring myself to get back onto the bike polishing in the next day or so...

One issue I'm not sure what to do about are the wheels... Having been Not Shy about the roads we've wandered... those aluminum wheels have apparently gotten dinged pretty hard by gravel... 360 degrees...

Polishing by hand doesn't touch the gouges that can be felt... I can't decide whether to just leave it alone and accept it... or take a fine emery... and try to erase those marks... again... a lot of work... but the bike deserves it... just can't decide if I'm up for the task...

It would be another way to "Stall" the inevitable I guess...

Grab your handles and ride
Brian

Making Progress Slowly

Work on the bike goes slow... Partly because it's been a bit cold... and it's not a really happy bit of work... but...

...mostly because I've become unsure of the route I'd picked out. That's the problem with reading more... AFTER... you made a choice.

 

I got the pipes pretty much stripped ready to paint... and just got the quivers. I know I'm only doing it to sell the scoot... but... I don't want to be the guy that sold her with a crap job done. I've made enough bad turns in this life, no need to add to it.

I found several people doing exactly what I am... and using the high temperature paint I was intending to use... who had the stuff fail... as they were going through the curing process!!!

So... a few more phone calls and I found a guy doing powder coating with a High Temp coating that's supposed to be rated to 1000 degrees. Now, those shrouds around the pipes get warm... but when my leg is sitting an inch or so from 'em at a stop... I can't believe that the pipe shroud is anything close to a thousand degrees.

That, he told me could be done for 'bout $150 bucks... since the paint and such is gonna cost upwards of $40 or so, if not more, I figure... seems like a good bet... and a better deal for whoever Sonja goes home with in the future. I think that's the way I'll go... I don't want to send her off with a lousy job of it.

Then... on to the Harbor Freight "Dent Repair Kit"... um... NO.

So... fourteen bucks. Read the reviews on the website... and all sorts of guys claim they were "Surprised" when it worked like a champ.


This ol' cowboy was not... surprised.


Cuz... it didn't work. Not even a quivering grunt of a try.

The glue stick stuck to the tank just fine... but it wouldn't hold to THEIR puller part.

As soon as I'd start screwing up the pulling tab... POP! it just camp loose. Didn't pull that dent a sliver.

The dent is a hail dent... from a big honkin' hunk of hail...

It's been there as long as Sonja has been with me... and kinda irritated me at times...

But also... it was/is kinda cool at the same time. Some of that "patina" that you can't find on "Show" bikes...

The scars of the road wars that tell the power that lives inside a person... or a machine.

I put the glue on the pulling tab... just like they said.

...after cleaning the dent area with their "release" agent...

And stuck the pulling tab to the dent... NOT pushing it in... just like they said...

I waited for several minutes to make sure the glue had time to set up and hold...

Then I attached the crossbar gizmoe... spun the knob onto the pulling tab... and started "screwing"...

Well... crap... might as well have been making a pass at a statue... I tried a dozen times... cleaned the tab... cleaned the tank... held my left ear with my right hand and wiggled my butt like a gypsy hooker...

and EVERY time... EVERY time... the tab just let go. I even put glue on to wrap up around the tab trying to get a good mechanical hold... NADA.. works bout as good as a hooker in a convent.

The glue stuck fine to the tank... and cleaned off ok to try again... but it's a $14 dollar profit maker for the boys selling it. It don't work.

The dent is still there and ain't even a whisker off a fleas butt smaller.

So... tomorrow I scrub up the Saddlebags...

The left one there developed some cracks that I'm just not willing to send on to a new owner.

The majority are on that front sloped surface of the lid...

and a few more on the very top.

No idea why. I watched the guy that painted them.

He was finicky about how they were handled and what was used to clean them.

Some sort of special degreaser/cleaner just for the purpose...

And he put that high dollar paint on there awful thin with each coat... but... like you can see there... after a couple of years... it's cracked...

So... I'll sand down the cracked areas to smooth it out... and take the shine off the rest... and then do a cowboy paint job with plain black and clear coat... and call it good.

Sometime in April I suppose I'll have to pull the trigger and put up the sales advert... gonna be a melancholy day...

Ride if You Can
Brian