PAINT REPAIR ON A CUSTOM

OK, SO IT WAS FRIDAY NIGHT AND WE WERE OUT AT OUR FAVORITE WATERING HOLE. GREAT NIGHT, GIRLS WERE HOT AND EVERYTHING SEEMED PERFECT. CLOSING TIME AND WE’RE OUTSIDE WARMING UP THE BIKES, A CROWD GATHERS AROUND, EXCITEMENT BUILDS, MARK STARTS TO TAKE OFF ON HIS CUSTOM BIKE AND ALL OF A SUDDEN WE SEE NOTHING BUT SPARKS AND A BIKE ON IT’S SIDE. WINTER TIME ON A CUSTOM IN IDAHO, HIT A SLICK SPOT……

Back at the shop I look over the damage and tell Mark to get his tank off and I’ve got an idea for a “How To” on BIKERNET. I have seen countless soft layovers like this that can be easily fixed, they’re just a little time consuming and it seems like no matter how fast you try to get a customer’s bike back on the road someone is always complaining about waiting on the painter, so I wanted to give everyone a look at what really goes on behind the scenes and why it does take a bit of time to do it correctly.

First get the item off of the bike and free of all bolts and attachments.

Get a good idea of what all needs to be fixed. In this case it was just a big indentation in the left side of the tank

Before beginning any sanding, make sure you get a good match on the paint. If you don’t have access to the original codes, a good, reputable automotive paint store should have a color scanner they can take a picture of the paint and mix up a pretty close to perfect match for you.

Now that you have the correct colors to be used in the repair, begin by thoroughly cleaning the tank with a good wax and grease remover, you want to do this to get any Road Grime, Silicone, Waxes, Grease, or Oils off of the surface; if you just start sanding or grinding, you mix all those items right back into the surface of the paint, giving you big headaches later on.

Since I do this daily for a living, I have made some nice stands to hold my work on. I Scotch-Brite any area around my tank mounts where they might mount for ease of sanding later for the clear coat.

Since this is a gas tank with a large dent, I will use a Stud Gun welding tool to tack on studs that I can attach a slide hammer puller tool too to pull the dent out. A lot of guys and sadly some shops would just grind it and pack it full of bondo. This is the proper way to do it.

Since this tank is going to be welded on, MAKE SURE YOU GET THE FUMES OUT!! They will pop with a spark – been there done that!!!I do this by flushing with hot soapy water a few times and then taping an air blower nozzle open and letting it run in the tank for a few minutes.

Now that all the fumes are out and the tank is clean and dry, I begin by taping up the surrounding area to protect it. I then use a Scotch-Brite roloc pad to remove the layers of paint and filler primer. I prefer to use the Scotch-Brite pad over a grinder disc at this stage because I don’t want to remove any more metal than needed.

Make sure to get all of the loose paint and kind of feather the edges back.

Make sure you use the proper tools and safety supplies for the job.

Now that you have all of the paint removed you are ready to tack on the studs for pulling the dent out.

Take a break and take her to lunch. Photo By Daryl Briggs

Now that I have the dent pulled out, I use a 36grit disc to prep the metal for a light coat of filler.

I like to mix my filler with about 20% glazer to help eliminate pin holes in the filler, and help it flow out better.

Mix the proper amounts for the job and make sure you get the same color throughout.

I work quickly with the filler, making sure it gets pressed into all the grinder marks for a good bite…then just as it starts to set up hard, I take a grater and shape it out roughly.

Next I soft block it out with 80grit and then remove the mask and feather it out into the painted area with 220grit.

This tank also had a few other nicks and dings in it so I fixed them and TIG welded up a worn spot in the bottom that had rubbed on a bracket, rather than just filling it with filler.

Livia, the editor of Biker Beauties Magazine, thinks you're learning. Photo by Sam Dixon.

Now that all the areas are prepped out, I mask up a few inches out from the repaired areas to blend in the primer surface.

I now give it about 3 good coats of good epoxy 2 part primer, concentrating on the filler area and floating it out. I then spray a contrasting color lightly on it after its dried, as a guide coat to aid in sanding to help find any high/low spots or pinholes.

I now let it cure out for 24 hrs to make sure it doesn’t shrink. Then I wet sand it down with 400 grit and check closely for any imperfections.

A PAINT JOB IS ONLY AS GOOD AS THE BODY WORK UNDERNEATH…ALL PAINT DOES, IS MIRROR THE UNDERLYING SURFACE!!!!

I now begin to mask up the graphics using fine-line tape, this type of tape leaves a nice crisp edge for your graphics.

Now I back mask all the area I don’t want the Gray/Silver to get on and shoot the repaired areas with a sealer, then apply the color fading it into the original paint.

Next, I unmask it, let it dry completely and wipe it down to remove any overspray and repeat the process for the Blue.

Now it’s time to apply the pinstripe. I mix up the right shade of pin-striping silver and carefully retrace the edge.

Happy with the way everything looks I wipe it all down and prep it for clear. I apply about 4-5 good wet coats, and then after it has dried, cut it down with 1,500/2,000 grit wet paper to level out the graphics. Then polish it out with a good buffing compound and buffer. Clean it all up and it’s ready to go back to the customer.

Jay Rundle is the Owner atRUNDLE’S CUSTOMS, in Nampa, Idaho
208-941-9835

Now that you've done a fine job, it's time to get crazy. Photo by RFR.