Hello, new to the Forum but not the Trail 70

[jay_blu]

ok the first pic is color sanding it down with p2000 by hand block. Then I started buffing the paint out with meguiars mirror glaze, the highest cutting one. I bought a 6 inch rotary polisher from harbor freight with a digital rpm gauge lol its cool for $40 and a 3" pneumatic one for the curvy areas. I can definitely say the foam pads worked a whole hell of a lot better then the wool. with hardly any polishing after color sanding the paint really came out but with that big polishing pad i hit the velcro backer on two spots and nicked the hell out of the paint. so i switched to the 3" one and my craftsmen compressor blew up FML!!! pics included now the compressor needs new rings and cylinders this thing is built sooo cheesy.

so anyways as you can see I would have had a good 6" paint job but now i have an amazing 20 foot job.

I think I will soda blast it this winter and re paint it all during the off season. after buffing pics included I will finish it when I rebuild my compressor...... thanks for all your guys support I appreciate it the job could have came out really really nice but i had about every problem you could have. maybe assembly will follow sometime this week

[racerx]

Any "genius" I might be able to claim is little more than hands-on experience; when I began, cars were painted with acrylic lacquer. Looks to me like your bodywork & spraying skills are well developed. The only missing element, for this project, is how crucial timing is. When I step into the spray booth, I know that I'm virtually chained until the last layer of clear goes on, usually 4 -5 hours after the first coat of silver base and it's one coat every 20 -45 minutes, until then. Believe it or not, I too had a Craftsman compressor give up the ghost, in the middle of a sprayout and on the last warm day of the year. Ended up trading bushels of cash for a 10hp/4cyl industrial compressor and hilo rental needed to haul the 950lb beast off the truck. Now you have a better idea of how I know what you're dealing with. If any of this sounds like "genius" training, then take heart, you're following the same path.

Just a (long) suggestion...

With little left to lose on this paint job, I'd continue sanding the blighted areas until they either look good while still wet or you cut through the clearcoat. If it looks good wet, there's still a chance it'll look good polished.

If it's DOA, I'd block sand the whole thing, using the existing paint & primer as fine filler/guide coat. Then have the areas that cannot be block sanded media blasted. Soda is gentle but, I think it'll bite into the plastic filler.

[jay_blu]

if i get it mostly polished up is it ok to spray a few coats of clear over the top? there are a few areas I cut into the candy mid coat clear, i saw red while sanding and stopped... so I was thinking i would need to spray over the top since its supposed to be mid coat clear?

I went and bought the new parts for the compressor today $45 each cylinder ouch! I also bought a k&n for the intake lol I dont like that fiber mat they put on these.... so I can finish sanding and polishing tonight maybe. If I could re clear it now everything would come out with another two coats of clear and a good color sanding/buffing.

[jay_blu]

How do you guys like my 1 hour polish job? Its not near dupa quality but it looks way better then it did.

I sand blasted the whole engine with a fine grit then just hit it with a wire wheel on the pneumatic die grinder. Tonight im going to hit it with a wheel and some polishing compound.

[racerx]

if i get it mostly polished up is it ok to spray a few coats of clear over the top? there are a few areas I cut into the candy mid coat clear, i saw red while sanding and stopped... so I was thinking i would need to spray over the top since its supposed to be mid coat clear?

I went and bought the new parts for the compressor today $45 each cylinder ouch! I also bought a k&n for the intake lol I dont like that fiber mat they put on these.... so I can finish sanding and polishing tonight maybe. If I could re clear it now everything would come out with another two coats of clear and a good color sanding/buffing.

You'll have to check with the paint manufacturer; the last time I used Sherwin Williams paint, your bike was a decade in the future. With some paints, subsequent coats have to be applied within a small window of time, like 20 - 60 minutes, or you have to wait for the paint to fully harden & cure - anywhwere from 24 - 72 hours. Like I said earlier, if the paint looks good while wet (with water), there's a fair chance that redoing the clear will save the job. Unless SW sez otherwise, I'd give it a shot. What are your options at this point?

FYI...I'd open up the engine and check for blast media inside. It only takes a tiny amount to shred the internals. At the very least, pull the top end. Unless you've taken some incredible measures to seal the ports, don't be surprised if you find traces inside the cylinder. The stuff can also migrate into the breather baffle. I'd hate to read about your engine eating itself. One disaster per project should be sufficient to keep Murphy satisfied and you've more than paid your dues on this one already.

[jay_blu]

yea I was planing on using a can or 3 of brake parts cleaner to flush it out with all the covers off. I am planning on rebuilding the engine this winter I would like to have my bike back still need to decice on just an 88 or 125 or 119 or what ever.... I kinda want a zohnston 125 with eletric start so i can put remote start on my bike lol awesome!

[jay_blu]

I had to make another round of orders from Trailbuddy yesterday because of an over site on my part... No place to mount the head light horn blinkers speedo ignition gauge cluster or the fender. So I sent off an email to them and got a call at 6am on the one day I didn’t have to be to work till 8 lol. We went through everything that I needed and Ron hooked me up with some parts and personally made sure that my package shipped the same day I ordered it awesome.

Here’s my progress I haven’t had much time to work on it over the past few weeks.

I cleaned out the engine pretty good I noticed it looks like something was getting slammed around inside the clutch case cover it even cracked it. I was working on installing the new clutch springs and disks I noticed the holes that hold the assembly on are pretty oblonged.

I painted the wheels and headlight bucket with some gun metal its left over from under the candy paint. So I’m done painting for a while i hope.

I also candy painted the forks so they match the back shocks.

I have my state patrol Inspection on the 19th so we will see if I can make it.

what do most people do about riviting the vin tag back on the frame? just rivit it on?

[jay_blu]

Look what the motorcycle junk yard had, I thought i remember people saying there hard to find so I got it. about $40... brand new

[polaris659]

paint job looked good ! not bad for cheap guns ehh if it was me i would have sanded clear off till you hit your candy, did a nice dusting of candy to get your color back & metallic's lined up nice again. then re do your clear coats.. i myself wouldnt recommend painting over polish, use soap & water or grease & wax remover to remove it then continue your painting..

Hope you get it figured out to your liking

~Dan

[jay_blu]

I got her done and took some pics, took it to the bike show/sale too