My Turn

[SeeingSpots]

There are two issues that I will have to address. One is visible in this pic (minor crack in the filler that I applied). There's another spot at the opposite end of the tank. Both areas don't have much filler in them. He said it wasn't like that when it left his place so maybe it was just temp changes? I'm sure I did something wrong so he gave me some instructions last night and I'll start on that in probably a fews weeks.

That, my friend, is more than likely a shrinkage crack due to low humidity and/or too much hardener in the filler when it was being mixed. Looking at the color of it, did you use retail Bondo? Depending on how deep the crack is, you might be able to get away with putting some quality glazing putty (Everlast) on with a razor blade and then lightly knocking it down with 600gr paper.

Just out of curiosity, did you do any sort of a tank sealer treatment on the inside? POR15 makes a good kit. In-fact, I may have some left over from when I did my old tank. You can just have it.

 

[riverfever]

I bought the Bondo from Harbor Freight. Where should I buy it from?

And no I did not seal the tank yet but have considered it. Thank you for the advice.

 

[DutchVDub]

Looking good, can't wait to see it painted.

 

[SeeingSpots]

IMHO This is the best filler on the market. Very durable if mixed correctly and it will bend with the metal if it happens to flex up to about a 1/2". It's all I've ever used in a professional setting. I think Dale's Paint in the Springs carries it in stock.

http://www.evercoat.com/productDetail.aspx?pID=32

 

[riverfever]

Oh perfect. I actually looked up paint supply places and spoke to a guy there yesterday. I'll be going there on Saturday. Thanks.

 

[riverfever]

Pretty disappointed. Back to bare metal.

 

[SeeingSpots]

Are those voids in the filler? Hard to tell from the pic.

 

[riverfever]

I don't know what the hell happened but it can't be good. Very hard to get a good picture of it. It's two bubbles. I've pressed in on them and they don't crack. I thought about sanding them a bit and seeing what happens but I really don't want issues 2 months down the road. I obviously did some things wrong the first time.

 

[DutchVDub]

Time to sand it to metal and start from scratch on the body filler. Of course you could just sand it real pretty and clear coat the bare metal. It would match up nicely wit your chrome fenders.

 

[riverfever]

I can't do that because I had a fat dent on the left side just in front of the knee dent. At this point, I'm hoping it can be blasted carefully everywhere but the knee dents and just re-work it all and then feather it into the dents. Really bummed. I looked at tanks on ebay last night. The CB500T tank has knee dents from the factory but even $200 ones need a lot of body work and mine is really in good shape in terms of rust. I could spend $400 for a custom tank but then I'd really have to go a different route on the seat because it wouldn't flow well with the tank lines. Pretty disappointed. This aspect of the project has been really humbling. Might step away for a while.

 

[DutchVDub]

You can't pull the dents out? I would think some careful massaging and you could get it to where you only need a very thin layer of filler.

Probably a good idea to take a breather and work on another aspect of the bike for now.

Of course you could make it really easy on yourself and just get yourself one if these
http://m.powersports.honda.com/model/street/sport/cb1100/2014

I'd be glad to take the project bike off your hands for you, no charge.

 

[riverfever]

I think mine will be cooler than that 1100.

And you'd just sell it in 2 months anyways. :laugh:

 

[DutchVDub]

No way, I've changed. I keep things now.

 

[riverfever]

Hahaha. That's signature worthy right there.

 

[riverfever]

Had some time to work on the bike today and decided to work on the left side motor cover.



After several hours of sanding.

 

[RedHeep]

You need to get a polishing kit from Sears. I run mine on a die grinder and use the 3 polishes. Makes it look like chrome.

 

[planefixer]

Looking good Chris. :thumbup::thumbup:

 

[riverfever]

Yeah I have a bench grinder (and have polishing wheels) but this stuff has a lot of deep scratches in it so whether I was going to polish or paint, I had a lot of work ahead of me.

Thanks Jeff.

 

[riverfever]

Well I think I'm done polishing this left side motor cover. Really makes that alternator cover look like a pile huh?

 

[riverfever]

Tank got blasted back to bare metal and the tabs where the badges mounted were ground off and the deeper sections welded up. Body work is done and just curing then it's off to primer. Hopefully I'll see it in a week or two. Starting to think about colors again. I feel like I've been all over with this. I definitely think I want to do a 2 tone scheme on the tank and have one of the colors on the side covers. A friend recently pointed out that I should consider doing a small 1/8" or 1/16" stripe between the colors to break things up a bit. I've been looking at 2 tone paint jobs more and now when I don't see this technique, something seems off. Here's an example:



So now I'm trying to figure out what three colors would look good together. I suppose I could use white to break up the gray and black?