Factory paint methods and repaint options?

[Donkey Hotey]

There have been a few tanks that leak at the left cap. Resealing may cure the problem.

Since I asked about the leaky left cap, I figured I would follow-up with it here.

I finally put a compressed air hose in the right tank opening and tried to blow some air in there to see where the fuel was leaking. Well, THAT was easy! The entire center cap in the dummy bung just popped up and air hissed out. I guess those were bonded in place at the factory and the magic goo failed.

A trip to the local auto parts store found a Permatex two-part epoxy for sealing metal gas tanks.  It's specifically made to be ethanol resistant, which the factory adhesive may not have liked.

I removed the metal disc at the bottom of the opening, sanded it clean, wiped out the opening with a paper towel and carb cleaner and waited for it to dry.

I made a ball of the epoxy and pressed the ball into a pancake, on the round disc, working it out to the edges in a donut shape. I dropped that in the opening, screwed the dummy cap in on top of it, to press it to the bottom, then removed to check my work. It squeezed out beautifully and uniformly all the way around. In fact, it now looks just like 1989 and 1525's tanks.

It'll be cured by morning. I'll check it for any further leaks, then get back to fixing her paint.

[Donkey Hotey]

OK, new question: I've looked at the PPG paint codes listed here in the archives. Each color is listed as a single PPG code. I thought the colored bikes were candies: a silver metallic basecoat, translucent color coat and a clear topcoat. I remember researching the oyster and finding a supplier that had the three-material kits, with a catalyst ($$$).

So were they originally single color, or candy?

And on the blue / silver bikes, is the silver just the basecoat with a clear and blue gets the additional color coat? Or are they two distinct colors? Do they share the same basecoat? I'm interested in what it would take to duplicate the blue / silver on a repaint (not 333).

[2CoolWheels]

   I found a great article on the powder coating process used by EH. I'll try to attach it here. According to this article, the clear coat is also a powder coat. Try this link: http://www.filedropper.com/pwr1746 or this one: https://www.dropbox.com/s/5fzfv1f6f70i494/PWR1746.pdf?dl=0

[Donkey Hotey]

Mike, that's an outstanding find and different to the article linked in the archives here earlier. Thank you!

I haven't had time to read it yet but, in skimming the article, it said 0.0035" of clear. As mentioned at the beginning of this thread, I picked a chunk of the clear off of 333 and it physically measured in at 0.012" (from around the gas cap area). That's a LOT of clear!

Still wondering about the discrepancies between the color types. A simple color would be much easier to apply than a candy.

Oh yeah, which serial number was that Minnesota Vikings bike? Man, that must be beautiful. I stumbled onto that oddball when reviewing the numbers of bikes made in each color. Wow!

[2CoolWheels]

Yeah, I'd love to have that Vikings bike......and I'm not even a football fan!

[Berlin Bob]

The Vikings  inspired me to do a Steelers bike for my wife ,who is a big fan...I used my new Deadwood I had because of the color scheme ...I'll try and post a pic of it

berlin  bob

[Donkey Hotey]

Bob, that looks like a beautiful bike. Did they just repaint above the stripe or was that an entire repaint and stripe?

I may have figured out a way to make paint masks from a set of tins. Lay striping tape over the factory pinstripes. Wipe everything down with mold release. Lay a couple of layers of fiberglass over the paint and the stripe lines, making sure to get it into key reference points on the parent item, like the seat inserts on the fender, the instrument well on the tank and the fork holes on the front fender. After the glass sets, pop them off, then cut and sand the fiberglass back to the line left inside by the striping tape.

The finished result would be a perfect, form-fitting fiberglass guide template for each part. It could be used to trace mask lines onto a tank for a two-tone, as well as a guide for duplicating the factory pinstripes.

Anybody have links to more pictures of the Vikings bike?

[Berlin Bob]

I supplied a new set of sheetmetal...and a spare tank and fenders to be duplicated by the painter/artist...I put it on paper what I wanted and he did the rest...still saved the deadwood sheet metal...I removed the steelers metal and sold the bike to Canada ... dam thing only had 64 miles on it ...I'll  get another one later when funds are there...in the middle of moving now

[wytfut]

Jamies lining is also ethanol proof unlike all the products out there claiming they are...   its a true commercial grade liner....     thus the price Jamie tacks on.... plus they didn't want to get into motorcycle tanks from what I understand.

[Powdervisions]

Hi All! I am Bob Utech and I am a very early employee of Excelsior-Henderson when they were located in Burnsville and had no production facitlity. I was their paint engineer and I personally designed the paint system at Excelsior-Henderson.  I have also written a Book called Powder Coating - A Guide To High Performance Powder Coating!  The paint used for the clear coat was powder coat! It was PPG and was lacquer powder that had to be continually cooled or it would go bad. I chose this because it was very clear, easy to apply, chip resistant, and left the surface in a very smooth condition. PPG was the chosen pretreatment and paint supplier for Excelsior-Henderson. Base coats were acrylic enamels that ran through 3 booths and covered with lacquer clear-coats. We used SATA spray guns for base coats and Nordson powder booths and equipment. The decals were placed by hand.  I had Metro Sound and Light of St. Paul MN make me a CD rom that I placed into a electronic device that produced an exact duplicate of the decal position upon the fuel tank and the operator simply needed to position the decal in the same position and stick it. It worked very well! 

[Donkey Hotey]

Wow! Thank you for chiming in! Just the information we need.

Can you share which paint colors were single-stage vs candy (silver base with translucent top coat)? I found one side advertising replacement paint kits as candies yet, the PPG paint codes listed here, only list a single material for each color.

Anything at all that you can think would be relevant to maintaining or restoring these finishes would be appreciated.

[Donkey Hotey]

Okay, bumping my own old thread. The tank I started the thread with has been half-finished for too long. I took the bike out on Sunday. It blew the clear fuel pump hose inside the tank and stranded me. So now the tank is off and the fuel pump is out. I have everything to fix it but the paint waited long enough.

Not knowing a brand I trusted to be a good clear at a low price, I erred on the side of stupid: a quart kit of House of Kolor urethane show-clear. I’m doing the last touchup and blending of black around the left gas cap right now. When that’s cured a few days, I’ll clear the whole tank.

[wytfut]

well.....
black is black is black with me....    I've used dupont "raven" black on 525.... with no issues. I'm sure this makes me sound like someone who know something, and to be frank, I'm trying to get out of any body work any more. I just don't like dealing with all the mess, and fumes. Maybe I'm getting lazy too.

I didn't read all the past threads, but my paint guy says the ppg OEM code is null and void... ppg doesn't make that level of paint anymore...

haven't had any real issues with matching colors, as my paint guy is very good.....     oh well, all old news.

I've sent 2 emails your direction....    your filter (junkmailfilter) keeps kicking me out....

Bruce

[Donkey Hotey]

Yeah, I’m using duplicolor black in a rattle can. It’s convenient for small spot repairs. The left cap on this tank was leaking and fuel got under the clear, damaging it out into the field of paint. The clear has been hell to blend because more and more of it is damaged as I try to feather it. It keeps disbdonding and flaking, leaving a hard edge.

I think I’m into good clear finally (2” out from the cap!). Once that’s blended, the new clear should mostly hide those transitions. It’s the best I can do without repainting the tank.

And I’ve turned the spam filter all the way down. No idea why it was causing you an issue.  Sorry.