A question for the Paint Pros

[81xsproject]

The up coming painting project is rapidly approaching. I am not doing anything crazy like making reptilian scale patterns out of slutty stockings My question is, what should I do about smoothing over the badge mount depressions. I don't want to hear anything from the purists, either!

I don't like the gold blocky badges, period. What I want to do is smooth over and then clear over 3t decals. I know from the body work experience I do have that large patches of bondo can shrink over time and cause issues. I have looked at the body solder kits in the Eastwood mag, but $100+ for the small kit is a little more than I want to spend. I was already planning on grinding out the spot welds for the mounting brackets. Any suggestions?

[xschop]

Any suggestions?

Flat Black...... ...Seriously, the body solder works miracles in small cracks/crevices were bodo/putty doesnt have enough surface area to adhere without flaking problems....My 2 Cnts. However, I did just fiberglass bondo the emblem depressions with great results....chop

[DavesXS]

I am going to remove my Yamaha's also. I havn't looked behind them yet. I'll most likely be filling base filler with a fiberglass reignforced filler called duraglass. Tigerhair or Gorilla are 2 others. Then skim 3 times with a lite filler like Featherlite or bondo. Sand entire 80 grit, fill and skim anywhere else you need. Sand spots flush. Wipe/clean, tack, prime heavy, block with 220, prime med, block with 400 dry or 600 wet, clean, tack, spray base.

I think that covers it.

Edit: Mines gonna be fire red pearl. panals and fenders and tank.

[ross]

hey there 81xsproject...not a paint pro by any standards.....but i do know how to repair stuff.....i know that sound funny but trust me....as far as your issue goes, why not turn the tank on its side and just fill in the badge area with lead......should be easy and quick...it is very sandible (is that a word?)......and should hold tight to the fresh metal...also, the bracket will lock it in into the surface of the tank, so it should not move much....talk 2 ya later...ross

[DavesXS]

The base fiberglass reinforced filler can be replaced with real metal of most any kind. But will still need a lite filler on top and the rest of the finish goes the same as described above.

Edit: You'll have to over sand the metal filler before applying lite filler. If you don't skim you'll always see the edges of the repair.

[Paintman]

Filler

there is a filler on teh market called real metal it is basicly ground up material with a hardener it is Gnarly stuff it will stick to anything it does not shrink and will last like steel. just make sure you use iy with good ventilation. then a light coat of filler to make it perfect.
John

[crazypainter]

Usually body filler shrinks at the edges due to poor adhesion. When you remove your emblems sand blast around the area where they went so the mud has a rough surface to stick to and you should have no problems with shrinkage.

[tomatao]

Hey Jessie,

You're right the bondo can show over time, especially if it is applied liberaly (not as in politics but as in thick). You don't want to be more than about 1/8 of an inch. If you really want it done nice you could run by a local body shop and have them fill it for you. Likely they won't charge you much since it is a small job.

I use to go to Fortuna for work and dealt with Bob Aldrich's Body Shop a lot. Though I usually don't like to recommend shops as once I do they do something stupid, they did pretty good quality work. I would guess they could fill take care if for you for about an hours worth of labor or around $60. If I still worked that area I would run it by for you. Heck, if you're looking for just a solid color they may be able to do it cheaper than you think. Of course you don't get the pride of doing it yourself you also don't have the frustration if it doesn't turn out like you want.

I work with body shops and most of the problems with paint I see have nothing to do with paint application and a lot to do with poor body work.

The best thing about free advice is that it's, well, free.

[Da-Bubble]

Don't weld them.

In my nubee/rookie stupidity, I set my MIG welder to it's lowest setting and tried to fill in the tank badge areas. Of course I promptly burned a hole through my tank (this is hard for me since I've never confessed to this act). I needed something to fill the hole that was fuel resistant. I used JB Weld and it has held up so far. I used a couple of applications of JB then sanded it down and skimmed it with body filler. After I was done an old guy with lots of wisdom told me it would shrink. I wasn't about to redo it so I left it alone. It's been 6 months now with no issues, but he's probably right and I'll probably have to redo it later.

[Dsxs11]

Mine have been filled with body filler since 82 From what the PO and the paperwork tells me. When I had it repainted the painter had no idea there was filler there until it got stripped.

[fredintoon]

Hi Jessie,
your filler is no better than your prep. work. Sand the recess good, or has been posted already, sandblast the recess for the best adhesion. And leave that tapped strip in place, it'll act as a re-bar. First glob, body filler with glass strands in it. Finish with the lightweight stuff. I have 7 years life on a filled XS650 tank and 5 years on my filled (and severely dented) XS11 Special tank. There's no lifting on my filled areas and you can't see the edges either.
I bought $6 aftermarket peel'n'stick 3TF badges to dress up those tanks a little but I must confess, my newly acquired Standard tank has kept it's blocky stock badges.

[81xsproject]

Thanks for all the info, guys. While we're on the subject, what kind of decals do I need to get so I can clear coat over them.

[DavesXS]

My instructions are exactly what a body shop will do. Use the base filler of your choice. If your prep work is good and follow my outline it will be perfect and last forever. I own a refinish shop and started refinishing 14 years ago.

Some good advice by others too. Just not thorough start to finish. You can sand blast or sand well with 80 grit. Clean with light acetone, reducer, thinner, not mineral spirits as it is oil base will leave a film. After prime use special dirt/grease remover purchased at possibly home depot( if you use epoxy 2k high build primer you can wipe with acetone). I use Sherwin Williams auto paint shops for chemical supply's and PPG paint. Duplicolor will do just fine. Layer color in 15 min intervals wiping with tack cloth in between. wait 24 hrs and buff.

[DavesXS]

There were 2 holes just above the tail light. The bolt that holds the tail light and another. I ground down the top, welded in place, ground down weld, and performed the posted procedure, base then clear. I still have to wet sand and buff. I did this out doors 2 days ago.