Hey all,

Looking for a bit of advice, was on yesterday looking advice about technical advice, got it and now im hoping that someone can help me with some cosmetic advice!

Have got a 2000 CBR F4 and have been thinking all winter about changing it, but have finally decided to give the girl a while yet cause i love her.

Now my idea has been that im gonna strip her down and repaint all the metal work on her matt black cause i have been trying to clean it up and they are just too far gone, and replacing all my fairings with repsol race replicas! gonna go for new levers and lines and stuff as well but these arnt a problem.

Its the metal work i need advice on, like what type of paint and so on, i have done a but of painting before but only ever on cars, did a bit of custom work on my car a few years back and it all turned out really well but it was totally different materials!

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

Jonny

 

If you are gonna paint up your frame and all other pieces then you are better off to powder coat everything. It's cleaner, there are several different shades of black, even texture and it's 10x more durable over the long haul.
You will need to prep all your parts first unless they are already cleaned up.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Mark

 

Cheers, how do i go about powder coating them? i have heard the term but means very little to me, is it summit i can do myself?

what sort of prep would i need to do?

 

Powder-coating a frame is not a DIY job. You don't have the equipment and getting it for a 1 time deal isn't cost effective. You'll have to find a professional.

Some shops may take your bike as is but not sure one this. If they do, be prepared to pay heavily. Otherwise the minimum prep is removing everything from the frame and delivering it to their shop. Engine, components and all wiring.

 

I would say it isn't that expensive. I had all the bits and bobs taken off my Speed Triple and had them powder coated for a nominal price. It was WAY less than buying all the black pieces I wanted. Look around and see what you can find. Most parts, if you can clean them or sand blast them will be fine. I PC'd over the chrome finish of my headlight pots and they came out fine.
Good luck mate! I'm sure it'll look the bees knees when your done!
Cheers,
Mark

 

i have just begun to remove all the paint from my frame and buffing and polishing it to a bright as new look...takes alot of time but well worth it!

 

I second the recommendation of having a powdercoating shop do this for you. You will be much more pleased w/ the result & it will last longer.

A shop near me does frames (w/ swingarm included) for $100. BUT, you have to have it ready for the work...ie, no engine, wiring, or other components on the bike - just a frame & swingarm. They do wheels for $40 ea. To me, having a pro do this is well worth that amount of money for something like this. You'll thank yourself later for doing it this way.

I like the sound of the Repsol fairings...good choice. Look forward to seeing pics of that.

 

In most cases, the powdercoating will last 'forever', compared to painting. Especially in areas prone to being 'sandblasted' by road debris, like wheels, lower frame area, etc. I'm getting my wheels done when the time comes for some new tires, probably have the lower fork tubes done as well.

 

Got a quote to have all the metal work shot blasted and powder coated for £150 which i was pretty please with, hopefully get it done next few weeks, although havent decided which fairings to go for yet!!