Solo Seat Cowl
#12
01-15-2009, 06:55 AM
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RE: Solo Seat Cowl
Hey Guys,
Here's the finished product. I added one more sticker and clear coated over the whole thing. As far as popping off more of these, let me think it over. The one you see, is my second try. I had a pretty hard time with it and it took about a week of sanding and bondo to get it to look decent. If I can re-pop it faster and cleaner that mine, then I probably can make a couple more. I let you know ASAP. Thanks for the great comments!
[IMG]local://upfiles/32134/6EEDB4EA691E435FBBDD2BA10BAA6715.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]local://upfiles/32134/EB4C666076AE47DBBA57A3DBF9BC7FD6.jpg[/IMG]
Here's the finished product. I added one more sticker and clear coated over the whole thing. As far as popping off more of these, let me think it over. The one you see, is my second try. I had a pretty hard time with it and it took about a week of sanding and bondo to get it to look decent. If I can re-pop it faster and cleaner that mine, then I probably can make a couple more. I let you know ASAP. Thanks for the great comments!
[IMG]local://upfiles/32134/6EEDB4EA691E435FBBDD2BA10BAA6715.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]local://upfiles/32134/EB4C666076AE47DBBA57A3DBF9BC7FD6.jpg[/IMG]
#13
01-15-2009, 06:57 AM
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#14
01-16-2009, 07:11 AM
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#15
01-20-2009, 06:06 PM
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RE: Solo Seat Cowl
Hi Guys,
Ok. Sorry it took so long to get back. I put some though into reproducing some cowls for the people who want them. I’m sorry to say, that I won’t be getting into that mess again (not that I don’t want to help out or make some chedda). Like I said before, it wasn’t that easy and it made a horrible mess in my little shop. The finish product was my second try, and the first one turned out terrible. Thanks again though, for the great complements and interest. I’ve had a couple people ask how I did it, so below are the details. Hopefully it helps out, and maybe some will find a way to refine the process and let us know what they did to make it better and cleaner to pop off. Here goes...
Materials:
-1 fibreglass autobody repair kit from local autoparts store (like NAPA), containing fibreglass matting, resin and hardener.
-1 can of Bondo autobody filler (NOT the one with fibreglass strands in it) and hardener.
-Sandpaper. I used 100grit, 220grit and 400grit wet/dry.
-at least 1 HIGH QUALITY 2" wide paint brush.
-I used Duplicolor Acrylic Enamel paint.
-1 can of Grey automotive Primer.
-1 roll of plastic "cling-wrap".
-1 roll of Tinfoil.
-1 friend (or enemy) to do a lot of sanding for you.
Steps:
1. Remove the seat from the bike.
2. Wrap the entire seat in "cling-wrap". Make damn sure that none of the seat is exposed.
3. Wrap the entire seat in 1 layer of Tinfoil. Again, make damn sure that none of the seat is exposed. Wrap all the way around the lip under the seat.
4. Cut 3-4 squares out of the fibreglass matting, large enough to wrap the passenger portion of the seat.
5. Mix about 1 cup of fibreglass resin with hardener as per the instructions on the can or kit. Now you have to move quickly.
6. With the paint brush, lightly coat the Tinfoil with resin, covering the area of where the cowl will sit.
7. Lay the first square sheet of fibreglass matting onto the seat. Brush more resin over the first layer of fibreglass making sure there are no bubbles or dry spots. Tuck the matting around the lip of the seat the best you can. Repeat this for the each layer of matting you lay onto the seat. Then brush a light coat on the final again making sure there are no bubbles or dry spots. TIPS: keep the matting tucked around the lip under the seat for best fit. The less "puddles" of resin on the final layer, the less sanding later.
8. Allow the fibreglass to cure as per instructions on the repair kit. BE PATIENT.
9. When cured, gently pull the hardened shell off of the seat. The Tinfoil will come with the shell, it can be peeled of pretty easy.
10. Now for the hard part. I used a die grinder with a cut-off wheel to trim and off the excess material. This took a lot of careful fitting to the seat and cutting.
11. Once it was trimmed, I put the seat back on the bike, installed the tail plastics and made sure the part fit.
12. Now with the cowl back on the bench, I used a small palm sander with 100grit sandpaper to knock the high spots of resin down a little.
13. Mix up some Bondo and hardener as per instructions on the can. Using a soft "spreading" tool, coat the entire part filling the low spots. Let cure, then sand smooth with 100grit first, then 220grit to remove some of the sanding lines, then finally 400 grit. I had to re-Bondo and sand several times to get the finish looking smooth and uniform.
14. Clean the dust off of the part with a clean/dry rag and or compressed air.
15. Spray primer on the part. Note: the primer is going to expose any imperfections in the finish of the part, so you may be touching up any grooves, pinholes or crevices with small amounts of Bondo. Then prime again.
16. Finally, when the primer is dry you can paint the cowl.
Sorry, I didn’t take any step by step pics of the job. I hope that the instructions are pretty clear. Remember, this is just how I did it. If anyone comes up with any tips or improvements, I’d love to hear. Also, here’s a link to how another guy did his cowl. http://cbrworld.net/forums/thread/198564.aspx Good luck and thanks again. It would be great to see how others turn out!
Mike
Ok. Sorry it took so long to get back. I put some though into reproducing some cowls for the people who want them. I’m sorry to say, that I won’t be getting into that mess again (not that I don’t want to help out or make some chedda). Like I said before, it wasn’t that easy and it made a horrible mess in my little shop. The finish product was my second try, and the first one turned out terrible. Thanks again though, for the great complements and interest. I’ve had a couple people ask how I did it, so below are the details. Hopefully it helps out, and maybe some will find a way to refine the process and let us know what they did to make it better and cleaner to pop off. Here goes...
Materials:
-1 fibreglass autobody repair kit from local autoparts store (like NAPA), containing fibreglass matting, resin and hardener.
-1 can of Bondo autobody filler (NOT the one with fibreglass strands in it) and hardener.
-Sandpaper. I used 100grit, 220grit and 400grit wet/dry.
-at least 1 HIGH QUALITY 2" wide paint brush.
-I used Duplicolor Acrylic Enamel paint.
-1 can of Grey automotive Primer.
-1 roll of plastic "cling-wrap".
-1 roll of Tinfoil.
-1 friend (or enemy) to do a lot of sanding for you.
Steps:
1. Remove the seat from the bike.
2. Wrap the entire seat in "cling-wrap". Make damn sure that none of the seat is exposed.
3. Wrap the entire seat in 1 layer of Tinfoil. Again, make damn sure that none of the seat is exposed. Wrap all the way around the lip under the seat.
4. Cut 3-4 squares out of the fibreglass matting, large enough to wrap the passenger portion of the seat.
5. Mix about 1 cup of fibreglass resin with hardener as per the instructions on the can or kit. Now you have to move quickly.
6. With the paint brush, lightly coat the Tinfoil with resin, covering the area of where the cowl will sit.
7. Lay the first square sheet of fibreglass matting onto the seat. Brush more resin over the first layer of fibreglass making sure there are no bubbles or dry spots. Tuck the matting around the lip of the seat the best you can. Repeat this for the each layer of matting you lay onto the seat. Then brush a light coat on the final again making sure there are no bubbles or dry spots. TIPS: keep the matting tucked around the lip under the seat for best fit. The less "puddles" of resin on the final layer, the less sanding later.
8. Allow the fibreglass to cure as per instructions on the repair kit. BE PATIENT.
9. When cured, gently pull the hardened shell off of the seat. The Tinfoil will come with the shell, it can be peeled of pretty easy.
10. Now for the hard part. I used a die grinder with a cut-off wheel to trim and off the excess material. This took a lot of careful fitting to the seat and cutting.
11. Once it was trimmed, I put the seat back on the bike, installed the tail plastics and made sure the part fit.
12. Now with the cowl back on the bench, I used a small palm sander with 100grit sandpaper to knock the high spots of resin down a little.
13. Mix up some Bondo and hardener as per instructions on the can. Using a soft "spreading" tool, coat the entire part filling the low spots. Let cure, then sand smooth with 100grit first, then 220grit to remove some of the sanding lines, then finally 400 grit. I had to re-Bondo and sand several times to get the finish looking smooth and uniform.
14. Clean the dust off of the part with a clean/dry rag and or compressed air.
15. Spray primer on the part. Note: the primer is going to expose any imperfections in the finish of the part, so you may be touching up any grooves, pinholes or crevices with small amounts of Bondo. Then prime again.
16. Finally, when the primer is dry you can paint the cowl.
Sorry, I didn’t take any step by step pics of the job. I hope that the instructions are pretty clear. Remember, this is just how I did it. If anyone comes up with any tips or improvements, I’d love to hear. Also, here’s a link to how another guy did his cowl. http://cbrworld.net/forums/thread/198564.aspx Good luck and thanks again. It would be great to see how others turn out!
Mike
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