1972 ... what's left of it.. modernized!

T

TNStreamerDreamer

Member
So I am trying to build out a frame I got registered. I've been back and forth a lot on the style I wanted. I just figured I would let you guys follow along and offer advice!

I am in no way trying to make this a show-room quality bike...hence the rattle can paint job. The method I chose was a bit beyond my skill level, but it turned out fair enough for my liking. I went for a MetalCast orange to mimic the candy topaz orange I like. It could have used more layers of color but it just gets darker with more coats and I settled for some stripping and spottiness as I really don't hate that look with this.

Anyway... frame was rough...I did a few coats of prime/sand, then put the chrome base down > colored clear > clear with about 10min between coats. The orange peel really isn't bad at all. More coats of color would have been beneficial. Overall, for $40, I'm pretty happy. Killed all the rust beforehand of course.

Parts should be coming in this week and it may be road-ready this weekend. Inverted fork front end disk brake, stock painted orange swing arm, piggy back shocks, clone/banana seat, classic handlebars, stock fenders..
IMG_20190803_175001.jpg
primer.jpg
silver.jpg
orange.jpg
. I am a bit worried my colors may not mesh beautifully but she should be flashy enough, which I like.

I would love some input as to which decals you would like on it. As mentioned, it is a '72 so those badges would have a touch of blue in them...not sure how I feel about that being the only blue on the bike. I also feel the classic trail 70 wrap stickers may not fit the style.
 
kirrbby

kirrbby

Well-Known Member
Awesome!!
Your paint looks nice. There is another member who used the orange metalcast on a complete bike. It turned out verry nice. I could probably find the thread for you if you want to see it. Pretty sure his was a HK0, and he used HK0 decals.
 
T

TNStreamerDreamer

Member
kirrbby said:
Awesome!!
Your paint looks nice. There is another member who used the orange metalcast on a complete bike. It turned out verry nice. I could probably find the thread for you if you want to see it. Pretty sure his was a HK0, and he used HK0 decals.
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Thanks Kirrbby! I appreciate the support. I know my impatience got the best of me a little bit. I may get some more practice or go for a professional job some day.
In my head, it sounds best to go with the proper stickers for the year model. I will just have to see what the bike looks like assembled I think before deciding if a patch of blue will bother me.
 
kirrbby

kirrbby

Well-Known Member
Well it looks like your frame had K1 stickers on it originally... There were no candy orange K1s, soo...I'd say you could take any route you like. You're not building a K1 CT70...you're building yourself a cool motorcycle.
 
6

69ST

Well-Known Member
Since your prep was good and rattlecan paint is easy to sand, you do have some options. To be sure, with candy colors, midcoat application is a skilled art form. It must be applied evenly, and with the correct overlap pattern. Few owners have the slightest clue how difficult this can be for an inexperienced painter. The essential elements: maintaining a consistent spray pattern that is unbroken from one of the section being sprayed to the other, determining & maintaining a consistent spray distance, working in the same sequence as you apply subsequent coats. It's largely a test of patience & stamina. It takes me 4 hours, minimum, to spray 3-stage candy colors (The total time & number of coats depends upon the specific color, usually 4-6 coats of midcoat but can be as many as 9) and I've been wielding a spray gun longer than the CT70 has existed as a model. You apply thin, light, uniform, coats until the color "develops"; that's completely different than with solid or conventional metallics. You want to apply the paint heavily enough so that it will flow, but not run. For a newcomer, using rattlecans, I'd suggest staying toward the light side (per coat) to eliminate, or at least minimize color variations & tiger-striping. Then, apply enough clearcoat (in multiple coats) to allow colorsanding & polishing. You might be surprised by how good the results can look. The one compromise is durability. Airdry, rattlecan, paint tends to be softer, more susceptible to chemical staining/damage and chip-prone; it's still more durable than the lacquer that was used 45+ years ago.

If you do decide to try a respray, this paint should be easy to sand. Block sand with 600-grit, wet, until you see primer. Done reasonably well, you'll get an even smoother (more level) surface. Then you can begin with the silver basecoat, followed by midcoat, then clear. That's the only way you can get can rid of the blotchiness & tiger striping. It all comes down to what matters to you. At present, it looks far better than it did pre-blasting. That contrast is what captures one's attention. I'll warn you right now, I am a perfectionist's perfectionist...so take the following commentary with a grain (cup) of salt. It took me years to reach the point where I didn't gradually start seeing all of the imperfections of what looked so great, initially. Inevitably, I ended up discarding & redoing a lot of my own work. That's part of the process, too, for some of us (it was for "yours truly"). If there's a chance that you will share this path, then now is the best time to fix the stuff that you'd like to see done better. From what i can see in the pix, there's a little bit of decal adhesive left behind and the inside of the frame could use a bit of media blasting. Again, depending upon how you view your projects, you may get an unpleasant reminder every time you lift the seat to add fuel. OTOH, there's no reason the bike couldn't be stripped back down to a bare frame months, or years, from now. If you're building a "beater/rider" then it's now clean & waaay better than it was as-received...and, in that case, I would encourage you to disregard everything I've written, to this point, and just enjoy your bike project.
 
T

TNStreamerDreamer

Member
racerx said:
Since your prep was good and rattlecan paint is easy to sand, you do have some options. To be sure, with candy colors, midcoat application is a skilled art form. It must be applied evenly, and with the correct overlap pattern. Few owners have the slightest clue how difficult this can be for an inexperienced painter. The essential elements: maintaining a consistent spray pattern that is unbroken from one of the section being sprayed to the other, determining & maintaining a consistent spray distance, working in the same sequence as you apply subsequent coats. It's largely a test of patience & stamina. It takes me 4 hours, minimum, to spray 3-stage candy colors (The total time & number of coats depends upon the specific color, usually 4-6 coats of midcoat but can be as many as 9) and I've been wielding a spray gun longer than the CT70 has existed as a model. You apply thin, light, uniform, coats until the color "develops"; that's completely different than with solid or conventional metallics. You want to apply the paint heavily enough so that it will flow, but not run. For a newcomer, using rattlecans, I'd suggest staying toward the light side (per coat) to eliminate, or at least minimize color variations & tiger-striping. Then, apply enough clearcoat (in multiple coats) to allow colorsanding & polishing. You might be surprised by how good the results can look. The one compromise is durability. Airdry, rattlecan, paint tends to be softer, more susceptible to chemical staining/damage and chip-prone; it's still more durable than the lacquer that was used 45+ years ago.

If you do decide to try a respray, this paint should be easy to sand. Block sand with 600-grit, wet, until you see primer. Done reasonably well, you'll get an even smoother (more level) surface. Then you can begin with the silver basecoat, followed by midcoat, then clear. That's the only way you can get can rid of the blotchiness & tiger striping. It all comes down to what matters to you. At present, it looks far better than it did pre-blasting. That contrast is what captures one's attention. I'll warn you right now, I am a perfectionist's perfectionist...so take the following commentary with a grain (cup) of salt. It took me years to reach the point where I didn't gradually start seeing all of the imperfections of what looked so great, initially. Inevitably, I ended up discarding & redoing a lot of my own work. That's part of the process, too, for some of us (it was for "yours truly"). If there's a chance that you will share this path, then now is the best time to fix the stuff that you'd like to see done better. From what i can see in the pix, there's a little bit of decal adhesive left behind and the inside of the frame could use a bit of media blasting. Again, depending upon how you view your projects, you may get an unpleasant reminder every time you lift the seat to add fuel. OTOH, there's no reason the bike couldn't be stripped back down to a bare frame months, or years, from now. If you're building a "beater/rider" then it's now clean & waaay better than it was as-received...and, in that case, I would encourage you to disregard everything I've written, to this point, and just enjoy your bike project.
Click to expand...
I could never disregard advice the great racerx! I am always impressed at the care in answering you take for squids like myself.
I am currently at a point where I am now a legal motorcyclist, frame is registered, and I am ready to ride. I aim to get a unique bike that tickles my nostalgia but is overall, utilitarian and fun.
I expect I will get a "big bike" sooner than later and depending on the amount of love this bike sees weekly, I will decide if I want to strip her back down and make it pretty later. I enjoy fabricating, reviving, and customizing. However, I feel it would be worth the coin in my future to pay the pro's. Patience is not a strong point of mine and it shows in this paint job. I expect to impress pass-bys and disappoint close inspectors. I'm not pleased, but not displeased enough to delay build progression or test my patience.
 
6

69ST

Well-Known Member
Body & paint work is expensive for a couple of very basic reasons....cost of materials and the amount of skilled labor it takes to do it well. Candy colors take things to a higher level of difficulty. Initially, when I built what has become my daily rider, I selected a "near-candy" because I didn't want the headaches of dealing with the real thing. It was a good tradeoff, actually. Being a conventional metallic, it was repairable/blendable and, the candy-like effect was reasonably convincing...until compared side-by-side with the real deal. I didn't have enough paint remaining, when replacing the upper shock mounts resulted in sizable areas being burned by welding heat. By that time, I was back to spraying candy colors, anyway, and it was less expensive to go that route. It was a learning process, from a number of angles. The one that applies, for you, is that a few processes are best farmed-out. Chrome is one, there's just zero DIY-friendliness there; paint is the other biggie, for most.

If you can find a local shop that will strip & refinish your frame for under $500, it'll be money well-spent. Everything else on the rest of the bike is, essentially, a bolt-on part. Body & paint work is the most labor-intensive, hard-to-change, element of a build. Imagine, if you will, that your frameset were ready-to-go and you were really thrilled with how it turned out. Once you have the frame(set) painted, the rest of the bike is mostly assembly work. From that stage, with a little bit of care, you can change anything else on bike, whenever you like...and it'll look great, as soon as you're finished spinning the wrenches.
 
T

TNStreamerDreamer

Member
Sorry I haven't posted updates, but she's about done! I only have one picture of it since cleaning the wiring up. I still would like to find a solution for the front cables...
Got my badges coming in soon and then I will install the honda logos!

I'm still not sure how if I like all the touches I had to "DIY" but they will do for now. Running a 15/31 until I can get a 35 tooth sprocket. It feels like a good ratio, as should 17/35 (will install my gold chain then). I had to cut and weld the exhaust and I've burnt my leg once already when pulling the bike up on the center-stand.
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IMG_20190818_094133.jpg
 
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