72 CT 70 fork oil & clear coat woes

[rick56]

I'm building my 72 K1 forks, the shop manual says to use DEXRON type ATF or 15W in the forks. I have some Castrol type F ATF that I used on my 750, will that be ok in the CT 70 forks? I'm also installing new seals and stiffer springs from Dr. ATV.
PAINTING WOES: I shot my CT in Honda kandy ruby red. The base coat and color coats when on ok. But my clear coat orange peeled badly. I think it may have got too warm in my garage? I think it got to 90 degrees that morning. I wet sanded with 1200 and tried polishing compound but now there are very small white specks in the clear? It almost looks like tiny bits of the polishing paste are imbedded in the clear coat? My trouble shooting guide says to check gun pressure. It may have been too low and not enough material was flowing? I have more clear and may try to shoot the clear again. Any help or hints would be appreciated.
Thanks

Rick

 

[hecklerkoch]

I would hold off on the next coat until you get those white specks out. Otherwise they may become permanent.

 

[69ST]

15W and the stiffer springs should be a good combo in that model fork. Trans fluid has decent anti-foaming properties. However, as I recall, type F has less lubricity than Dexron/Mercon spec, to prevent slippage in band-type trannies. Probably a non-issue but I'd want the "slipperiest" oil available in the fork legs...given my druthers. Cost certainly isn't a factor.

As to your refinishing woes, 90F is a good temperature for painting. It's damned uncomfortable in a paintsuit, gloves and full face mask, but paint generally behaves best in warmer temps. Most shops heat their spray booths to 85F, then raise it over 100F after the painter leaves the booth. The heat improves flowout and speeds the curing process. The key is selecting the correct reducer and adjusting the quantity in the final paint mix for ambient air temp. It is also necessary to adjust your spray technique. Flashover time will be quicker but that's good thing if you know what you're doing. I'm assuming that you're working with catalyzed, 3-stage. urethane. The best of them are expensive and still a bastard to apply. The cheaper ones can be a nightmare.


Color sanding and polishing are more art than science, too involved to teach in a forum posting. You could have flecks of compound embedded in the clear. Those white spots might be sanding residue; some clears will actually re-harden on the surface if not washed off immediately after sanding. The fresher the paint application, the more likely this will happen. You definitely don't want to apply another coat until they're gone. I'd try washing the surface first and seeing if that didn't do the trick. The only other option is to sand out the specks.

 

[rick56]

Type of clear coat

Yes the clear I'm using is Transtar Euro Classic which contains catalyst. I bought the same brand of clear that was sent to me from Vintage Honda paints. I plan to wet sand and see if I can get the "specks" out. I have 1200 grit but I'm thinking of using a slightly coarser one, then go to the 1200 for a final sand. Thanks

Rick

 

[69ST]

Sorry to rain on your parade, but I've used Transtar clear and consider it total crap. No offense intended, but this is the specific product that comes to mind when I think of how not to get a top-notch paint job. It's also one of the main factors that left me completely soured on "bargain" paint kits. You get what you pay for.

I've known a number of painters who use HOK dyes with Transtar, because it's a lot cheaper than HOK. It's a total bastard to colorsand & polish, brittle and worst of all, has no UV stability. It's okay for production shop automotive repairs and I'm sure the insurance industry approves wholeheartedly. But, for a bike, an OEM-quality automotive finish looks awful. Cars have way too much orange peel by bike standards.

I wish you nothing but the best of luck in pulling this one out of the fire. Unfortunately, the odds are't favorable...sorry.

 

[John Pond]

I hope you figure it out. Still, you can take comfort in the money you saved by not having a professional paint it.

Cheers!

John

 

[Art]

Isn't their two Transstar clears?
One for quickie jobs and one premium product. A couple of my buddies use the premium stuff and brag about it being "as good as" the PPG or DuPont at half the price.

 

[69ST]

A couple of my buddies use the premium stuff and brag about it being "as good as" the PPG or DuPont at half the price.

That's what I've been hearing for the past five years and there's a clear conflict of interest - everyone who's told me that had profit motive behind the "recommendation". Can't blame someone for wanting to make extra bucks but don't expect impartial advice. In Metro Detroit, there's a lot of heavyweight talent in the custom car/bike area. The top shops universally give Transtar thumbs-down. When a paint supply house that sells the stuff tells you "sure it's cheaper and I'll sell it to you, but be warned...", well what more to say?

As far as application goes, that was very easy, far less tempermental than the best clears with good flowout for a catalyzed urethane. It's what comes after the application that's the deal-breaker.

 

[rick56]

Its starting to look like a CT 70!

Over the weekend I got the forks done on my 72. Polished the lower tubes with white rouge. Put in new seals, Honda wants $100.+ for their special tool, a one inch pipe nipple that I filed down to remove any burrs worked fine for $1.69, and I feel special. Added springs from Dr. ATV but they don't tell you the "new stiffer" springs are 1 1/2 inches longer than stock ones. That makes assembly fun! Used a 12mm bolt to pull the tube up through the headlight ears. I also fixed my clear coat problem. I re-sanded wet with 800 instead of 1200 to remove the contamination. Mixed up more clear, increased the pressure at the gun. It looks super. I am not doing a 100 point restore so a few small blemishes in the clear I can either sand or buff out and live with. Oh and by the way I feel great knowing that I did'nt pay someone else $3,000 to do what I can do. You see a few years back I worked for Finish Auto Body in Santa Clara Ca. We used to do Paul Newman's Datsun Race cars along with very exotic cars every day. And my bud Brad who worked with me there not only loaned me his HVLP gun, but gave me good tips on how to do it. I'm not a journeyman painter but I can do a fair job. I also used to be a machinist before 911 and I went back into the Army, so I kind of know which end of my tool to grab. I love this site and want to thank RacerX and the others for your help.

Rick