'86 450 paint job

[bikerdude]

I bought a black, '86 450 that was in dire need of a gas tank. The only tank I could find was a NOS '87 red tank. I decided for visibility and general looks to replace the black, pitted fenders with red ones. I got used ones from Jack, thinking all they needed was touch up. Now they look like they have rocky mountain spotted fever, and I want to get them repainted. A body shop says they will charge $600+ to strip and repaint but $200 if I strip them myself.

What do I need to do to get the paint off the fenders to ready them for repainting? I think I want to get them down to shiney metal.

1. Is there a paint stripper that will work and is available in apropriate quantities? What precautions do I need to take?

2. Can I sand them using an orbital sander? If so, do I wet sand? What grits do I use in what order? What precautions do I need to take?

3. Am I stuck sanding by hand using 1500 and 2000 wet sandpaper?

4. Should I just break down and have the body shop do the job?


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[cTc]

I usually media blast all my parts before I paint them. And $600 for 2 fenders is basically saying we dont want to fool with it. I barley get $600 to paint a whole bike.

[b4v4]

I'm old school body man. I hit the parts gently with a circular grinder till they're down to bare metal, primer them, block sand them, reprimer them, hand sand with 320 or 400 grit paper, and shoot acryllic enamel color. I just painted my rebel bright yellow, and it turned out pretty darn nice. Also, if you want to practice your body filler skills, a motorcycle tank is one of the most compact and easiest to handle parts there are. Mine was tatered when I got it, to the point of making a flower pot out of it. By the time I finished patching the leak,filling all the dents, and put new tank decals on, it looks like new. :D

[Chopper Rick]

I'm like b4v4, old school all the way. Save yourself some money & get right in there and follow the directions that b4v4 layed out & in know time your'll have yourself some nice looking fenders & with the satisfaction that you did it yourself.

Chopper Rick

[jwarren]

If your old paint is just faded out or has minor scratches then buff it with a
3M scotch pad then give it a couple of wipe downs with a good lacquer thinner and you are ready to paint. and if the scratches are deep then fill then with filler putty and sand with like a 140 grit then work your way to 200 grit for that baby smooth finish so that there are not any blemishes in your new paint. That way you have a solidly attached base coat to paint over. If you have a garage and a shop vac and a Hvlp sprayer. Then you can paint it yourself. Use the shop Vac with hepa filteration and be sure to wet the floor first as to not get any dust that you may have left from cleaning your area that you are going to paint in and if you have some halogen flood lights they are a good source of heat for drying the paint out.