Renewing your textured plastic on GSs and beyond(and some bodywork ?s)*pics*

[Batan]

The turn singlas and tail plastic were really faded on my '94 so I thought I'd try a trick that VW crowd uses on their textured trim all the time. KIWI leather dye. This product along Forever Black are the bee's knees of renewing your trim. There are others out there(like Mothers Back to Black) which are GARBAGE, last a rain or two, if that and that's it. They don't even make stuff that deep black, just ugly shiny.
That said, KIWI is extremely easy to apply using the foam on top of the bottle and as it is a dye, it's easier to handle then paint. It does not chip whatsoever for the same reason. I've done my car three years ago and it still looks great. The more coats, the better, 4-5 is usually good for something that really faded, like these signals. First couple of coats come out somewhat blotchy but that quickly turns into deep black by adding another coat or two. I also used this opportunity to get rid of the ugly stickers the PO put on the tail. 
Anyway, some pics, not the best as lighting in the garage is crappy...
KIWI Leather Dye, available at Walmart in US(in Canada, not so much)

big difference right away after the first coat


before

after

before

after

before

after








Now about the bodywork.
Anybody painted their bike using rattle cans? If so, any pics? I've painted parts of a car before successfully and I'm tempted to do it on a budget on this GS as clear coat is peeling on the tank and there is a crack on the fairing under the seat. So, any advice on fixing these two:
dent(just bondo it up?)

And then there is a crack under the seat:

visible in this photo as well:

Fiberglass kit perhaps?
I might paint the bike white but haven't decided yet....

[dgyver]

Plastic is ABS. You can use a solvent weld, found at hoobies stores that deal in plastic models. Some have used MEK but I have not had acceptable results with it.

[fred]

Very cool trick. I don't think I have any of the stock black plastic pieces left on my bike, but I'll have to keep that one in mind...

[Paulcet]

after

Nice how-to.  Thanks. 

Now that you have removed the ugly stickers, go cut that fender off just below the lic. plate.

Is that a CB750F back there?

[ohgood]

very cool tip. thanks !

[Batan]

Nice how-to.  Thanks. 

Now that you have removed the ugly stickers, go cut that fender off just below the lic. plate.

Is that a CB750F back there?

Bwahahahaha... I was just waiting for that one. LOL. Will do(cut it off) actually sometime in near future.
Yes, it's my 'F'. When we ride together, my wife takes out the GS and I ride the F and when I ride alone, well, it depends. I like both.





BTW guys, this tip works on pretty much any textured plastic. Also, the "bumper paint" you can buy at stores is not that great as it easily chips even with good prep. All you need to do for dye to work is clean the plastic. I don't even bother to clean it past soap and water and it never fails.

[DoD#i]

Now about the bodywork.
Anybody painted their bike using rattle cans? If so, any pics? I've painted parts of a car before successfully and I'm tempted to do it on a budget on this GS as clear coat is peeling on the tank and there is a crack on the fairing under the seat.

This was a quick-ish rattlecan job. Basically the time is in the prep - do a good prep, and then either do a careful job with rattlecans or hand it off to have professionally painted, as you prefer/afford. I'm probably going to redo this more completely (probably a red/white two-tone, and a red seat cover) over the winter, so long as I make sure that it does not drag on into spring when the roads are clear enough to ride.

[LOUiE]

good tip... makes a big difference!

[rylon]

 I rattle can'ed my tank and am in the process of altering my tail palstics (might remove them all together or go with an R6 racing skin, can't decide)

My rattle can job didn't turn out so good, I painted the tank flat black, and was very meticulous during prep.  I corrected all the imperfections to the best of my ability and was finally satisfied with the results, then about three weeks later I go to put the tank on the bike and it looks like alligator skin!  So needless to say I was very PO'ed.I also dripped some gas on it while filling in the garage trying to tune the bike and it bubbled right away!!

So if you can afford it, either have some one do it professionally or use a compressor and the appropriate equipment.

The only painting tips I can provide is to take your time, if it looks like it needs just a little bit more in that one spot, it dosen't you will just cause a run, ask me how I know!  The other tip is one I found on the net some where, if you do get a run let it dry thoroughly, and then use a razor blade perpendicular to the painted surface and drag it across the run.  The razor blade will act like a plane, and remove small amounts of paint at a time, you can tell when the run is gone because you will start removing paint in areas outside of the run.  At this point you can wet sand, let it dry, tack cloth it, prep it and then repaint.  This is the best technique I could find I used it quite a bit!

I also patched some cracks in the tail plastic and bought some plastic solvent like what Dgyver said, but got mixed results.  I would suggest you find a plastic supply shop, some place that makes large display pieces and such and ask them for an ABS glue/weld.  The stuff I got was some sort of powder, and acetone which cracked shortly after repair.

Best of luck, and let us know how it goes.

Rylon

[Batan]

I'm also wondering what to do with 3-4 surface rust spots I have on the frame, I'm thinking wire brush and then paint? I wish there was a generic paint that matches the frame silver...

[DoD#i]

Given your location, you'll be fresh out of riding weather for a few months. Depending what else you have on your plate of projects, consider tearing all the way down and painting the (entire) frame and motor as well. Gives you the most options if you are thinking about changing the color, too.

[Batan]

Given your location, you'll be fresh out of riding weather for a few months. Depending what else you have on your plate of projects, consider tearing all the way down and painting the (entire) frame and motor as well. Gives you the most options if you are thinking about changing the color, too.

Vancouver, BC? No way, lots of people ride through the winter here and this bike won't be any different. Tear down is out of the question as I can't do THAT much, the bike(s) are parked in the underground garage in my building. But, the manager is really cool so I can do some stuff. Even a teardown would potentially be ok but I park the bikes and the car in one stall so I'd have no room for the car.

[theUBS]

And then there is a crack under the seat:
Fiberglass kit perhaps?
I might paint the bike white but haven't decided yet....

I found this link on the EX500 site during the week that I owned one.    Perhaps it would do the trick for you.  I thought enough of it to save the link:

http://www.plastex.ca/