Few progress pics and a question..

[Lots_Of_Nothing]

Been doing some work on the 350X stuff, only waiting on main essentials now, its almost all here.. I have been cleaning/polishing/painting... Here are some pics..

Rear caliper I stripped down and took the e-brake off, new pads and the works.. I am debating on if I am going to polish it fully, or just finish cleaning it up and keep it bare metal. I like the bare metal look, and plus its easier to do and keep pretty :D
http://img123.exs.cx/img123/3929/caliper1ps.jpg

Here are some various parts I put fresh paint on, tore the footpegs down , painted, and reasembled with anti-seize and stainless clips;
http://img123.exs.cx/img123/7070/freshpaint1mq.jpg

Heres the forks I am polishing up, the bottom one is the one I started.. They are getting rebuilt with new seals and whatnot.. and 84R guts.
http://img123.exs.cx/img123/2509/forks7fp.jpg

The tank was pretty trashed, it had like 6 coats of different colored paint, Im just going to strip it and repaint it, I am not going to bother with the dents, I will just end up denting it again since it will be a everyday rider.. Here is a before picture..
http://img123.exs.cx/img123/3210/tank14ge.jpg

And here is a picture after one coat of stripper;
http://img123.exs.cx/img123/4171/taank22uo.jpg

Fresh coat of high temp paint on the pipe and she looks good as new.. still gotta strip and paint the header;
http://img224.exs.cx/img224/9760/pipe4xq.jpg

Now the question is, Are all of those master cylinder guards hard as hell to get on? here is a pic of how I am trying to mount it, but it is going to have to be forced on that way, the bolts dont line up. Is it one of those things where you gotta force it, get the threads started and then it goes into place as you screw it down?
http://img224.exs.cx/img224/9747/wtf7rh.jpg

[Lots_Of_Nothing]

Just partially finished the shock, still gotta do some finishing cleaning and polishing, but it looks a helluva lot better.. Cleaned the crap out of it and polished the ressy and top... Here is a before and after pic;

before;
http://img44.exs.cx/img44/2481/shock7fd.jpg

after 1;
http://img44.exs.cx/img44/1636/shockc17jv.jpg

after2
http://img44.exs.cx/img44/363/shockc22qu.jpg

Second coat of paint just finished drying on the header, Going to do one more coat just to smooth the finish out a bit... Here is a before and after picture;

before;
http://img202.exs.cx/img202/5576/header5hb.jpg

after;
http://img202.exs.cx/img202/2549/header27sm.jpg

The guard is missing, I am not even going to try and find one, plus the bolts are snapped off inside the mounts, other then that the header is in good shape.. I have some aluminum sheet here so I am just going to fab up a guard of some sort, I'm going to start on that later on.. I'll snap some pictures when I get somewhere with it.

I am not going to make this perfect, because it is going to be the everyday bike (woods and trails). so she is going to take some abuse.. Just trying to clean it up a bit.

[vartiak15]

that stuff cleaned up good. what kinda paint u goin use on the tank and what did u use on the exhaust?

[DeePa]

how are you polishing it up? I am trying to restore stuff like you are, and the cylinder head wont shine up nice. What is it made out of? I am trying to use a dremel and a metal brush, and i dont want to sand it if i dont have to...share your tricks with us.

[hrc85250r]

dude, barnyard customs past potsdam on rt. 11 can powder coat your frame and swinger for 100$ any color you want, plus they will sandblast and strip it for 30$ an hr....

[jeswinehart]

i have not been able to mail those pics of the front hub/wheel stuff i'd like to donate ,,,, i don't have your e-mail address. i reckon i can post them here ,,, if you still need please let me know what ones ( or all for all i care as long as you cover shipping ).

nice work on your project x ,,, john

[Lots_Of_Nothing]

Hey John, I will take the one on the right (painted black rim with hub).. find out Shipping to Gouverneur, NY 13642 when you get a chance. Is that tire on it any good? Thanks pal. Oh.. and, Would you happen to have a front axle I could buy off you?

HRC85250r; And?? I didnt know I asked for powdercoaters,, Thanks for the heads up, but I know of a cheaper place locally. I am not interested in powdercoating this at this time. Maybe next winter I will tear it all down and get everything powdercoated and rebuild the engine, etc.. For now its just going to be a daily woods rider.

[jeswinehart]

mine needs tweeked also so the mount i have circled fits square on the mounting hole. i had to monkey around somewhat to get mine on.

john

[pomona51]

Hey I was wondering how did you prep the pipe that you painted. I am thinking of doing this to mine and was wondering how how got it ready.
Thanks

[Lots_Of_Nothing]

John, Thats the hole thats being a pain!, I just wanted to make sure it was supposed to mount like that before I forced it, LOL.

Pomona51 - I prepped the pipe and everything else like this; Stripper > Wire wheel > Coarse sandpaper > Medium sandpaper > Fine sandpaper > Then coarse again to give the paint a nice tooth the grab onto it > then I clean it and let it dry.

I spent alot of time prepping the parts, but it makes the result much better.

[Lots_Of_Nothing]

Deepa - A wire brush is no good for polishing. I Dont know what bike your working on but the head is probably aluminum, Aluminum is real soft and a wire brush only gouges the metal and leaves big scratches. I polish with compound and a emery (sp?) cloth, lots of elbow grease. If the metal is scratched up and has gouges (I get alot of stuff like that from people before me trying to polish it with a wire wheel) then I sand past the gouges and then polish it out.

Vartiak - I am going to finish sanding down the tank, and then prime a couple times, then a couple coats of this paint I have (keep forgetting the name, its extremely thick and when it hardens its like glass), and then a couple coats of protective clear coat. For the exhaust I just used high heat primer and satin black finish.

[threewheelin-feelin]

what are you useing to clean your parts with....and what are you useing as stripper

[freaksfix]

Its looking real good!! I see you use Kroil,, that stuff is awsome, Kano has alot of good products.... Will she be ready for TF???

[jeswinehart]

but i would highly recomend to tube it. i'll let you make the call. thread is 30% or so in the middle, weather checked too. it's a ohesu H trak 23.5x8x11 tire. and i don't have any axles.
but the good news is that black paint flicks right off with a finger nail and the rim is free from any messed up edges. i think it's aftermarket something judging by the way the inner part looks. the hub measurements are exactly the same as mine.
i will work at getting the brake disc mounting studs out of the other hubs + install while you decide if you want the tire ( i'd say to put the extra money for shipping the tire towards a new one imo ).

you don't use a drill mounted buffing wheel ??? it's the only tool i will use for buffing.

john

[vartiak15]

is the protective gas proof? whats the brand if it is?

[Lots_Of_Nothing]

John, Rim looks stock 86' to me, I would like it.. And the hub.. Go ahead and trash the tire, I dont need one, I just thought if it was good that I could use it as a spare. So Just the rim + Hub.

I do use one of those buffers occasionally, But I prefer doing it with my hands, Seems to work better for me.

Freaks - I was reccomended kroil from another board member when we were talking in chat, this stuff works wonders! Definatly worth the money. Its weird smelling it though, Sort of a mix of Pine-Sol and oven cleaner, LOL. It should be done here shortly, It didnt really need any of this stuff, but I am taking up time while I am waiting on the rest. The motor and rims/tires were shipped out yesterday, After that I am just waiting on the frame/swinger/axle and misc little stuff. I bought the complete running bike off Don, It didnt really need anything, its not a show piece, but a good runner, I am just cleaning it up a bid and giving it a basic complete tune up (new bearings, seals, cables, brake pads, etc throughout the whole bike) Should be all together early-mid april if things go to plan.

Vartiak - it is supposed to be, but I will put that to the test... I dont even know the name of it right now, and I'm not in the mood to go dig it out and see. LOL

Threewheelin-feelin- I use a big combination of stuff, Here is a list of stuff I use.. Sometimes I use it seperatly, and I also have this big spray bottle which I mix all of it together in (for the tough stuff) .. "Purple power", "mean green", regular oven cleaner (BE CAREFUL when using on aluminum). And this other stuff I use I cant even think of the name, Its in a white bottle with pink lettering, I will have to get you the name later. For stripper I use an industrial version of "Zip-Strip" This stuff is AWESOME, it is like gel, and you just spray or brush it on, let it sit, and the paint will drip right off in chunks. (be careful though, it will eat your skin and wont stop untill it hits the bone)