Prepped the chin fairing for new finish

[Smoothops]

I'm a newbie to this site and to the ownership of an 87' FJ1200.  The bike came to me with a terrible case of the gusher, which was resolved with the help of other members of this community (thanks!). I did the pinhole mod to the carburetors and it worked.  Now that this issue is out of the way, I started to pay attention to the plastics, which are painted gunmetal gray with a spray can, leaving a lot to be desired.  Since I had the chin fairing out from the oil change I had to do, I decided to bring it back.  It was cracked along the left front edge and at the rear right attachment point.  I took it out and started to wipe the grease inside with lacquer thinner and to my surprise, the paint came right off, so I decided to do the whole thing with thinner instead of the tedious sanding (which I could not escape anyway).  The thinner worked as a quick chemical sanding, took the paint right off to the original red.  I then used epoxy and fiberglass to repair the crack from the inside and filled the crack on the outside.  The very front of the chin fairing was weak, so after repairing the cracks from the inside with epoxy/fiberglass, I added an external layer of epoxy/fiberglass, then sanded it back into shape.  It is now ready to finish and I will do primer, then wait for 30 minutes to spray 2 coats of glow green automotive lacquer, plus 2 coats of clear lacquer.  If all goes well, the coats are sprayed within 20 minutes of each other, so that there is no need for sanding in between coats and they end with primary bonds between them, resulting in a tough coat with mirror gloss, no need to buff afterwards.  The trick is to have the two paint guns at hand, so that all coats follow each other within 20 minutes, which is long enough for the lacquer to harden to where the metallic flakes will not blotch.  The window is about 35 minutes long, but after doing this several times, I noticed that for the lacquer I'm using (Duplicolor color shop) the sweet spot is 20-25 minutes.  Meanwhile, I've been gathering the parts for the 17" wheels upgrade, still need front rotors for the 92 stock wheel and the rear brake components from a 2001 GSXR 600 (yes the wheel and brake parts are the same as the 750/1100).  There is a lot more to do, but I'm taking it one thing at a time. Again, I like to thank all of the members that have provided valuable input into this project.  I will do a writeup on the GSXR 600 rear wheel mod once it comes together successfully.       

[FJmonkey]

Pictures... We need pictures.... Can't have a writeup like that and not show any pictures....

[fj11.5]

Yep,  what monkey said,,, and what exactly is this pin hole mod you speak of 


Rod

[fintip]

Likewise...

And if you don't add the info to the wiki, I'll at least make a copy. Already added that the 600 is compatible after reading this, will add your info about your plastic repair/paint method as well and start a page for that.

And yeah, what is this pinhole mod?

[Pat Conlon]

Yep,  what monkey said,,, and what exactly is this pin hole mod you speak of 


Rod

Hey Rod, check out the Carburetor Files, it's titled: Carb fuel leak-The Fix.
Sorry, I can't post a link from my IPad....

[fintip]

Oh, that mod. Wasn't it decided that that mod shouldn't actually do anything, since there actually already is a path to let air through there?