Re: BonniRocket
OK, the clearcoating is done. When I got home this evening, I stripped the bodywork off the bike to prep it for spraying the clear coat.
Then after sanding the parts briefly with 600 grit to improve adhesion of the clear, I then had to figure out where to spray them. I've decided after recent experience that painting outside on the ground wasn't ideal; the paint cans don't like to spray pointing down and the breeze blows a lot of the paint away. OTOH, I don't want to paint in the shop, which I was doing over the winter. But I have to remove or cover pretty much everything in there to prevent getting overspray on it, and I still can't really ventilate it well enough to keep the fumes out of the house. Then it occurred to me: I could put the parts on the outside basement steps under the Bilco doors.
The steps let me prop the parts up so I'm spraying horizonally, it was outside enough for ventilation purposes, and it was sheltered from any wind. Brilliant! It worked great, except it turned out that it was also right under an open bathroom window. So, still fumes in the house. Have to remember that next time. At least the bathroom has a vent fan...
Anyway, 6 coats of Spraymax clear later (and one on my hand due to misjudgement of the spray angle), the parts looked like this:
The pictures don't really do justice to the glossy finish. Again, that Spraymax clear coat is great stuff. Fast drying too, although the parts continue to
look wet due to the gloss. It went on well enough that I really won't have to spend much time mucking about wetsanding and polishing the paint. There's only one or two spots that need it, and they're minor enough that I might not do it right away.
Next stop - final assembly!
