Anodize radiators? Paint frame?

Discussion in 'Mechanics Garage' started by sfdownhill, Mar 1, 2017.

  1. sfdownhill

    sfdownhill New Member

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    Hello all - I've done the standard 'search my brains out' attempt to find info, but have come up with only one thread.

    I am working on a build/rebuild of my friend Hammerdrill's [That is his vfrw user name, not his actual name] 2002 6 gen, and he's putting together a very nice color package. He'd like the radiators to be black to complement the black powdercoating of various components [See attached photo as an example]. I know the 2007 RWB models came with black radiators, but we have not been able to locate any used black radiators for sale.

    Eastwood makes a well-reviewed radiator paint, but evidently our great golden state [CA] doesn't allow it to be sold here. I can find it online from Amazon, Eastwood themselves, Pep Boys, and other online vendors, but when I attempt to put it in my cart and buy it, it comes up "NOT AVAILABLE" from every vendor.

    I found a thread here about painting radiators where Badbilly added some valuable insight but, the OP ended up not painting his radiators.

    *My preference would be to anodize them. A local shop said they would anodize both radiators from the 2002 in black for $85, BUT there must be ABSOLUTELY NO METAL EXCEPT ALUMINUM in the radiator assembly.

    Question 1 - does anyone know if a stripped down 6 gen VFR radiator is made up of anything except aluminum?

    Question 2 - I've seen a couple guys on vfrw mask and paint their frames without stripping them down [See attached photo]. Can anyone [Badbilly?] recommend an optimum prep/prime/paint process for the VFR's frame? I believe it is anodized clear.

    Thanks for any assistance.
     

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  2. squirrelman

    squirrelman Member

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    Painting an alloy frame seems sacrilegious and plain silly ! :crazy:
     
  3. stoshmonster

    stoshmonster New Member

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    Well fer da cripes sakes Sq-man if you wanted to call me silly then why didn't you just come out and say so. :lol:

    The extruded side beams on the 6th gen. frame are smooth and nice enough to look at but the steering head and rear main frame sections are made up of rough cast pieces that are uneven and pock marked with craters. And then for good measure Honda added big sloppy gob welds to join the extruded parts to the cast pieces that look like they were squeezed out of a lumpy tube of toothpaste.

    To be honest Sq-man the 6th gen frame is an unlovely thing to look at. Believe me my friend slapping a coat of paint over it is doing it a favor.
     

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  4. duccmann

    duccmann Member

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    Hey Stosh, where'd you get that side stand. Please don't tell me you made it



    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  5. OOTV

    OOTV Insider

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    Know anyone in Las Vegas? I'm sure you could ship it to there without issue. Make it a road trip and pick it up while visiting the "Ranch", you know, to make it really worthwhile!
     
  6. stoshmonster

    stoshmonster New Member

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    A thousand pardons for the threadjack Sfdownhill. :sorry:


    No I didn't make that Duccmann,that's an adjustable length aluminum side stand that I bought on Ebay quite a few years ago.

    Stock steel side stand scales in at 1.2 lbs,aluminum side stand scales in at .6 lbs. One of these days I gotta get that thing anodized. I'm thinkin' maybe tiger stripes or polka dots or something. :lol:
     

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  7. sfdownhill

    sfdownhill New Member

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    No worries about the thread jack, Stosh. Sorry it took me so long to respond - I was counting the colors on your motorcycle...

    Since the rear stand is a unique color not yet featured on your VFR, you should add it to the mix - when you're done with it, just leave it inserted, then rotate it up and strap it down with a bungie cord which is also in a color not yet used in your palette.

    But if you did a careful job of it, please do tell how you prepped/primed/painted your frame.
     
  8. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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    Eastwood to my knowledge does not make their paints. Painting a radiator is about the same thing as painting wicker furniture. Lots of angles and surface area to cover without clogging up the darn thing. Eastwood claims a 300F temp max out. A bike radiator could be farmed out to a radiator shop or maybe the shop under a grandfather clause has a can of Eastwoods paint. Even before that, a trip to an automotive paint store will render specific recommendations under California regs. Lots of fine print on rattlecan paints. Some of the dry and cure time are there. Sometimes not. If ya see those recoat times, become a believer. They are not just some ballpark BS.. operate outside the given parameters and that next coat will act as a paint stripper.

    I painted the exposed areas of my bike frame. This was done in conjunction with the rest of the bike being painted so all the parts I could remove were removed. Prep was a through cleaning and scuffing the exposed member with 0000 steel wool then cleaning again. Hardware store steel wool is oiled...

    Tons of tricks to masking. In this case the painting part was maybe half an hour with a coffee break and several hours of masking. See the www for masking tips and materials. 3M is a good source. One trick for masking jobs like this one is getting a bigass roll of commercial grade aluminum foil.

    The paint I used was from NAPA. Martin-Senour Crossfire with a shot of flatting agent to cut the gloss some. Three coats applied with a conventional DeVilbiss touchup gun. I used the same paint on the pegs, hangers, center stand and the chainguard. Basic black. Same paint on the rest of the black areas on the bike save the flatting agent.

    Bottom line here is do the homework. It's real easy to get a bunch of peso in just the paint. Screw it up and you're out that and the time as well.

    SOS as before. Hit the public library for a book, don't take as gospel everything that those old Chinese guys say because some of them post up alternative facts sometimes.
     
  9. sfdownhill

    sfdownhill New Member

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    Thanks a ton Badbilly. That is just the kind of sound, bulletproof, basic advice I need. I'm not a painter, but everything you said makes sense. Your advice provides a good starting point for a careful. step by step paint project. Cheers.
     
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