How To: Repair Headlight "Mole" on 07'+ (Inexpensive)

skooter65

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For all of those that have been down; albeit a slight drop in the drive-way or a spill on the street, you have probably had an unsightly rash on the headlight "Mole". For all of those who don't know, the mole is the piece of plastic that surrounds the headlight on the 2007 through 2009 model of the FZ. Yes, this piece is removable; See Items 8 & 10 in the following parts fiche: Metric Parts Outlets' 2007 Yamaha Street Bike FZ6 Parts List

For such a small piece of plastic, these little buggers run about $60.00 each!! I mean, Who has that kind of money??

So, here is what I did: Rather than replacing, of having to be skilled in the art of bodywork; I took a lesson from the 2008 Blue Model FZ. This bike uses a matte-black textured finish on the mole which, to me, offers a nice contrast: Photo Below:
2008-Yamaha-FZ6d-small.jpg



What you will need:

-Bondo Glazing & Spot Putty:
BondoSpotPutty.jpg

-High Quality Automotive Primer
-SEM "Bumper" texture Coating:
SEM_39853.jpg

-High Quality Automotive Enamel Spray Paint (Semi-Gloss Black)


How-to:

Step 1: Remove the cowling from the bike & remove the moles from the Cowling (I will not go into detail on this step unless there is a request. Pretty straight-forward).

Step 2: Prepare the surface as outlined in the directions on the glazing putty package. I used a heavy grit sandpaper to "smooth" out the scratched surfaces as much as possible. It does not need to be perfect as you will see in the following steps.

Step 3: Apply putty as outlined in the directions of the package. A few light coats is better than one heavy coat as cracking could occur. Once it is dry, sand to a relatively smooth finish trying to match the contours of the original piece.

Step 4: Apply a coat or two of automotive filler primer. This will give a nice base for the remaining finishes.

Step 5: Prepare the primed surface as outlined on the directions of the Textured Bumper Coating. Again, a few swipes with a medium grit sandpaper should do the job. be sure to remove any sanding dust as this could inhibit adhesion of the texture coating.

Step 6: Apply Textured Bumper Coating as Directed. I would recommend practicing on a spare piece of cardboard to get some experience with how this stuff comes out. To me, this stuff is pretty much fool-proof. The texture allows uniform coverage without needing years of painting experience. You may need a couple coats to achieve the desired texture.

Step 7: Once the textured coating has dried, again following the directions on the can, apply the Semi-Gloss black paint. I did three coats just to make sure it was going to last.

Step 8: Allow it to dry, have a beer or six, and sit back with a smile knowing that you spent less than a quarter of what it would have cost to replace one mole.

Step 9: Re-Install the mole to the Cowling, and the cowling to the bike.

Step 10: Post Pictures for the rest of the forum to see!

Before:
Picture008.jpg


After:








Hopefully this will help someone out there!!

Thank You:thumbup:
 
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dstaffx

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Holy crap my jaw dropped when I saw the finished result. Looks brilliant.

Great job
:thumbup:
 

ngsm13

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Nice! I bought mine with a few knicks on the very corner of this piece, and have been considering painting it black for some time.

I like that you used the SEM, since it is flexible and should adhere nicely. Now, wondering if I should go with the textured or flat black look on my RED FZ??
 

effzed6

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I may be a little delinquent in my request, however I'd really like to see some pics of the newly repaired fairing on the bike. I'm thinking about doing this but would really have to take the the whole flow of the bike into account. I think you did an amazing job and really appreciate you posting this at all.
 

mrphotoman

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wow that looks really good! I wonder how well it would hold up if used to paint the rearsets?
 

skooter65

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I may be a little delinquent in my request, however I'd really like to see some pics of the newly repaired fairing on the bike. I'm thinking about doing this but would really have to take the the whole flow of the bike into account. I think you did an amazing job and really appreciate you posting this at all.

Unfortunately the repair was done so that I could sell the fairing to another member. I will message him and perhaps he can take a few photos of the installed fairing.

Thank you for compliments!:thumbup:
 

MarkG813

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Great job! Since painting didn't go so well for me this winter, ill be doing this when the weather gets a bit nicer out.
 

Sinman

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Awesome post, I will be using your technique! Must admit, I'm thinking gloss black as a finish.
 

Taz3

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Looks sick, would also love to see the finished product on the bike. I recently tipped in a parking lot as well and scuffed up the right corner of the mold... frame sliders, bar ends, front axle sliders and rear axle sliders are all now in the mail... lol
 
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