Plasti Dip / Tank Removal

[GuantanamoShrey]

Hey guys,

I want to plasti dip my bike a camo green color. I have a naked bike so just want to paint the tank as well as the front fender and back plastics.

Do you guys think I will have to remove the tank to do this? and is it difficult to do so?

also I am a little confused on how to remove the plastics on the back of the bike.

If anyone has any suggestions please let me know.

Thanks

 

[tejkowskit]

[MENTION=21887]lawlberg[/MENTION] is the guy to ask. He did a great job plastidipping his fz6(75r). His bike looks great!

Check out his thread here: http://www.600riders.com/forum/fz6-mods/51960-teaser-my-pearl-white-plastics.html

And to answer your question, removing the gas tank is very easy. Even easier if it's empty!

 

[ChanceCoats123]

I've never used Plasti Dip before, but if it's like spray paint, take the parts off just to be safe from overspray (even if you mask it off). It also helps you see the whole part and get an even coat on everything.

As for the rear plastics, the two pods next to the seat are pretty simple with a single allen key screw, then just pull, with even pressure, to remove the rubber "pins".

I'm not certain on the plastics around the tail light, but I'm sure someone else has input on that aspect! :cheer:

 

[lawlberg]

[MENTION=21887]lawlberg[/MENTION] is the guy to ask. He did a great job plastidipping his fz6(75r). His bike looks great!

Check out his thread here: http://www.600riders.com/forum/fz6-mods/51960-teaser-my-pearl-white-plastics.html

And to answer your question, removing the gas tank is very easy. Even easier if it's empty!

Okay - you're convincing me - I need to do an actual thread about how to plastidip a bike the right way.

In the meantime:

Step one - Cleaning/Prep
Clean everything well - you can do this better with parts off the bike, so empty your tank by riding as much as you're comfortable, it'll be easier! Then pull it off along with all of your plastics. The tank is connected with 2 bolts up front and one at the rear, be careful as you lift it up, there are two wire connections and a the fuel hose that need to be carfully undone. You can leave the vent hose and overflow hose connected or take them off, depending how tight they are going into the frame. The rear plastics are easy to get off once you take off the seat - just held on with an allen screw and some rubber bushings - so just undo the screw and pull them off.
Use a good cleaner, like simple green or anything that can cut grease. THe idea is that you want absolutely nothing between the painted surface and the plastidip - since it's a mechanical bond it's really important that you have 100% surface to surface contact.

Step two - Spraying.
After the surface is prepped well, you get to paint! There's tons of videos about how to spray plastidip on YouTube - it's just like a normal spraypaint - do lots of thin coats from 8-10 inches or so away, making sure to go completely past the surface before making a turn - you don't want it to pile up and run, though it's not the end of the world if it does. For my coverage, I went with ~4 or 5 thin coats of white and then 2 or 3 light mistings of pearlizer. You can put subsequent coats on pretty quickly, even quicker if you keep your coats thin. The first couple coats you do you'll definitely still see color through, but once you get to 3 or 4 it'll have pretty thick and solid coverage. The more coats you do, the easier it will be to remove if you want to in the future, and the tougher it will be. If you're covering with a gloss or plastidip enhancer (metalizer, matte clearcoat, pearlizer, etc.) let it dry completely before doing that.

Step three - Special considerations for the tank
I was conflicted about design when I picked colors - specifically for the tank. One thing to know is that GASOLINE KILLS PLASTIDIP - that said, you can still be fine using it on your tank- as long as:
-You are careful with drips (I shake the nozzle before putting it in my tank, when I pull it out of the tank after filling, and any time it is over my bike I have a gloved hand underneath it to catch anything) In the 5 months it's been dipped, no spills (knock on wood)
-You protect the finish - either cover it with a two stage clearcoat (real spraypaint) *the problem here is that it will make it harder to remove the dip in future, should you change your mind. The method I use for protecting the finish is Turtle Wax Ice - It's a spray on wax that will cover any surface, and works great on PlastiDip - it toughens the surface to make it easier to clean, harder to scuff/scrape off if you hit it with your zipper - and also gives it a bit of a shine. This is a requirement for any bike with plastidip - cover it with a good coat of wax, wash it each week and rewax it. You'll thank me later.
*another thing to note on the tank is that the seat does rub down at the base (or at least mine does) I didn't do a good job protecting this area, and the rubbing is what takes dip off. I still have to do a bit of work here to fully protect that area, but the good thing is that if you have an oopsie and some dip peels off, or gets really filthy, you can always spray more on, it'll fill in the hole and bond with the existing dip. I just re-coat that area that rubs every once in a while and I"m fine - I could just coat it in some clear scotch tape to keep the rubbing off, and probably will after my next touch up.

*just like any painting project, do it in a well ventilated, dry and clean space, you don't want anything landing in your perfect finish.

 

[GuantanamoShrey]

Thank you for the advice, I am going to do the camo green on my 05 fz6

 

[GuantanamoShrey]

Can I Just do this by lifting up the tank rather than taking the whole thing off?

I have never done it before so I am just a bit worried if i undo the gas pipe will it start leaking everywhere?

also the overflow is not connected to anything right? just open at one end and connected to the tank at the other?

so I can disconnect the overflow from the tank and also the ful hose and then safely pull it off then paint it then reconnect and I will be okay with just this?.

Also I havent fully taken a look but the front fender can just be easily removed with allen keys right?


Thanks guys

 

[lawlberg]

Can I Just do this by lifting up the tank rather than taking the whole thing off?

I have never done it before so I am just a bit worried if i undo the gas pipe will it start leaking everywhere?

also the overflow is not connected to anything right? just open at one end and connected to the tank at the other?

so I can disconnect the overflow from the tank and also the ful hose and then safely pull it off then paint it then reconnect and I will be okay with just this?.

Also I havent fully taken a look but the front fender can just be easily removed with allen keys right?


Thanks guys

Front Fender: Allen keys and a philips head screw driver - 4 bolts and one snap/clip for the brake line.

Tank: Undoing the fuel line won't leak (much), it requires the fuel pump to push fuel through, just be careful with anything that may already be in the line, but it won't be much. It's easy to reattach.
The overflow can be disconnected at the tank or left attached and snaked out, it's easier to leave it on, just so you don't need to wrestle with it when you put it back in?

you could do it all on the bike, you'll have better results off the bike, just so you can be more uniform with your spraying.

 

[GuantanamoShrey]

So 4-5 coats is enough for all parts? or should i go for 6-7? I dont want the edges to look too rounded. once the plasti dip is on.

 

[lawlberg]

It's really not that thick -you'll have good coverage after 5 - no real reason to go for more if you like the looks - I don't think you'll feel like the edges get smoothed out too much.

 

[GuantanamoShrey]

Took off all the parts,

Not as hard as I thought at all, Masked the areas off and going to paint today.


Painted my helmet yesterday since It's mechanical bond it wont affect the helmet.

Will post up pics when I am done.

Thanks for the help all!

 

[GuantanamoShrey]

Here it is

 

[tejkowskit]

Cool man. Looks like you did a good job. Any pictures of the helmet?

 

[GuantanamoShrey]

Cool man. Looks like you did a good job. Any pictures of the helmet?

The Helmet is just dipped in black.

I want to buy a gold mirror face shield for the matte black helmet and add some more gold accents to the bike.

Just waiting for a few decals to come in now.