Dissolving Paint

My Guzzi was painted, by me nine years ago, with cellouse and hasn't been
damaged by petrol and if you leave it full to the brim on a warm day with
a hot engine (whilst paying for the fuel) it will start 'boiling over'
and have frighteningly large amounts of fuel running everywhere.

Think liquid oxygen Apollo 13 launch pad but black and malevolent.

 

It's an obvious finish and smacks of bodgery to me.

 

But the formula has changed in the last few years. The old stuff set
rock hard, the new stuff isn't anything like as good, and the spray
version is an embarrassment.

I tried their "aluminium primer" to do the starter cover on the R80.
Spent ages stripping and prep-ing it. Never again. Their spray-on stuff
wouldn't even stick to their own primer. Ghastly mess, which took ages
to clean off properly.

I dunno about being affected by petrol: gnat's wee would probably take
it off.

Regards,

Simonm.

 

Whatever. Petrol doesn't remove Hammerite. Strange - perhaps it simply

Me, after using nitromors without gloves <ouch>...

 

They weren't supposed to be interesting were they?

Perhaps you wanted the 750. I had one. Now that *was* interesting. The
utterly inadequate air "assisted" shocks made it capable of a tank slapper in a
straight line. At London speeds (well maybe not *exactly* 30mph Combine
a peaky engine, huge weight and inadequate suspension..

BTW that one ended up with an aftermarket fairing and the whole thing
covered in black smoothrite because the original silver paint was so crap
(not dissolved by petrol, worn out by my knees by about 30K). Which led to
one of my colleagues' likening it to a thing out of Mad Max, the best
compliment I have ever heard about a Kawa GT.

Regards, Ian

 

*Winces*

Nasty stuff, that.

 

Hammerite does to me. If you saw the swinging arm of the DT50, you
wouldn't say that about Smoothrite. I spent some time preparing the
surface, and used the aerosol version - and it looks like the original
factory finish. Chuffed, I am.

Neighbour used it (black aerosol version) to paint the engine of his Les
Dawson Rep. He prepared the engine properly, and says he was very
careful, and the finish is absolutely fantastic.

Brush-on Smoothrite may be different. I've never used it.

 

I had one for years - it's still floating around ukrm somewhere.

Dead reliable, comfy, fast enough, and the only time the handling went
totally doolally was due to a combination of fecked head races and worn
tyres. hardly heavy, either. Not compared to my current CB750,
anyway....

Mind you, the suspension was pretty crap, agreed - due largely to it
using *exactly* the same front end and rear shocks as the 550.

 

There's nothing wrong with Smoothrite but the finish is very distinctive.

Bodgery is probably the wrong word - home-done is probably better. I
know you can get a very acceptable finish with it as the Guzzi lower
frame rails, starter motor, speedo, bars, fork legs and swinging arm are
painted in it. It's not perfect on aluminium though.

It's pretty fuel proof (ho ho) as the starter motor is directly under the
carbs which must tickled so it's regularly doused in petrol and shows no
damage; nothing more than the staining left by the petrol residue.

Hammerite, OTOH, is only fit for chassis and floor pans and even then
only if you're in a hurry.

 

Two weeks these days, used to be six. Been in discussion with ICI recently
as I have painted my whole scooter with smoothrite and wanted to know what I
could use to protect it. Basically you paint it and leave it two weeks
before you do anything at all.

 

I don't think you mean "tank slapper" (def: a fast oscillation of the
bars from side to side, hitting the lock stops). I had GT750 and it
wouldn't have tank-slapped flat out down Brayhill.

But the did weave. Usually gentle, but often rather unsettling.

 

Somewhere, I have a little book of collected "Hints and tips for
motorcyclists" which must date from about 1910. There are dire warnings
about "speed-man's wobble".

 

Pretty much actually. It was wet and I gave it too much throttle at
about 30-40 (there was probably a manhole cover there too), it got into
the power and the back wheel spun and slid sideways, which started a
violent oscillation at the front. Maybe not to the stops as the steering
lock is pretty large but nearly so, or at least it felt like it
Extremely unnerving. I don't know how I stayed on. Fortunately it settled
down after about 4 or 5.

Fortunately I have never ridden a GT750 down Bray Hill and certainly
wouldn't want to do so flat out, there's a big bump in the middle and
a sharp bend at the bottom Anyway, isn't it in the 30 limit?

Ah yes, but you got used to that.

Interestingly though I once got a puncture in the back at about 90 two up
and then it did just weave gently. I stopped as fast as I safely could and
it was completely flat by then. So it was capable of good behaviour.

As TOG suggests I'm probably maligning it, they are indeed good reliable
workhorses but, apart from the B120 and the Superdream, both of which were
so cheap they had a right to be crap, it's the worst bike I've owned in
terms of riding pleasure. The R80 I replaced with it in the hope of
getting something similar but faster was much nicer to ride.

Regards, Ian

 

The Older Gentleman says...

He has an out of tune piano with an engine?

 

Les was an excellent pianist. You'd have to be to play it wrong so
convincingly.

--
Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.fsnet.co.uk my opinions are just that
Blue: The sky is blue for a reason. Blue light is a source of strength
and harmony in the cosmos. Create a blue light in your life by
telephoning the police
from the Little Book of Complete B***ocks by Alistair Beaton.

 

Ah, but, there are ways round that :
http://www.champ.org.uk/bikes/racing/mgp.html

 

I don't remember that ever happening. They used to have "mad Sunday" (I
think it's stopped now, but I've not been for a while) when they made
the mountain section one way, but that bit doesn't have any speed limits
anyway.

I don't think it would be at all sensible to derestrict Bray Hill, it's a
long straight steep downhill bit in the centre of Douglas with a sharp
bend at the bottom and a pub with lots of people milling around outside
straight ahead. As I recall a great place to watch sidecars, as they snake
around braking from the ridiculous speeds they've got up to down the hill
to take the bend, heading straight towards you.

Regards, Ian

 

Not available to GT750s though. Not unless the rider is completely devoid
of brain cells. IMHO. Would it even pass scrutineering? I suppose it
would, as AIUI you just have to have all your plugs wired properly and
everything in good working condition. The GT is *supposed* to have elastic
bands in place of suspension so it all works.

Regards, Ian

 

On Mon, 16 May 2005 07:14:53 +0100 If I have seen farther it is
because I have stood on the shoulder of giants

My fridge agrees ;-)

PS
I envy you.You can get a,"Pipex" connection :/



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As other posters have said,and as a paint sprayer of some years,cheap
Acrylic from an Automotive shop is more resistant to petrol etc and
also very easy to,"Compound" out any damage.However you can apply
Acrylic over the celly but once you have you can't go over it with
celly or it will craze.
Also you can use Acrylic clear laquer(Automotive cheap) over the
Acrylic colour of your choice as another,"Seal" which can also be
t-cutted/compounded back to a good lustre when it dulls,which it will,
with sunlight and the elements as most lacquers do but they do give a
deeper lustre to the paint job so even on a good Acrylic Finish I
usually put a lacquer coat after re-flatting with a fine grade wet and
dry(and that hurts simetimes<grin>) as know what time and the elements
will do.

My 10 penn'th.



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