This painting element has been a bit of a creeping project. To begin with I thought I would spruce up the crash bars because they had a bit of rust on them. A wash and rub over with the spinning wire brush, they looked quite good after a can of paint had been spray over them in a series of coats over a week.
Then I decided that a colour change was in order. I would have prefered a white Pan but a silver version is what came my way. I have discovered that many Pan owners have issues with the finish on the castings which make it tricky to keep shiney. With that in mind I decided upon a course of action. The silver body panels and major frames elements would remain silver but the engine, forks and swing arm would be painted black. The wheels are already black. The look will be two tone. The tops silver and the bottom black. This was only decided upon after I had painted the crash bars and the front of the engine.
Whilst I had the body panels off I gave everything a good wash, first with engine degreaser (Jizer) then a power wash. When all was dry I was going to hit the engine with a wire brush. I had done the front of the engine but a problem occurred....the exhaust headers were in the way. I oiled up the jubileee clips connecting the headers to the exhaust silencers. The silencers came off much easier than I expected. I soaked the header bolts in oil and after a few days they came off without damaging anything. There is always the threat the bolts or nuts will strip or damage the threads. The repair is always expensive in time, money and is often a less than perefect repair. Replacement header and silencer gaskets were orders and was stainless steel silencer clips to replace one OEM versions which after 15 years were looking a bit tired.
The big round wire brush took care of the flatter areas of the engine body and the small pointy wire brush took care of the tight spaces and webbing. A wipe down to remove the dust, a spot of heath Robinson masking and it was time to get the rattle cans busy. I bought high tempreature gloss black paint. Two full cans were applied in coat to the exposed engine. Once dry the the surface of the casing was smooth with paint. It should be much easier to keep clean and it should stop the alloy casing corroding any further. It looks smart too!
It was a fiddly job to fit the new header gaskets but once the first one was positioned and the nuts started on the studs it was an easier job the fit the other three. The exhaust header nuts were tightened up.
The next job was to refit the radiator. See Return of the Radiator. The crash bars were refitted. The refurbished fork legs had been set aside and now it was their turn in the makeshift spray booth for some rattle can action. Another can of paint was applied in thin layers. The finish is smooth. They should not hold the road dirt as much as the standard finish. Any brake lines and brackets got the paint treatment at the same time and for the same reason. When the paint was dry the forks were fitted back onto the bike.Whilst I was at it I went through the same cleaning and paint process on the side sand and main stand.
