Just bought this –

Mechanically, it's nearly perfect, but cosmetically it nees improving, and I know sod all about paintwork.

Quick background – I bought it off a chap selling it after buying 3-4 scooters off an unfortunate fellow who had develpoed health problems that had left him hardly able to walk, let alone ride. 🙁
Before he parked his bikes up he'd put a few scrapes in the bodywork of this one and had decided to spray them up properly. One of the others the seller had bought of this chap was a lovely old 60s Vespa in a lovely metal flake silver paint, which I believe he'd done himself. So he knew what he was doing, put it that way. Anyway, before he got chance to finish it, he'd been put totally out of action and was unable to complete the job.

What I have is a scooter with perfectly matching black paint all over, and hardly a mark in it, but it's dull on some panels, and you can see the join between new and old paint in a couple of areas (There's a small lip where it was masked off)
The seller (Who had 4 scoots in the garage, all old ones) had just checked it over and was selling it on because he liked the traditional style said it would be easy to get the paint smoothed out and polished up…. But didn't go into detail….

Anybody fancy helping me with the detail..?
🙂

Bump!

😆 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metrosexual 😆

Id try a very light wet and dry to remove the lip then T-Cut all over

Cutting compound is what you need, not T-cut but the stuff bodyshops use, that will take the dullness and imperfections out (I recently had some bodywork done on the car and watched them use this stuff, you get amazing results with a bit of elbow grease) then give it a good polish.

Cutting compound is what you need

That's what the seller mentioned. It's new paint that needs cutting apparently. Is there any special way of doing it or do you just use it like polish?

Apparently you need to cut, polish, then wax????

Id try a very light wet and dry to remove the lip then T-Cut all over

I might try that to remove the lip, good idea, but it needs more than T-Cut I think… 🙂

Farecla G3 and a machiner polisher. Machine should be a dirt cheap electric sander / polisher (approx £15-£30), use proper Farecla foam polishing mops.

Sand down any dull / orange peely panels with 1000-1200 grit then polish up. If he used 2 pack paint and it's been on a long time, be prepared to a) be patient and b) buy some farecla G6 and a wool polishing bonnet.

All this kit is available on Ebay.

What Tron said.

😉

If he used 2 pack paint and it's been on a long time

Not sure of the paint type, but I think it was sprayed around 2 years ago, then laid up

You could try cutting it back with compound first. It's a respray or leave it if you don't achieve what you want. It shouldn't be that matt from the gun. looks DIY to me unfortunately. http://www.peterflynnclassiccars.com

Pete

Machine should be a dirt cheap electric sander / polisher (approx £15-£30),

Sorry, what sort of sander precisely?

looks DIY to me unfortunately

It is 🙂 As in done at home with a compressor etc, not in a spray shop. It's actually a decent finish IMO, just dull.

Don't put a machine on it, that's for flatter panels, you will just burn through the high areas. Forget 1000 grit paper too, you will go through the colour, 1000 is for flatting primer prior to basecoats. Get some 3m Perfect-it Compound and work it by hand – it's pretty powerfull stuff. Available form Brown Brothers, West Byfleet (I think you're sort of that way as I've met you on some local rides?)

HIJACK!

My midgets got a paint problem, in some places if looks/feels like its not been washjed, you can run your fingers over it and it feels like there's grit embedded in the paintwork. Not much, its dispersed enough to be able to feel individual bits not like a dirty car/sandpaper.

Its only ever washed reasnobly properly, hosed down, then washed with the 2 bucket method and fairly normal car shampoo/conditioner, then a coat or two of wax (turtlewax hardshell or tesco's own so nothign fancy) although I have neglected the waxing a few times recently as there's not been enough daylight over the winter.

The paints 7 years old and nearly always been in a garrage overnight, although its been exposed to a few hard frosts recently, could that be the problem?

Paint I beleieve is brooklands green over a yellow colour which could either be the base coat/primer or the car was originaly yellow and the owner may have changed his mind mid resoration and asked for another coat.

Whether its 2k or seperate colour and clearcoat I've no idea.

Is it a fault in the paint manifesting itself? Or has some grit just embedded itself in the wax/clearcoat over the winter?

One suggestion was that I've been unlucky and been under a plane dumping fuel on its way into heathrow?

It's on the front wings (where youd usualy get dirt fromt he frotn wheels) and the boot lid (which is just confusing matters). Doesn't appear to be on the bonnet.

If its just grit thats adhered too well,
Just thinking of jet washing it (at a shallow angel obviously) to see if it breaks any of it off, of washing it in washing up liquid to remove any remaining wax/polish, cutting the paint to smooth out any dimples left by embedded grit then a couple of coats of polish and waxxing as many coats as a weekends daylight will allow.

Woodsman – Sounds sensible to me, there's hardly a flat area anywhere on it! I'll get some compund of some sort and try it by hand.

Do I need some special applicator cloth, or will an old t-shirt do?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Silverline-180mm-Car-Boat-Polisher-Sander-Buffer-230v_W0QQitemZ360168166806QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Home_Garden_PowerTools_SM?hash=item53dbb21596

That kind of sander.

Machine polishing isn't the terrifying nightmare of burning through paint that most make it out to be. Hand polishing with commercial compounds is a quick way to tire yourself out. As for sanding, you will not remove orange peel without it. If it's just dull, it may polish up.

If it was sprayed in someone's shed a few years ago, it's unlikely to be 2-pack. Very poisionous to spray, and as you need 2 compressors (one for fresh air to breath), not much used by DIYers.

As for the MG, it is either a) stuffed, been sprayed in someone's shed and dust has settled in the paint, or b) needs claying. Poorboys clay is fairly cheap, use Meguiars quick detailer as a lubricant. Also fairly cheap.

The paint's that old and in otherwise good nick that I'm fairly sure it must hve been done (at least semi) profesionaly, there is some orange peel, and its a little matt (too thin?).

Never noticed it before so doubt its dust in the paint (unless it was under so much wax it wasn't noticable).

As for spraying the bike, one of the classic bike magazines had a guide in this month, reconed it cost £350 to do a fairing an tank in two colours + vinyl + decals. The writer hadn't done it before and didn't have perfect conditions to work in, but still produced some thing that would stand upto all but profesional inspection, and the bulk of that money went on a £200 compressor and half the remainder on equipment, the consumables for a second job would only be £75-£100.

Tron – Any reason I can't use a cordless drill, and just buy a polishing mop? Should do the same thing surely?

Sounds like its in definate need of claying, just read some posts about it on piston heads and detailingworld and its definately got that stubble kind of texture to it. Although how that kind of crap made it onto the boot I've no idea!

Tron – Any reason I can't use a cordless drill, and just buy a polishing mop? Should do the same thing surely?

Ignore that, the more I look into it, the more I think I should be doing it by hand. 🙂

Oi! This is my thread, start yer own!!! 😛

If doing by hand, don't use machine products. G3 and the like break down as you use them, in order to cut well at first then produce a good finish.

So, what should I get then? 🙂

I've just ordered some wet and dry to get rid of the lip, 1000,1200,1500 grit.

whoa!!

ffs please don't use any sort of machine buffer/mop on it, and definitely DO NOT use 1000-1200 paper on it!

if it's been done at home with a compressor it's likely to have been painted with cellulose paint and if so t-cut and elbow grease will bring it up a treat. then if you can get hold of some hand glaze or 3m "finesse it" for a final gloss and then wax it up.

if the t-cut doesn't work then you can attempt more extreme methods.

ffs please don't use any sort of machine buffer/mop on it, and definitely DO NOT use 1000-1200 paper on it!

No, I've gien up on the mechanical methods idea already. I've gotta get rid of that lip somehow though….

'3M Perfect-it compound' and an old T-shirt all you need, about 20 quid – done!

G3 is week and ancient, who uses that anymore and lambswool bonnets ffs!
Have you been reading practical classics from the 70's….

re the lip; you might have to be a bit careful here. if the previous chap masked a line and primed up to it and then painted over that then as you flat or polish away the lip then you will rub through to the primer, ths would be bad. the ideal scenario is that he masked a line and then lightly flicked the paint to the edge and a good polish with t-cut, or old skool, a bit of g7 would remove it.

unless it really is bad i'd be tempted to keep away from the edge.

G6 and a wool bonnet is the only thing that will cut some paints. Like the rock hard white 2 pack on my Golf.

G3 advance & a normal bonnet will do near enough anything. I'd be surprised if 3M perfect it is drastically different stuff.

I don't know anybody in my trade that still uses that range of products!

some of the new 3m compounds are very agressive and only designed to polish 2k paints. I agree that farecla g3 is old hat now and has been overtaken by 3m. If you can stip the panel off why not just take it to a body shop and repaint it? If it was already stripped down with no dents etc it could be painted in under an hour.
As for the polishing I agree that it is probably primed underneath so as you polish it you will end up with a shiney line of primer instead of an edge. Where abouts are you based?

tron. wool bonnets? they went out with flares didnt they?

As robdob says – Try the t cut or similar first – if that don't work try something a bit more aggressive. On curved panels I would work by hand for sure.

Saw a bike review a couple of years back where the frame was painted and the rear triangle was just clear lacquered. There was a pronounced lip at the top of the seat stays as the main frame had several coats, they had made a feature of it by applying a 3mm or so black line along the join. Obviously depends on where the masking is, but maybe an option? Could use a silver line if its got silver flakes in it.

just sorted a similar problem on my camper – used 1200 grade wet and dry to take the edge of the new paint down to the original paint and smooth over the whole of the new paint so no edges/ridges/lips etc. t-cut over and its smooth and blended in fine. got some cutting compound to try but not used it yet, guy in the shop said should be easier so will have to see how it goes

I saw that too spooky (Ollie) I think it was a Severn – could be a good option!

clarky, I agree, oddly enough I did use perfect-it on a cellulose classic, it worked absolutely fine, surprisingly it wasn't as effective on cellulose as two pack!

Gaz, I think that's what I'm going to do. I've gotta get rid og the lip before doing anything else

Well, I did it. 🙂

Started with 1000 grit W&D, used wet, then down to 1200. That blended the edges in beautifully. Then I T-Cutted it in a few times and the join is pretty much invisible. It was so effective I sanded the whole panel down to get rid od the orange peel effect, then T-Cutted that as well. It came up a treat and it's all but indisinguishable from the rest of the bike. You have to know wherre to look, in the right light, so see anything at all.

Thanks for all the advice chaps. 🙂