K75S DIY painting (& polished tank) thread

[Zagando]

Amver-colored grease might be the clue...

Note: Most of what I wrote is within the quote below---sorry if this is confusing at all

"Not sure what you mean by inside/outside - if you mean the inner race and the outer race.. "

No, Don, I was referring to the edges next to the inside axle spacer---(see my new photos below).

Left:

"Now think about where the seal "seals" - it is fixed on it's outer diameter.. and it seals on the inner diameter, where you have grease. If it's going to leak - that's where the grease would appear."

OK, I understand that.

**********************

"That's a good thing. [ The fact that the bearings turn freely and smoothly ] That doesn't surprise me since there is probably still grease in them, at least some. The only thing that makes me question if it's grease from an external source (like someone greasing the axle before installation - which is supposed to be done, but only a very thin "smear" of grease - is the color. Used grease usually darkens. Looks gray/black in color. This looks like it's white/yellow, which would be a lithium based grease, of the kind someone might spray on an axle when installing it."

Axle pretty much the same as when I removed it:

Yes, most of this grease is amber in color which leads me to believe you're onto something here. Could it be extra grease applied to the inside of the spacers upon reassembly?

It even says right on page 589 of my Clymer; "2. Apply a small amount of cold grease to the inner surface of the spacers; this will help hold them in place."

I'm hoping that this is the key to solving this mystery and here's some close-up photos of the bearings and the spacers I took this morning: (Right side is shown first)

Left side bearing had already been wiped before photos:

Even though it may be impossible to draw a full conclusion one way or the other I am interested to see what you and anyone else might think after seeing these photos.

Is amber grease ever used in the bearings themselves? I would tend to think that BMW is completely consistent in the grease they use and that any amber-colored grease would have been applied after the bearings were originally installed.

Lee, Paul, Greg, or any forensic scientists care to weigh in on this discussion? I'm not doubting one bit of anything that Don is saying, just want to know if anyone else has come across a similar scenario to mine and what the outcome might have been.


Regardless, I will heed Don's bottom line if I am still in doubt about the condition of my bearings:


.. ."I don't think there is any good way to determine if the bearings are leaking given the circumstances - and given the potential badness of a front wheel bearing failure, better safe than sorry."

Thanks for all your time and trouble on this, Don, I appreciate it tremendously.

 

[deilenberger]

Jeff - I don't see any grease at the junction of the bearing inner-race and the spacer.. so I doubt if the axle was heavily greased (it would have left some behind.)

Thought about this last night.. and given the possibility someone greased the outer spacers to hold them in place, I think what I would do (and I'm not suggesting anyone else do this..) is:

• I'd clean the bearing outside surface/seal carefully
• I'd assemble the axle/spacers without any grease
• I'd ride the bike for a tank of gas
• I'd disassemble and see if there are any signs of any grease where the seal meets the inner race OD.

If not - I'd probably make sure to check it next time the bike gets an oil change..
If there is grease - I'd be looking to replace the bearings..

That's me. I wouldn't suggest anyone do anything they don't feel safe with.

 

[Zagando]

Mind reading

You pretty well read my mind, Don.

After I posted the photos yesterday I soon came to the conclusion that the way to check the bearings was to clean everything, reassemble and ride---then disassemble and check them out to see if there was any difference. We were thinking the same

So I will resume my original plan of painting the wheels and tupperware, put the bike all back together and get a little riding in before our rainy season goes full swing (say, mid-November + - a few weeks).

I will pull the wheel off well before then to check it, of course (like you say, after a tankful's ride or so).

Depending on what I find (or don't find) by November, I'll then ship the rim off to A&S/Matt Dobner/Bob's* for new bearings if it seems advisable at the very least.

* (other wrench recommendations welcome, although any of these three should be well capable)

As this will likely take a couple of months (round-trip via Parcel Post) and our dismal, damp and cold rainy season will be the perfect time to accomplish this.

 

[Zagando]

Latest (small) progress report, 22 August

Haven't been making quite as much progress towards painting as I'd like but did manage to accomplish a few things this last week.

I finally removed the last remaining screws, fasteners, grommets, rubber protectors, trim and such from all of the body parts and have started degreasing them prior to paint removal. GooGone and Orange Blast are my friends.

I got out my wife's hairdryer, heated the reflectors, rubber scuff pads, protectors and roundels on the saddlebag halves and eventually managed to pry them out/off without real damage to the ABS cases. Jeez, BMW uses some mighty strong adhesives!

I now need to thoroughly clean all of the tupperware with Simple Green once more (this time I'll get to the inside areas of the fenders and cowling, etc. as I plan to do a full inside/out paint spraying.

I ordered one of those $30 Harbor Freight/Central Pneumatic gravity-fed spot blaster guns off ebay the other day---I decided to give soda blasting a go before I try to remove all the old paint via wet-sanding.

While paint-removal may not be totally necessary I want to do the whole job starting from the ground-up, sotospeak. Most of the tupperware has small areas of poorly touched-up damage that I will fill or reinforce with epoxy putty that will then need to be sanded smooth---so I figure why not pull out all the stops and do the job right?

I hope the spot blaster works well enough so I don't have to do tons of sanding.

I should know fairly soon as the gun has been shipped already. I need to get about 40 pounds of baking soda and rent an air compressor for a full day from Home Depot and then I'll be good to go. Will post before/after photos thereafter

I also wiped the front wheel bearings clean with Q-tips dipped in 3-In-One oil followed by paper towels; see the photos below. While the wheels are ready to be remounted I will wait on this as I also plan to paint them first.

I took some Orange Blast degreaser and a little "electric toothbrush style" rotating brush and got the 3-spokers really clean. Then I got out my scuff pad and roughed up the surface---ready for primer and paint ( I still need to cover the hubs and tires with blue masking tape first)

I found that fitting rattle-can plastic lids over the hubs protected the bearings from the elements as I worked on the wheels, too. (See photo)

Lastly, I stripped the paint off the muffler heat shield as well as the fork brace. I'm now sanding the fork brace in preparation for chrome-plating that will be done in Hilo soon. I didn't get all the paint off the heat shield so I'll either get another spray can of stripper or just sand the remaining bits off instead.

Here's a few photos as promised; it might be a while before I post more developments. I'm bartending extra shifts all this week and into next so will have little time for working on my project until Labor Day (coming soon, though).

Hopefully, the seasonal rains will not return until after the bike gets new paint

and this

for stuff like this scrunched belly pan

 

[Zagando]

2 September update:

Have made considerable progress on getting all the plastic bits thoroughly cleaned and degreased (using a scrub brush, Simple Green & hot water, multiple rinses, drying and further cleaning with acetone). Now they're ready for sanding with 600 grit (wet) and final soap and water cleaning before the primer goes on.

Took the Dremel to the fiberglass areas of damage to grind some grooves into them for better epoxy adhesion and will be applying the Aqua Mend putty today.

I have about six or seven small areas that need repair/filling then I'll get out the sandpaper.

Hope to get some photos posted of the epoxy repairs once they're done.

I am also thinking of spraying these pieces hung with stiff wire from the frame of our big long carport (instead of totally outdoors) which will enable me to do all of them at once (front and backs, undersides, etc.)

 

[toddlamp]

Have made considerable progress on getting all the plastic bits thoroughly cleaned and degreased (using a scrub brush, Simple Green & hot water, multiple rinses, drying and further cleaning with acetone). Now they're ready for sanding with 600 grit (wet) and final soap and water cleaning before the primer goes on.

Took the Dremel to the fiberglass areas of damage to grind some grooves into them for better epoxy adhesion and will be applying the Aqua Mend putty today.

I have about six or seven small areas that need repair/filling then I'll get out the sandpaper.

Hope to get some photos posted of the epoxy repairs once they're done.

I am also thinking of spraying these pieces hung with stiff wire from the frame of our big long carport (instead of totally outdoors) which will enable me to do all of them at once (front and backs, undersides, etc.)

Can you please post up some pics of the fiberglass repair? I just obtained a beat up track bike that I want to repair the cracks in the fiberglass. I have Aqua mend at home and never thought to use it for the fairings. I was going to use bondo.

 

[Zagando]

Will do so tomorrow morning, Todd (I just got back from town after a long day).

The AquaMend seems to work well

 

[Zagando]

I recommend Aqua Mend

Here's some photos of my Aqua Mend bodywork, Todd. I've got some finer sanding to do before I'll be ready for the primer stage, but you get the idea:

I really like using it so far; once you knead it in your hands for a couple minutes it begins to get warm (chemical reaction of the epoxy blending) and then you just press it into place and shape as needed.

It has a nice feature that is worth the small ($3) price of admission, too---it sets up in 60 minutes so you have plenty of time to get it the way you want it before it's hard and ready to sand.

Just make sure your surfaces are whistle-clean (I used Simple Green followed by acetone) and you should be good to go.

Despite it setting up very hard I have a hunch it has a bit of flexibility built into it which makes it a suitable choice for plastic/fiberglass repair.

 

[toddlamp]

Here's some photos of my Aqua Mend bodywork, Todd. I've got some finer sanding to do before I'll be ready for the primer stage, but you get the idea:

I really like using it so far; once you knead it in your hands for a couple minutes it begins to get warm (chemical reaction of the epoxy blending) and then you just press it into place and shape as needed.

It has a nice feature that is worth the small ($3) price of admission, too---it sets up in 60 minutes so you have plenty of time to get it the way you want it before it's hard and ready to sand.

Just make sure your surfaces are whistle-clean (I used Simple Green followed by acetone) and you should be good to go.

Despite it setting up very hard I have a hunch it has a bit of flexibility built into it which makes it a suitable choice for plastic/fiberglass repair.

Nice. I had no idea that I could use it to repair a fairing! Good to know.

 

[Zagando]

Further thoughts on Aqua Mend, paint, etc.

Seems a lot simpler and easier to use than conventional fiberglass repair IMO.

Just be sure to use latex or nitrile gloves when kneading and applying the putty(latex are better as the looser nitrile gloves stick to the putty and complicate things a bit).

Tomorrow I should be finished with all the rough sanding, then it's on to the fine wet-sanding of all the tupperware.

I'm finally getting close to the actual painting process and have been reading some of the data sheets for PPG primers, sealers, base coats and clears---they have about a gazillion different versions of each product.

I'm leaning towards the DPLF series of primers, NCS2000 sealer, DBU base with perhaps a DAU75 clear coat. I'll ask the paint guy at my local ASC auto shop what he thinks of this combination for my particular application (and my zero experience in HVLP spray painting) but I have a hunch I'll be good to go.

I mentioned spraying everything in my big, drafty carport instead of outdoors the other day but I came up with a better idea than either of those (I think):

Since I have one wall of my otherwise clear vinyl bike shed composed of two 4x8 sheets of plywood, I could hang or mount all of my tupperware on bike hooks screwed into the wall and spray them all together inside the shed. The shed is small (6x8x8) but DRY and calm inside. Our carport, however, is just too leaky with our constant breezes and frequent showers.

The bike shed already provides much more shelter against the elements as it is nestled against the back of our house and is surrounding closely by thick forest.
I got some Hilti sealing foam at Home Depot the other day so I can seal up all of the corners and open edges which should keep most of the bugs and airborne debris out.

There are quite a few cobwebs in the nooks and crannies which I'll clean out, then hose everything down and put some plastic sheeting over the wall and gravel/brick floor before I begin to paint.

I also have some mosquito net-type screening that I will use to make a couple of big side vents in the vinyl with for air circulation and escaping paint vapors (I'll be well-protected with a full hazmat suit, gloves and fresh air respirator the whole time I'm mixing and spraying inside my "booth.").

Although I bought a big "weatherproof" window fan with the idea of using it for exhaust venting I don't want to risk igniting any vapor explosions with it so I'll let nature's breezes do that instead. I'll be nervous as it is with my first spray without having to worry about setting everything on fire

I'm getting my fork brace and muffler heat shield sandblasted and chromed this week while will get my shed ready in the meantime. As usual, I'll post some photos once that's completed.

 

[Zagando]

Sandblasted and ready for chrome

It's been raining a lot until this morning so haven't gotten much done here last two days---but I did ride my little Honda scooter to town yesterday to get these pieces sandblasted.

The Ruckus sputtered and conked out on the way home so I had to have some co-workers come and rescue me and the scoot with a pickup truck...now I'm going to clean the carb float bowl out which is probably the culprit (have to do this every couple of months because of varnish crystals).... I'll get back to my bodywork sanding as soon as this is all sorted.

My wife went to town this morning and took these pieces with her in hopes of dropping them off at the chrome-plating outfit---save me a trip back as I got there too late after I picked them up at the machine shop. Will post photos of them once they've been chromed and polished.

 

[Zagando]

Wet-sanding almost finished (Or anding until I'm sick of sanding...)

In case anyone has been wondering I've been busy wet-sanding all the tupperware (BMW Fibron) pieces for the last couple of days, on and off as my free time and weather cooperate.

Going pretty well but it is actually a bit more work than one might expect. Now I know what all the pros mean when they advise "sanding until you're sick of sanding, then sand some more."

Everthing's looking nice and dull but since I still have some shiny areas to attend to I'll be back at it tomorrow.

Soon it will FINALLY ready for the final cleaning/acetone wipe/masking of bolt fittings and the long-awaited coats of primer, sealer, paint and clear. Oh yeah, I'm doing the wheels, too.

 

[Zagando]

Explosion-proof fan & side covers

I recently started a thread about using my tiny bike shed as a paint booth over on ADV Rider's Garage forum. A generous fellow over in Pittsburgh, PA happened to see my thread and has offered to work out a trade for his 16" Grainger explosion-proof fan. dance)

He was just dismantling his own paint booth and no longer has a need for it; this veritable windfall will greatly enable me to do a much better paint job in my cramped bike-shed turned spray booth.

The fan is getting shipped tomorrow so I should have it in a week or less. Yippee!

I also realized I need to get a pair of side covers for my bike (even though it's the low-seat model). I can either trim up the bottom part of the seat pan or perhaps trim the side covers I get so it will all fit.

Just posted a WTB ad in the MOA Flea Market and other sites but thought of mentioning it here as well. Beemer Boneyard only has one side cover in stock and I'd prefer to find a left-right pair. Any color or condition is fine; if you or someone you know happens to know of any.......................plz send me a PM

 

[Zagando]

23 Sept. update

Found some side covers off a '91 K75S that are being shipped today from North Carolina so I will prep, sand and add them to my pile of parts to paint as soon as they arrive.

Even though I won't be able to use them with my low-seat Sargeant saddle I'll at least have them painted and ready for when I do a standard seat conversion (started toying with that idea and may put another wanted ad in the Flea Market and IBMWR, etc. for a low-seat/std. seat trade very soon).

Finally received that HF spot blasting gun I ordered ages ago off ebay but probably won't get around to using it for quite a while (since I don't need to remove the old paint completely, just sand it with 600 for primer/sealer). Eventually I'll get around to de-rusting some other things around here with it so it won't go to waste.

Also believe that 16" Grainger fan is on its way to me this week so I'm getting some plywood ready for a baffle for it that I can mount on one end or side of my shed.

I may also put a duct into the shed from another baffle I'll fabricate for our dehumidifier so I can blow in dry air from it instead of simply installing vents (it's just too humid most of the time here). Need to revisit Home Depot again soon once I figure out how to work out the logistics.

I also got a Radio Shack weather monitor with a remote sensor that now lives in my shed. I can monitor the temp and humidity levels all the time from inside the house; pretty nifty, IMO.

Besides finishing the last few areas as far as wet-sanding goes I'm all done except for the top-case lid. I realized the other day that I should paint that to match the saddlebags so I got some more Aqua Mend to fill in the rough granulated surface the lid has. I'm doing that today along with putting another new tarp on one side of our carport out front. That's where my bike is being stored while I use the bike shed for the painting project and it tends to leak a lot whenever it rains.

Yesterday I went to town (fixed my Honda scooter; cleaned out the carb float bowl again) and picked up the fork brace and muffler heat shield. I had them chromed (after sandblasting) and the job turned out OK. Some minor surface imperfections but not that noticeable unless you get close to them; still worth the $60 cost and I think they will provide a couple extra nice touches of bling to my bike:

 

[98lee]

A friend of mine had his bike painted and when they painted the bag lids they put an additive in the paint (I believe it's normally used for car rubber bumpers) that leaves the paint more flexible.

It makes the paint on the lids much more durable. The lids get much more flexing and bumping than the rest of the bike would.


Just a thought that you might want to investigate.

 

[Zagando]

Flexible polyurethane

Thanks for pointing this out, Lee. When I talked to my paint guy down at ASC last week he suggested going with a different clear coat than I had originally thought of using---because it was more flexible than most of the others.

I'll definitely double-check on the paint when I go there again to make my purchases, but I suspect he would have said something about the flex factor if it was a potential problem with the PPG paint (DBC) that I plan to use. I do appreciate your heads-up nonetheless.

My color choice will be announced here soon; I just need to decide between two different shades of the color I've already chosen.

 

[98lee]

yellow????

 

[Zagando]

Yellow just too mellow...

yellow????

Umm, the underside of the tank will still be yellow, Lee, so all originality will not be completely lost.

 

[Zagando]

Exhaust fan arrived

The big Dayton/Grainger explosion-proof fan arrived safe and sound the other day (in only 2 days from Pittsburgh to Volcano----USPS never ceases to amaze me!).

I've gotten started on mounting it in one corner of my shed/paint booth and will provide more photos and details soon.

 

[Zagando]

Seems as though our rainy season is early but...

It's been raining almost continuously for the last 6 days here in Volcano and my progress and spirits have been dampened to say the least.

However, I am not about to throw in the towel because of Mother Nature's ineptitude in meteorological event scheduling, either.

I am going to rig up a 6" duct from our home humidifier into my paint booth so as to provide a warm dry airflow (I can check the effectiveness of this with my home weather station's remote sensor). If my exhaust fan is too strong I can always hook up the rheostat I got for it to slow it down and synchronize the overall airflow if needed.

Meanwhile I've been busy installing the big Grainger/Dayton 12" explosion-proof fan and sealing up the paint booth with expandable sealing foam. I used up two cans and got almost every nook, cranny and joint sealed but ran out before I could completely finish. Will get another can and get to it later this week, come rain or shine. Messy and nasty stuff (isocyante compounds in it if you read the fine print) so I wore nitrile gloves and my full fresh air respirator while I did the job. Kind of looks like aliens from outer space invaded my bike shed and got sick all over the place but, what the heck, it seems to work as intended.

I cut some heavy screen and installed it (and a metal bar) across the front of the fan for protection from the powerful suction that it creates. This way the air filter mounted in front of it and any small animals or foreign objects nearby won't get sucked in along with the paint vapors...

Also sealed up the smaller joints around the fan and the shroud that I fashioned out of a huge plastic planter for it with several applications of hot glue. Nifty setup, even if I say so myself.

Once I'm finally (someday!) ready to spray paint I'll attach about 40' of flexible ducting to the back of that shroud and vent the fumes way out away from the house.

While taking a break from all of this during lunch the other day I think I came up with a potentially bright idea (I hope): Use one of the big chromed steel Costco racks that we have been using for storing boxes of stuff as a sort of "spray rack."
The racks are 4x7 feet wide/tall and about 20 inches deep with fully adjustable shelves.

"Why not suspend pieces that I'm about to paint with stiff wire between the shelves?" I thought.

As the racks are on rollers all I'd have to do is spray one side, stop and turn the rack around to spray the other. Let the pieces tack dry then wire up the next batch and repeat. I've now got at least 20 pieces of tupperware to spray and most could be done this way. The saddlebag halves and perhaps the top case lid could be sprayed separately on individual stands I'm going to use---as they'll only need one "side" of paint.

If anyone doesn't think this is such a bright idea please let me know soon.

I've already taken everything we had stored off one rack and am thinking about getting the other rack ready as well. (Envision big piles of junk everywhere inside our tiny house "No honey, it's only temporary, honest!")

Since I have so many parts to spray it would behoove me to utilize two racks as that would make things all the easier and efficient, especially once the coatings have been mixed (pot life is only a couple/few hours for most of the PPG coatings I'll be using so time is of the essence).

I'll be getting back to my regular job for the next couple of days so it can keep on raining for the time being---just as long as the sun comes back out during my next day off---then I can finish up the last bits of sanding prep I still need to do.

The side covers I bought from Dean, a fellow MOA member in NC, arrived recently and I want to paint them along with the other parts. Someday I plan to do a low-seat-to-standard-seat conversion and when I do, these side covers will be all ready to go on and match my bike perfectly.

Here's some more recent photos to keep the interest going in the meantime

The air filter is being held in place by the fan's suction

Side covers are in good shape, all tabs are intact and only need some minor prepping: