The New And Improved Unofficial R65 Forum V2

Technical Discussion => BMW Technical Q&A, Primarily R65 => Topic started by: steven m on March 17, 2013, 06:26:09 PM

Title: paint stripper
Post by: steven m on March 17, 2013, 06:26:09 PM

Was never crazy about the paint on my Wudo, with an umlaut, 90S style fairing.  PO's paint job looked fine from 10 feet away, but any closer... So, this being winter, I pulled it off the bike, filled in the off center instrument holes with fiberglass for re-drilling, and filled in all the mounting holes, including windscreen, also off center. The Wudo logo is embossed and there was no way to sand without destroying it, so I bought some Citrustrip, an environmentally friendly paint stripper, and used it on the entire fairing, which is now clean down to the gel coat and ready to be finished properly.
Citrustrip worked fast and didn't damage the fiberglass.  Should be safe on side covers and fenders as well.  
Steve

Title: Re: paint stripper
Post by: Bob_Roller on March 17, 2013, 07:49:04 PM

Where did you get the paint stripper ?????????

My limited experience with paint stripper, left me with the impression, that it was some pretty nasty stuff, that would 'eat' any thing that wasn't metal !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Title: Re: paint stripper
Post by: steven m on March 18, 2013, 02:20:21 AM

Home Depot!  Comes in both Gel and Aerosol versions.  Much less nasty than Jasco or other traditional paint strippers.  I was worried it might melt the fiberglass but it didn't.  Now, on my fairing the PO didn't do a great job with prep, no etching primer I could see, so after letting it soak for about 20 minutes with Citrustrip the paint was bubbling up and came off with a scrub brush and water.      
Really great job Wudo did in molding in their logo, eh?

Title: Re: paint stripper
Post by: nhmaf on March 18, 2013, 08:27:36 PM

I'm going to home Depot to get some to try out too!

Title: Re: paint stripper
Post by: tvrla on March 21, 2013, 11:19:31 PM

You could always fill in the back side of the logo with fiberglass, then contour the front.

I used to make fiberglass S fairings (along with other airhead body parts) twenty years ago, and made the parts exactly like original. But I think I like the dashboard molded integral with the fairing. Only problem is paint - will you paint it semi gloss black or the color of the rest of the fairing?

Title: Re: paint stripper
Post by: steven m on March 22, 2013, 03:12:20 AM

Hey Wirespokes, how are things up in Oregon?  I'm planning on painting the dash/cockpit area textured satin black.  Reduce some of the visual mass up there.  As for the logo, I think it should clean up with a little molding and sanding.