After repairing a couple small cracks on one side panel, it was time to do something about the broken mounting ear on the other.
The yellow card stock highlights the broken battery side cover mounting ear. A small hole had been drilled in the stub and a zip tie secured the panel... Kinda sorta.
I traced the tab's shape off the other side cover, then glued the pattern to some scrap .080 6061-T6 that was in my supply box. A better choice would be .060 but I
danced with the one that brung me.Drill, band saw, file and fit. I trimmed away the broken stub and epoxied the aluminum replacement in to the channel formed by the panel louvers. Using one of my low-ball rubber grommet/vinyl tubing attachments, we're good to go.
Now I'm wet sanding the panels in preparation for paint. The spaces between the louvers are a real bear. That's paint between the louvers in the above photo and not the towel texture. They do look similar. The paint is cracked due to a heavy application plus the primer was not sanded so the entire effect is a dirty, stained and fuzzy finish. My fingers are pruny from several hours in water but I'm getting there.
Somewhere in its past life, these side covers were quite possibly abused by lacquer thinner as the original Code 501 BMW blue was removed and replaced with plain ol' white. Not very attractive.
For bare plastic, lacquer thinner is usually a big No-No. The panels are
crazed with spider webs and will need lengthy rehab with primer and wet sanding before the 2009 BMW paint code 158 Azur Blue Metallic goes on the scooter.
