[remfanuk]

been a really long time since I have done anything on this...my restoration of my zxr750 has now finished so this project will take my time now.

i bought a bandit swinger from a guy (Foz) who had his bandit featured in a magazine here in the UK and i loved what he did with the bandit tank to give it a different profile. i originally was thinking about a gixxer 11 tank but it would be a bastard to fit i was told so i kinda took the idea Foz did with his standard tank which was to get a donor tank and cut the indents at the front of the tank, reverse them and glue to other tank. So that's what i got my talented brother in law to do this morning.

 

[remfanuk]

after seeing the effects of an orbital sander i am so getting one! thinking of all the time taken to hand polish headers, forks, etc...brother in law spent a couple of minutes to show me how quick a good polish can be achieved with the orbital.

anyway, there's a shit ton of work to be done on this tank so that is going to take my focus for the next few weeks, working in the evening after work. there is no rush so i aint gonna.

 

[remfanuk]

Whilst waiting for my new mini orbital to turn up i have started on the carbon front mudguard. Started by smoothing out all the manufacturer marks.
The zxr muddie had several cracks around the mounting holes which Gorilla Glue sorted...best thing with that is how any excess just peels off.
Bought some modelling clay which i hope is a stroke of genius and not a balls up as i haven't seen its use elsewhere for inspiration. Bunged up a few holes and an intricate bit running the height of the mounting area with the clay and will sand down before the laying of carbon. Never laid glass fibre so gonna be interesting.

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[yantosh]

you skinning it or making a mould to make a new part?

 

[remfanuk]

Have used it to make a mould Yan. Not entirely successfully however.
As said never done this type of thing before so massive learning curve. Have been getting some good advice from a former carbon laminator with Williams F1 team from another forum. Much harder than it looks.
I got some bridging happening where i did push the carbon down in to the the first coat of epoxy. So had to coat it again once relieved from the mould.
It aint perfect but for a first attempt i am reasonably pleased with it...got more work to be done on in terms of cutting and trimming as well as polishing.

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[remfanuk]

Next thing i have going on at the same time is the fuel tank.
I covered it in primer last week after the welding was done on it to prevent rusting. I have used a new tool to sand thos etch primer back where it needs filling. Obviously this shows me where the low points are.
Can i fill now with there still being some primer in the dents or do i need to try and sand them out?

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[remfanuk]

So carbon didn't turn out too good...will know what to do next time...but this piece was a bit complex for a 1st go. Heel plates should be easier.

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[remfanuk]

So with the carbon fucked off i sanded a bit more of the tank and then applied filler and then sanded it back. More primer applied and will look at sanding it tomorrow.
Might get some yellow primer so i know where the highs and lows are.
Got an idea of a colour scheme very roughly and shittily applied to the spare mudguard. Was thinking of white between the central orange stripe and the thinner one's...going for a much lighter grey too.

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[yantosh]

that,ll work

carbon fibre not as easy as fibreglass, no gelcoat, i end up cheating half the time and skin parts

https://www.customfighters.com/forums/showthread.php?t=137270&page=23

 

[remfanuk]

Those parts looking good. Might try glass next. However i have been advised that body filler is suitable on carbon so i am going to have a go at salvaging the mudguard and paint.
What's the secret to getting no lip on between paint lines like in my photo? The transition from orange to grey leave a ridge where they butt up together.

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[remfanuk]

Oh...and the reason that the top coat was so fucked was due to the instructions that said leave a resin coat for 8 hours before putting the 1st layer in...my F1 carbon laminator expert says that coat should be tacky when the first layer of fibre is put down and eased into it with more resin.

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[yantosh]

yeah 8hr too long, needs to be caught as its tacky before its set , to grip the carbon. not that i,m an expert

 

[remfanuk]

Thrown some Isopon at what could still be a part fit for the bin. With all the curved surfaces i don't think i could repurpose it, such as heel guards for example.
Will give it a sand and if i can get it smooth it might stand a chance of going on the bike...once i have worked out how to make the sides equal in height.
After seeing Yan's dinky Ti reservoir brackets i am thinking of something along the same lines for mudguard brackets.

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[yantosh]

smooth it all off and skin it with a layer of carbon

 

[remfanuk]

Didn't think of that Yan...hmmm...should be easier skimming right? How much worse could it be...

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[yantosh]

layer of resin, leave till just about set and stick carbon to it. leave it to set so that next layer doesn,t soften the base layer . apply more layers, use heat gun to get any bubbles out

thank Seb for the tips, thats where i got them

 

[remfanuk]

Interesting about the heat gun...did think about using it but thought it might keep the resin from hardening. Good tips...my F1 chap said about leaving the resin to go tacky too before putting the skin layer on. Shall order some tomorrow after getting it smooth. Cheers.

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[yantosh]

apparently it makes the resin more viscous and lets the surface tension break letting the bubbles out

 

[remfanuk]

The last of my filler went on this morning and then sanded as smooth as i could get with 240 and 400 without punching any more holes in the carbon or filler. I saw someone use Dolphin Glaze as a finishing self-levelling filler so had a go with that. Hopefully tomorrow with fairly gentle sanding i can get a smooth and intact surface to skin with carbon in the next couple of days when the postman brings it. I might rescue this in the end afterall.
All being well i will use Dolphin Glaze on the tank too.

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[remfanuk]

Loads of sanding and use of Dolphin Glaze left me with a much better base to skin the monstrosity i had created. Wet, it looks ok to me and now useable which was the main concern. Yeah it's a bit heavier due to filler but i learnt something and can say i made it from scratch.
Will see what it looks like tomorrow and then fine sand, G3 and polish. My laminator expert says that rather than polish in the traditional sense Williams F1 would use Kiwi black shoe polish! Might give that a go. The underside of the mudguard looks a little rough so may just spray that black.

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