Well you asked for another Ducati build

[fabiostar]

there is a douglas dragonfly online with a 400-4 motor. i actually have the very rusty remains of an ariel leader, no engine but a honda would fit nicely! although i have too much going on at the mo which is maybe just as well!

do it i have a mate who had a dead TE610 husky enduro bike and came up with the mad idea of putting a kwaker zx636 4 pot engine into it its clean mental but jesus does it go

[buzzer]

[sirch345]

Chris.

[buzzer]

Chris.

thought it might amuse you

scratching around for jobs to do at the moment as the frame is still at the powder coaters… fingers crossed he has promised it for tomorrow… we will see. Today I made an adaptor to fit a foam filter on the FCR carb…

[sirch345]

Good to see/hear what you have been doing towards this build.

Fingers crossed indeed you get the frame back ready to go,

Chris.

[buzzer]

Well it looks like there will be another delay. The company I have used for many years for powder coating has messed me around for a month now, lots of broken promises, which resulted in me going over this morning and fetching it all back. Some of it is done, but not up to the usual standard, and the frame has just been blasted. Still charged me the price as if it was all done. Didn’t argue, just walked away.


So, I managed to match the paint colour and will do the frame in 2K which in many ways will be better.

[sirch345]

Well it looks like there will be another delay. The company I have used for many years for powder coating has messed me around for a month now, lots of broken promises, which resulted in me going over this morning and fetching it all back. Some of it is done, but not up to the usual standard, and the frame has just been blasted. Still charged me the price as if it was all done. Didn’t argue, just walked away.


So, I managed to match the paint colour and will do the frame in 2K which in many ways will be better.

I feel your frustration Tony, although sometimes your first loss is the best loss.
Looking on the bright side, now you won't be waiting and wondering anymore when you're getting your frame etc back.
The downside is you have more work to do

Chris.

[buzzer]

yes, very frustrating I learn now that people i have recommended to him have been waiting months for work to be done...

for years I have had frames powder coated... the main reason was I hated the amount of overspray painting tubes makes in the garage...

However, powder coating does come with a few disadvantages... Firstly finding someone who will do a good job! I have had some terrible jobs done in the past... the other disadvantage is if there are any rust pits, you cant cover them with anything due to the powder coat process involving heat. With a sprayed finish you can use a 2K primer filler which does a brilliant job of covering them imperfections up. the other advantage is it's much easier to touch up in the future, plus and unlimited range of colours.

So after the powder coater messed me around again, I decided to paint the frame with 2K. here is the results.

I started with a thin coat of etch primer (or adhesion promoter as I prefer to call it!) followed by two coats of 2K primer filler. After a bit of a flat off with 800 I gave it two coats of silver base coat, followed by two of 2K lacquer.

I did this in the garden, under the Gazebo, which was brilliant! I am really pleased with the results and probably won't go back to powder coating again.

[sirch345]

Looking good Tony

I didn't realise you could spray 2k products outdoors in the cooler months, I assumed it needed to be warmer,

Chris.

[buzzer]

Looking good Tony

I didn't realise you could spray 2k products outdoors in the cooler months, I assumed it needed to be warmer,

Chris.

its definitely OK down to 5 degrees... and if you use rapid hardener the drying time is still OK. it was 10 degrees the day I did that and it was fine... this time of year is actually quite good as there are far fewer insects about, which is always a problem on reds, orange and yellows...

I like spraying outside, it means I can use just a decent mask. and there is no cleaning afterwards! if I paint 2K in the garage I use an air fed mask as in that environment 2K is nasty stuff...

[Pezed]

Wow! I don’t think that I’ve ever seen a higher standard of workmanship, across multiple disciplines too. If I win the lottery I’ll put my name down for one of your builds, meantime I’ll just continue to drool. Awesome stuff.

[sirch345]

Looking good Tony

I didn't realise you could spray 2k products outdoors in the cooler months, I assumed it needed to be warmer,

Chris.

its definitely OK down to 5 degrees... and if you use rapid hardener the drying time is still OK. it was 10 degrees the day I did that and it was fine... this time of year is actually quite good as there are far fewer insects about, which is always a problem on reds, orange and yellows...

I like spraying outside, it means I can use just a decent mask. and there is no cleaning afterwards! if I paint 2K in the garage I use an air fed mask as in that environment 2K is nasty stuff...

I'm amazed you can spray in those temperatures, well worth knowing is that, many thanks for the reply, and the useful information on 2K spraying

What a lovely finish you achieved on the Ducati parts in your video

Chris.

[buzzer]

The other thing the powder coater did for me was the plating… but he didn’t, despite having it a month. I used to do this myself with a home kit, but it was hugely time consuming and he would do a batch for £45. I knew this had potential to hold me up again so after the bank holiday I made a list of local companies that did plating. The first one I visited said I would need to open an account… and the minimum invoice was £120… The second one, the reception was locked, so I wondered into the factory via a side door to be met with a very friendly guy, the owner of the company. I showed him what I had and he said he would do it… but they had a minimum charge… £28! He said come back next day as he would do it at the end of today’s production run. Next day I popped back… Fantastic job!

I hate hammering bearings in where there is an alternative… so I pull the head bearings into place with a large piece of threaded bar, this works a treat and allows the bearings to be seated nicely before assembling the headstock.

One job I needed to do was to check that there was no blasting media in the frame oil tank. Although I had sealed it you never know, that blast media has a habit of getting inside! I used my bore scope which is an excellent bit of kit! It has an 8mm camera probe and LED lights, it plugs directly into my phone so I can see inside things like engines, it takes stills and videos! All for £15! No sign of any media at all.

As I was doing it my wife came into the garage with a coffee… I said let me have a look in your ear… I checked inside her ear and said “just as I expected…nothing in there” she silently walked out… with my coffee

It’s all coming together fast now as you can see…

[sirch345]

Things are coming together now

You had a bit of luck with the new plater guy

It's good to see the bike being built back up. I like your camera probe
You certainly don't want any foreign bodies in the oil tank part of the frame

Chris.

PS. Your poor wife, although if she is anything like mine she'll be used to you by now

[Duffy1964]

That’s another nice looking build


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