Kawasaki Concours Forum
The C-14, aka Kawasaki Concours-14, the new one :) => Accessories and modifications - C14/GTR 1400 => Topic started by: Gearhead82 on October 07, 2011, 12:03:27 PM
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A few days ago I had my bike parked inside the shop at work. While pulling out from the shop I took a corner too tight and clipped a steel workbench pretty good and made a nice, big, deep scratch in my left saddlebag. This was the first scratch in my baby and I was pretty sad about it, especially since it was such a bonehead move and the damage was so obvious. I've had bad luck with touch up paint before (plus it's expensive!) and, especially being such a deep scratch, I decided not to go that route.
Because the location of the scratch was in the upper 1/3rd of the bag, I decided to prep and paint the top of the saddlebags with some black spray-on bedliner material. I used Bed Armour, which is a Duplicolor product. It turned out great! I first taped off the area I was going to paint. Then I wet sanded everything I was going to paint with 400 grit sand paper. I spent some time trying to sand out most of the gouge left in the plastic from the scratch, but I never get the scratch completely out. Then I followed the directions on the can, and ta da! As an added bonus I don't have to worry about the tops of the bags getting scuffed with my boot anymore etc. The only expenses were $12 for the paint and another $5 for the green painters tape.
(http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn258/gearhead82_bucket/Saddlebag%20Fix/IMG_1659.jpg)
(http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn258/gearhead82_bucket/Saddlebag%20Fix/IMG_1661.jpg)
(http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn258/gearhead82_bucket/Saddlebag%20Fix/IMG_1662.jpg)
(http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn258/gearhead82_bucket/Saddlebag%20Fix/IMG_1663.jpg)
(http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn258/gearhead82_bucket/Saddlebag%20Fix/IMG_1670.jpg)
(http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn258/gearhead82_bucket/Saddlebag%20Fix/IMG_1675.jpg)
(http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn258/gearhead82_bucket/Saddlebag%20Fix/IMG_1678.jpg)
(http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn258/gearhead82_bucket/Saddlebag%20Fix/IMG_1680.jpg)
(http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn258/gearhead82_bucket/Saddlebag%20Fix/IMG_1682.jpg)
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Nice! In some ways, your bags looks better than when painted; good lines with the black seat, and color symmetry on top and bottom of bag.
I botched a touch up job, and had to get my tank professionally re-painted. Will keep this in mind if I have a similar bad scratch to the saddlebags. It will be interesting to learn how well this holds up over time.
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That looks good!
Not to get too far off topic, but what do you guys do to get out the boot scuffs? Mine has a few from the bike being in the showroom as well as a couple self inflicted ones that I got before I got used to swinging my leg high and wide.
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Nice! In some ways, bags looks better than when painted; good lines with the black seat, and color symmetry on top and bottom of bag.
I botched a touch up job, and had to get my tank professionally re-painted. Will keep this in mind if I have a similar bad scratch to the saddlebags. It will be interesting to learn how well this holds up over time.
Yeah it really turned out even better than I expected and it does flow well with the line and color of the seat. The texture of the bed liner almost perfectly matches the texture of the black plastic that's already above and below the painted surface on the bags. From what I've heard, it should be very durable stuff too.
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If you get lemons make lemonade! awesome love it when people find different things to do.
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I have never seen people use bedliner for so many things until i joined this forum... and i sell LOTS of bedliner too! That actually looks pretty good!
As for the poster asking how to take boot marks out you can use a rubbing compound by hand to take most of them out, I have to do that a fair amount when the wife rides LOL
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Not to get too far off topic, but what do you guys do to get out the boot scuffs? Mine has a few from the bike being in the showroom as well as a couple self inflicted ones that I got before I got used to swinging my leg high and wide.
In addition to rubbing compound, Quixx (http://www.amazon.com/Quixx-00070-US-Paint-Scratch-Remover/dp/B000UVUAFO (http://www.amazon.com/Quixx-00070-US-Paint-Scratch-Remover/dp/B000UVUAFO)) works great for removing surface scratches and imperfections. Consumer Reports gave it highest marks when they tested rub-on scratch removers. Can be found at Autozone, Walmart, etc.
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(http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j180/stevewfl/avatars/eek.gif)
that is CRAZY nice!!!
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If I were to see you on the road, I would have never guessed this was a home repair job.
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:hail: :hail: :hail: :hail: Excellent!!!!!!
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Dang, now you got me thinkin about doing this to parts of the tank instead
this would or could be a replacement operation for tank traction pads!! and would double as protection too. key ring got my tank last week, I was pissed :o
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That looks fantastic Gearhead82! Nice work. 8) Just the look it provides makes it a tempting thing to do.
I used that same stuff on the under side of the rear hugger I installed. I haven't looked yet to see how it's holding up, but with it only 1/4" from the rear tire, I should be able to give you an indication of long term durability.
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I hope i scratch a saddlebag soon ;D
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I agree with everyone else - it looks great.
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I have actually been considering doing my entire bike with bedliner. If I did everything I would have it done professionally though. I saw a bike done with it last year and it looked great. I may do part of the tank at the least. I have a dealer installed scratch on my tank that the tank bra covers. It was there when I bought it.
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That is awesome, I may do that and I don't have any scratches and I agree that an application on parts of the tank would eliminate the concern of my tank bag and knees scuffing the paint.
Great job. :thumbs:
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Very nice looks great something to keep in mind....just in case...
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You guys kill me! Although Gearhead did a great job and it looks better than that huge scratch I don't really like it that much. It seems too Honda STish. With the amount of work and skill he put into the job I am sure he could have matched the factory color quite well instead.
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That is definitely a well done... not that I look forward to scratching one of my bags. I could definitely live with that though. If one did not know better he would think it is factory original. :goodpost:
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I hope i scratch a saddlebag soon ;D
absolutely that looks great :thumbs:
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Dude -- I am so going to use that paint on my grab bars. They scratch too easily and look crappy in silver. Thanks for the write-up and your bags look awesome, don't listen to the few naysayers !!!
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I saw a c14 in Daytona this year at the Helmet Shop who had done the bags all over in bedliner stuff. It actually looked pretty good. I couldn't locate him/her to ask about it.
Yours looks great too. Nice job.
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Hell of a clever fix ... thanks for sharing!
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Now I like that. I've got a couple of nicks in the tops of both my bags from hauling a camp chair strapped across my back seat on a long ride They're not huge but they are noticeable. I've been toying with the idea of using touch-up paint to fix it but this looks like it might even work a little better. I really like the idea for preventing boot scuffs after a long day. Sometimes tired = brain lapse when mounting the bike. It Happens. I wonder how it would look on a black saddle bag. Hmmmmm
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Looks great! Two thumbs up 8)
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Wow, I can't believe how professional that looks! Great job!!!
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Ingenious fix, you did a great job!
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Now that it has been over 6 months. How is it holding up.
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It's holding up well. However, I don't always ride with the bags installed and it's been winter so they don't have a lot of miles on them. I suspect they will hold up very well over the long run though.
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It's holding up well. However, I don't always ride with the bags installed and it's been winter so they don't have a lot of miles on them. I suspect they will hold up very well over the long run though.
I somehow missed the original thread. I have to hand it to you, that looks *really nice*. Some people say I am hard to impress :)
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Much like....gonna do that when mine get scuffed. Bedliner on the grabrails will for be getting done soon. I use that stuff all over my WR250R, applies perfectly on plastic and tough as nails.
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Gearhead, I like what you've done. I have a scratch in the lower area of one of my bags, that starts below the bottom-most "rib" and runs through the area that's already texturized. So in my case, just coating the top third wouldn't help. I'm seriously considering entirely coating both bags.
Anyway, I don't know anything about wet sanding. I wonder if you could give a little more detail about what sandpaper you used and how you did the sanding? Did you do all the sanding with 400 grit, or did you start out with something more coarse and finish with 400 grit? Was it just your basic 400 grit paper that I'd buy at any hardware store, or do you need some special type of sandpaper to wet-sand plastic? Did you do the sanding by hand, or did you use a machine?
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When I bought my 08 C14, people were taping off the lower front corners of the bags and spray painting them with the bed liner to repair scuff marks from dropping the bike. You did an excellent job. The idea of using it instead of tank pads is interesting and the cost would be insignificant compared to Tech Specs. Plus you could apply it and them paint it to match the bike and almost hide it.
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Gearhead, I like what you've done. I have a scratch in the lower area of one of my bags, that starts below the bottom-most "rib" and runs through the area that's already texturized. So in my case, just coating the top third wouldn't help. I'm seriously considering entirely coating both bags.
Anyway, I don't know anything about wet sanding. I wonder if you could give a little more detail about what sandpaper you used and how you did the sanding? Did you do all the sanding with 400 grit, or did you start out with something more coarse and finish with 400 grit? Was it just your basic 400 grit paper that I'd buy at any hardware store, or do you need some special type of sandpaper to wet-sand plastic? Did you do the sanding by hand, or did you use a machine?
I'm not an expert at sanding and prepping by any means, but the basic idea is just to at least scuff up the clear coat a little so that the new paint (or bedliner) will stick. I think I did use some courser paper (maybe 150 or 220 grit) to try to sand out the scratch itself, but the bedliner will do a decent job of filling in the scratch if it's not too deep. You can get the wet/dry sand paper at any auto parts store. I think the main purpose of using it wet is to keep the paper from clogging up with dust. I just used a small bowl filled with water and added a couple drops of Dawn dish soap. Just dip the paper in there and keep it wet. Since you're applying a thick, textured material, you don't need to be too careful. More than likely you could just lightly sand it with some regular 220 grit paper, wash it well, and paint away. Also, I've since used the bedliner spray on a couple projects at home and work and I found that I like the Rustoleum brand better than the Dupli-Color brand. I think it's cheaper too, about $7/can at Home Depot. The stuff sprays out pretty heavy so I would recommend practicing on a piece of cardboard or something first so you know what to expect when spraying.
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I'm not an expert at sanding and prepping by any means, but the basic idea is just to at least scuff up the clear coat a little so that the new paint (or bedliner) will stick. I think I did use some courser paper (maybe 150 or 220 grit) to try to sand out the scratch itself, but the bedliner will do a decent job of filling in the scratch if it's not too deep. You can get the wet/dry sand paper at any auto parts store. I think the main purpose of using it wet is to keep the paper from clogging up with dust. I just used a small bowl filled with water and added a couple drops of Dawn dish soap. Just dip the paper in there and keep it wet. Since you're applying a thick, textured material, you don't need to be too careful. More than likely you could just lightly sand it with some regular 220 grit paper, wash it well, and paint away. Also, I've since used the bedliner spray on a couple projects at home and work and I found that I like the Rustoleum brand better than the Dupli-Color brand. I think it's cheaper too, about $7/can at Home Depot. The stuff sprays out pretty heavy so I would recommend practicing on a piece of cardboard or something first so you know what to expect when spraying.
Thank you so much for the quick reply! That's exactly the sort of info for which I was looking. You mentioned you've since used Rustoleum and prefer it over Duplicolor. What makes you like Rustoleum better? Have you noticed any difference in the color or texture between the two?
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Thank you so much for the quick reply! That's exactly the sort of info for which I was looking. You mentioned you've since used Rustoleum and prefer it over Duplicolor. What makes you like Rustoleum better? Have you noticed any difference in the color or texture between the two?
The Duplicolor came out kind of in little "globs" compared to the Rustoleum which comes out nice and even, more like regular spray paint. The Rustoleum also has a slightly finer and more uniform texture after it dries.
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I used the Rustoleum on my summer windscreen, it all turned out even and uniform.
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I used the Rustoleum on my summer windscreen, it all turned out even and uniform.
If I may: what are those two vents on the front of the windshield, and why? :o
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The Duplicolor came out kind of in little "globs" compared to the Rustoleum which comes out nice and even, more like regular spray paint. The Rustoleum also has a slightly finer and more uniform texture after it dries.
"Finer and more uniform" is precisely what I'm after. Rustoleum it shall be.
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If I may: what are those two vents on the front of the windshield, and why? :o
Simply to minimize back pressure. Doing 70 on the hwy with the shield up there is quite a bit of back pressure pushing me toward the front adding weight to the wrist and shoulders, I was suprised at how well it worked. The vents and bar risers I just added have helped a lot.
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looks good,you came up with a great idea.ill keep that in mind if i mess mine up
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That bike looks like Lord Vader!!!!!
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I used the Rustoleum on my summer windscreen, it all turned out even and uniform.
I think that looks sweet. Can you provide more details on the vents? Thanks
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I think that looks sweet. Can you provide more details on the vents? Thanks
I think it was a 2.5" hole saw, aluminum gutter guard attached to back of shield with 2 part epoxy, the rubber seals on the outside came from Lowe's (table leg caps or something). Cheap supplies but took a while to do it.
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sounds interesting, can ya post a photo of the back side? tks
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Sure.
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I have been tossing around installing a pair of the snap vents from the old Vetter Fairings for the same reasons
http://craigvetter.com/pages/Online_Store/Replacement_Parts/snap_vent_alert1.html (http://craigvetter.com/pages/Online_Store/Replacement_Parts/snap_vent_alert1.html)
John
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This has gone a bit off topic, but I am interested to know the difference you feel in regards to backpressure.
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I love the idea! It serves 2 purposes...looks great and protects...win-win :finger_fing11:
Now, I was working on my bike when I first bought it, adding farkles, and didn't have a towel over my tank and I dropped a tool, taking a small chip of paint off my tank :pukeface: I tried using touch-up paint to fix it but that stuff is HORRIBLE to use and it looks terrible! Now I'm thinking about spraying the tops of my bags and removing my tank pads and spraying both sides of my tank, covering the spot on my tank!
Thanks for the idea!
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Here's pics of the mark I have on my tank and the crappy touch-up job!
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Brilliant work! I must go fix up my bags in this fashion as well! Great idea.
Mike
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So, Saturday I spent the day taping off the bags, sanding them down and spraying them with the "Rustoleum Bed Liner" spray. I personally like the look and the fact that the scratches and nicks are no longer visible! Glad I did it but I will say that I was "stressed" to the max when sanding the bags! I was inspired to do this because of the pics posted by Gearhead. I realize there may be "haters" but I like the look (and so far many others have expressed their approval) and I know there may be others out there thinking about doing the same thing but are hesitant to do so...hope this helps!
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So, Saturday I spent the day taping off the bags, sanding them down and spraying them with the "Rustoleum Bed Liner" spray. I personally like the look and the fact that the scratches and nicks are no longer visible! Glad I did it but I will say that I was "stressed" to the max when sanding the bags! I was inspired to do this because of the pics posted by Gearhead. I realize there may be "haters" but I like the look (and so far many others have expressed their approval) and I know there may be others out there thinking about doing the same thing but are hesitant to do so...hope this helps!
I am surprised at how nice that came out, too! Seems this is really a viable solution for some people. What works is that the seat is black and the back (bike facing) half of the pannier is also black, so it tends to blend well.
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Hellbender, what kind of rack is that on the back? Are those support arms under it? The bags look great by the way! I'm tossing around the idea as well.
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Hellbender, what kind of rack is that on the back? Are those support arms under it? The bags look great by the way! I'm tossing around the idea as well.
Thanks for the compliments guys! I'll tell you, I had my eyes closed while removing the masking! I was so stressed but pleasantly surprised with the results.
Jrod, that's the GIVI rack for their top case. It comes with those steel support arms and those things make that rack and top case really solid! My wife leans back and that thing doesn't move!
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Awesome thanks. And I can't believe how close the texture of the Rustoleum bedliner matched the black plastic on the bag, great job.
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Awesome thanks. And I can't believe how close the texture of the Rustoleum bedliner matched the black plastic on the bag, great job.
Yeah...thanks! I was amazed too! My wife said not to do it but when I showed her the results she was all for it ::) !
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I'd have used different lines (covering only the 'flat' areas, not any of the sides) for an OEM look, but the job looks awesome man. Hope I never have to use that option, but if needed, would definitely take your approach rather than spending hundreds on new case lids.
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I'd have used different lines (covering only the 'flat' areas, not any of the sides) for an OEM look, but the job looks awesome man. Hope I never have to use that option, but if needed, would definitely take your approach rather than spending hundreds on new case lids.
Yeah, I hear what you're saying but the reason for doing it was to cover the areas that get scuffed and the area you see covered was scuffed (and had some small but annoying scratches). My original idea was to cover just the flat areas but I changed my mind after looking at things and that is what I ended up with. Thanks for the compliment...appreciate it!
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:thumbs: