Cleaning old white fairings

[gruntygiggles]

The Babyblade is 21 years old and has the white urban tiger colour scheme. It's clearly been down the track or road at some point and previous owners have used tape to fix it up the best they can.

I want to restore it as sympathetically as I can. This means NOT getting new fairings for it, I don't like the way they are produced and think they will snap if I do anything more than leave it in the garage and look at it.

So, this means cleaning.....and I am hoping for a bit of advice.

I can look at getting the fairings repaired in the future, but for now, I'd just like to get the yellowy tint out that is visible on the lower fairings.

Also, they have been stressed in some parts, probably due to some n.o.b. overtightening the fairing bolts, so it would be good to find a way to minmise these as well.

Any ideas?

[andrewsmith]

You got any pics?

An abs weld may work on the crack and respray would cover the damage but it'll be expensive

[gruntygiggles]

Just thinking.....can I use an exacting knife to lay masking tape over the stickers, sand down the fairings, spray with a primer, sand again and spray with new white paint?

I really don't want to get new fairings, but I want it to look good. It's a beautiful bike...I'll go take some pics now and the amount of admiration it got at Abergavenny on Sunday, It would be nice t know it looks good.

I feel like I'm sending my child to school in dirty clothes...lol

[andrewsmith]

you'd be respraying it all the time as the fairing will flex at that point.

i would consider speaking to someone like this for best course of action http://www.bikeclinic.co.uk/

[gruntygiggles]

Ok, thanks andrew. There are no cracks...just the little "stretchmarks". All fairings are good and strong. What the previous owners have taped is just scratches from it sliding on tarmac. It now has crash bungs

[Wideboy]

Originally Posted by gruntygiggles

Just thinking.....can I use an exacting knife to lay masking tape over the stickers, sand down the fairings, spray with a primer, sand again and spray with new white paint?

you can do but you will see where you had the tape over it

have you tried t-cutting? it should restore the white...... if you had of said i have some nifty glue you could have borrowed, used it on drew's trumpet

[gruntygiggles]

Oooh, didn't even think of to cutting......actually I reckon that will make them look a good 50-60% better and with much less work!

[Wideboy]

Originally Posted by gruntygiggles

Oooh, didn't even think of to cutting......actually I reckon that will make them look a good 50-60% better and with much less work!

if you keep at it, it will bring the white back to its original whiteness

as for the stretch marks, the paint will only re-crack if the points that have stretched are still under tension

[gruntygiggles]

Originally Posted by Wideboy

if you keep at it, it will bring the white back to its original whiteness

as for the stretch marks, the paint will only re-crack if the points that have stretched are still under tension

Nope...all those points have been sorted.

[gruntygiggles]

Here it is...actually looks lovely in pictures...lol





On this one you can just about see the discolouration below the HONDA sticker on the lower fairing.


Think I might just go and take all the fairings off and give them all a really good clean and see how they look after that. Then go get some t-cut tomorrow. Will post pics as I go.