best and brightest SILVER colour available??

Paul,

I've always liked the silver in the attached pic, taken from this site a couple of years ago.   
Unfortunately I can't recall the detail, other than that it may have been a Jaguar silver, but I might be wrong.   
However, pics can be deceptive, as the lighting influences the view of the colour.

Tom
 

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Grant said:
I've seen it.
It looks shit in a shit kind of way.  8) :-*

You are cruel Grant  :D

Actually when you strip all the bodywork off the TS it looks quite purposeful, the front end sits a bit high though for my aesthetic tastes.
 
Keith I know that there are only two cams in Merlin, well I should do since I have had the pleasure on working with several engines (actually Meteors not Merlins, and one 18 litre  Rover V8 version of a Meteor from an Antar) so why did I put four cam, well I meant twin cam, but that usually refers to two cams on the same head, four valves for sure, and dyslexic as well !

I always pack the oil pump chock full of CLEAN Vaseline, vital  in some motors (Rover/Buick 3500), advisable in others, and a waste of time in many (such as Ford) but it can never do any harm, the oil in inevitably "sucked" up from somewhere, so the dip pipe will be full of air, with Vaseline a true vacuum is created on initial turning of the motor, the Vaseline can go wherever it likes up the outlet side of the pump, in a slug of the stuff even, but it will pull the oil in as well, it will do no harm and can do a lot of good, it melts readily in warmed engine oil, and is made from petroleum anyway. its best not too leave it for many weeks before you do the initial turn of the motor, but when you do this to a triple, you will be astounded at how quickly the oil is pouring out of all six cam bearings, and not a sign of Vaseline in sight. Many times I have had people phoning me to say that they are ready to run their rebuilt triple and have cranked it (no fuel in carbs) until the battery is flat and no oil showing at the cam bearings, they recharge it, and have another go and all is well, this method saves all that, just a few turns and Robert is your fathers brother. Many just start the thing up!

CLEM
 
I had a discussion with Wolfgang earlier to day in which his advice was to stay silver with the TS Mirage build............

I bought 50 pounds of English walnut shell blast media to attempt removing the paint from the plastic/fiberglass body parts, but I left the glass bead in the cabinet for the moment to tackle removing the paint from the metal tank.

I spent about ten minutes on the fuel tank today in my small bead blast cabinet, the stock silver paint and a very very thin layer of a whitish primer is coming off fairly well. I do note that the adhesive from the red stripes has penetrated all the way through the silver paint and the white primer all the way to bare metal, and it is tough to get off the bare metal.

Before I tackle stripping the paint off the plastic/fiberglass bodywork of the 82 1200 TS Mirage, has anyone else stripped that bodywork back to bare material, and if so, what did you use? Does anyone know exactly what the non metal bodywork is made from?

Paul LeClair
 

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The nicest silver is candy apple red.  ;)
10599068183_f1f59fcbb3_b.jpg


My painter always strips right back to base on the plastics, all of the TS stuff is grp.

  Keith
 
Hi Steve

great help, thanks......... ;)

Hi Keith

bloody hell but that candy apple red looks fabulous, you are not making staying stock silver very easy for me.

I have no idea what GRP is, how does your painter strip it?

Paul LeClair
 
GRP = glass reinforced polymer (or plastic), presumably chopped strand mat. Not quite the same thing as what we think of as fibreglass (usually uses glass cloth), but painting prep is the same, basic sanding to whatever level of smoothness you want, priming if the paint requires it etc. Here's an article Mr Google showed me, http://www.awlgrip.com/support-and-advice/gelcoat-and-fiberglass.aspx.

Ken
 
Correct ken, with the addition that most traditional GRP which us humans call fibreglass (same thing) uses Polyester resin, the chop strand matt (CSM) which you refer to is just glass but not woven into a neat material but it's cheep and easily molded into weird shapes. Other resins used are Vinyl Ester which a lot of boat builders use as it isn't liable to blistering which was a big problem with boats made in the 60s and 70s, the strongest one and most expensive is Epoxy which is what boba would use for his carbon stuff (correct me if I'm wrong!)and is used for wooden boatbuiling for the last 40 years if you actually want it to last as long as a fibreglass boat.

Now you can use epoxy to repair polyester fibreglass part no problems (best to roughen up the surfaces)  but not the other way around, polyester will not stick to hardened epoxy parts, so only use epoxy to repair epoxy resin parts.

Araldite is epoxy based glue. I used some 5 minute araldite the other day but as the temperature was about 38C it went off in about 5 seconds!

Now the bodywork on the RGSs is none of these, it's bayflex plastic, however I have used epoxy on it quite successfully for repairs, once again roughing it up a bit with coarse sandpaper.
 
after some Googling I went out tonight and bought a gallon (3.78 liter) of  Marine Stripper from the local home improvement mega store, supposed to be OK to use on fiberglass/GRP, going to give it a try on an extra tail piece for the 82 1200 TS Mirage and see what happens........

the other day I stumbled across an ad for a place here in Calgary that apparently rent out the use of their paint booth. I called them, they quoted $75 per hour chargeable for the actual time the booth fans are running, they said it is a side downdraft  paint booth. I would use my own gun, materials, etc., but their booth and air supply. I would hook up an extra inline water/oil trap filter just to be safe, I think.  www.u-wrench.ca  I am going to drive up and check the place out, if it checks out I think I will do the paint for the 82 1200 TS Mirage project myself, but rather than build my own temporary paint booth yet again I will rent paint booth time, we'll see........ 8)

Paul LeClair
 
Dellortoman said:
Better get some quick drying paint if you're paying by the hour for the booth.

most of the paint products I have been using for my last three paint jobs seem to "flash" off within about 20 minutes or so, but I do know what you mean. Still, building my own temporary booth in my home garage usually costs me around $150 in materials, plus time and labour and running around, plus the disposal fees at the dump later, etc., so I figure if I rent say 3 hours total paint booth time at $75 per hour I will still break even or maybe even be ahead of the game, plus there is big value in the commercial side downdraft in the pro booth vs my home made sidedraft single fan which does not even remotely compare. I talked to the rental place again, they also have "prep bays" at a much cheaper hourly rate.

I have to admit I am at the point where I would very much like to just deliver the bodywork to a pro and come back later and pick up beautifully finished and very shiny pieces, but the prices I am being quoted (I got a couple of more quotes, one of $1,600, the other of $2,000) for what I know will be close to the quality of what I do myself are just so silly I am going to do the TS 1200 Mirage paint job myself so I can control both final quality and overall cost. In the winter here painting outside is just not an option, way too cold, so it is either my heated garage with a home made paint booth, or the pro booth rental at $75 per hour.

Being a perfectionist has its costs........ The rest of the bare frame bare crank build so far  is as perfect as I can make it, I am not going to skimp on paint quality. Hell, I even enjoy the spraying of the paint, it is all the painstaking and time consuming prep work and the final polish that are the killers....

Paul LeClair
 
God Paul,mine cost ?425 with pinstripes,sure is pricey in Canada.
 
Hi Paul,

That Candy Apple Red is something else! Also I believe you liked a Red and Black scheme a while ago?
Mind you, Keith does have an increadibly good camera that brings out the best!
 
especially in the brickwork ;) a good colour, and are those renthal bars (I presume) ? look good
 
lemonjelly said:
God Paul,mine cost ?425 with pinstripes,sure is pricey in Canada.

that is well less than half of the cost of a decent motorcycle paint job around here, not sure why the huge price difference but it would almost be worth while shipping all the bodywork to the UK and back.... anyway, I have started all the paint prep work, I am now pretty much committed to doing this myself after having delayed the process for many months trying to make up my mind....It is so much bloody work doing the prep properly.

I think maybe one of the reasons I like wild and out there paint jobs is that for all that work involved it just doesn't seem right to wind up with something that looks like, well, stock....... :o

Paul LeClair

ps

Hi Simon

I really like candy apple red, always have. The 1978 Kawasaki 650 SR I bought brand new in 1978 was candy apple red, as is the screaming red 650 SR I restored and painted a few years ago and still have sitting in my garage. I think my problem boils down to being indecisive about whether I am going to keep or sell the 82 1200 TS Mirage once I finish it. I currently have eight street motorcycles and I just can't ride them all, keep them all insured and ready to ride, etc., and for some reason I just can't stand to have motorcycles around unused...... Silver is the prudent choice for the 82 1200 TS Mirage if the bike is going to be sold, I guess I should decide whether I am going to sell it, or not....... anyways, on with the paint prep, I have not bought the paint itself yet........

pps edit

you guys are torturing me, damn that bike looks good in red, Grant
 
Whatever you do I m sure it will look good Paul,it always does.I think the red will only work without the fairing,and silver with it.
 
laverdakeith said:
The nicest silver is candy apple red.  ;)
10599068183_f1f59fcbb3_b.jpg


My painter always strips right back to base on the plastics, all of the TS stuff is grp.

  Keith
That red bike looks great. Even the side panels look fine. Looks a lot better than the much hyped Green Mirage  ::) :-* :D
(note the smileys Andy, I'm obviously joking............maybe...)
 
Ask DoC he'll give you an unbiased opinion. :D

                                                      Dave
 
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