so the project is now officially going to be silver, close to stock.
I cleaned up the bodywork in a large sink full of hot soapy water, first time I have really looked closely. The painted metal front fender is dented and tweaked and creased from the crash that parked the bike back in 1999, and will need some massaging after being stripped back to bare metal.
The bike was left outside for 14 years without being moved, up against an outside garage wall and partially under an overhanging eave. I hadn't noticed before, but al the bodywork on the side of the bike that was against the wall is actually pretty good, pin striping still in good shape, clear coat still shiny, silver still actually silver, while the bodywork from the exposed side of the bike is just toast, clear coat gone, pin striping dried out and shredding off, paint texture like sandpaper and a total colour deterioration to a sort of yellowish mud. The tail piece is the funniest in a sad sort of way, as it is sort of half and half.......
as the non exposed side panel is in pretty good shape, I washed and polished it and took it to the body shop paint supplier I use, for a colour reference.
The silver now chosen (from colour samples compared to the stock paint) is a slightly coarser metal flake and much" brighter" silver but in the same general colour range. For a silver I think it is quite attractive, although I was waffling to the very end over candy apple red instead........

I am committed now as the silver has been purchased.
this time around I am going water based paint and air dry clear. Long story short, for top quality etching primer, high build primer, two part urethane repair supplies for the various cracks in the GRP, colour coat, ultra high gloss clear and reducer, etc., it all came to $478 CDN at trade pricing. There is likely a week's worth of preparation work needed, or more, and I am going to spray the water based product in the side/downdraft rental paint booth, at $75 per hour. I am also going to be using a new "air dry" clear that apparently sets up quite quickly and can be cut and polished within an hour of having been sprayed, although I will likely still let it set up for a day or three before tackling the final polish. I chose it mainly for its quick dry time so I can get the parts out of the rental paint booth more quickly and keep my paint booth rental time costs under control.
I also found dual pin striping tape that is very very close in size, spacing, and colour, but of course I went a bit brighter red as well.......
a couple of photos of what I am starting with. I am going to be painting the stock TS Mirage fairing, as well as a fiberglass 82 Jota fairing I also happen to have (damaged but repairable), so the bike can have three looks, without fairing, with stock TS fairing with stock blue windscreen, and with 82 Jota fairing. I have all the brackets, screens, turn signals, etc. Nice to have a parts bin at the back of the garage...........
Paul LeClair
ps I just finished using the chemical stripper to take the rest of the paint and primer off both the fuel tank and the painted front fender. Astonishing how much rust was underneath the paint, same as all the rust under the frame paint when I stripped the frame for paint some time ago. I swear Laverda just painted right over rust at the factory......