Modern Vespa

Tired of the red.....

Gonna try black for a while. Match my left eye.

Wheels done. Not sure if they are going to stay flat black. THe bike is going to be glossy so maybe just silver.....

Glass blasted then spray bombed.

Nice finish on the wheels, think black will look good for the scooter, i am in the middle of modding my black lx, got some nice decals from ebay in white,toying with powdercoating my wheels white,i know a couple of members on mv have done it theirs and they look really nice

let us know how you progress with the scooter,would be nice to see it through the stages

Russ

It's hard to go wrong w/ black/black!

Gloss, satin or matte.. that's the question.

Thats a tough one

Matte looks good and seems to be very popular,but gloss does look impressive

russ

Been busy sanding the frame. What a job. Next time i am going to take the advice of everyone and send it out for blasting. Even if it's $150 it would be worth not having an inch of dust in my lungs and on the floor. But on the flip side. My neighbor has a good philosophy. It's my hobby, why pay someone to do my hobby for me. He may be on to something.
Got the rear wheel arch primed. Last pic...

You're making short work of it for sure.. looks good...
Well! Matte, Satin, or Gloss?

My back is killing me. Just too old for this stuff. I should be drinking beer watching tv or something.
Ill go back into the garage and do some more work. After dinner, when the wife wants to talk.


Thinking glossy. Black is going to be tough but it's not like this is a museum piece. I'd like to have this ready by the third week of feb. don't think I can make bike week in Daytona this year.

Got some primer on it tonight. Still a tad wee bit wet.

Tomorrow BONDO!!!!!!

Nice work. I hope to be about where you are at the end of the week.

Holy cow! You really are making short work of it!!! at least from the comfort of here! Nice job! Can't wait for the next instalation!

I did my smallframe in matt black.... very quickly re did it in satin matt black gets soo dirty

nice work, i like your work space.

Pics may not show any real progress, but i worked all day on the thing. Had to finished blasting the glove box, did that. Gas tank now has about 4 coats of paint. Still have to clear coat it. The rear cowls needed some work. I kinda like the hammering to get dents out. A lot more fun than sanding bondo. Anyway all was going well till i ran out of primer and used an old can i had on the shelf. Well the second coat of primer reacted badly. Like a 100 year old cracking wood porch. So i had to strip both cowls and start from scratch. Will need some filler on them at some point. I got some black primer to help visualize the dents. I wanted to get as much work done as possible today. I have to work tomorrow and won't be able to see my garage till tuesday. The parts painted black will still need some wet sanding and clear. Been looking all over the web and this is what i found to be the most consistent with the painting stages.

Strip
Etch primer
Bondo
Sand
Filler primer x 3
Bondo
Sand
Sealer primer
Paint x 3
Wet sand 400-600 grit
Clear coat x 3

I'm sure it will start an argument, but we aren't painting a 1955 Jag or anything.

I like a thread that MOVES! Well, it's gonna be gloss black! in no time!

Sweet! I can't wait to see it all together.. you doing leg shield trim? Black?

You get no complaints from me.. it looks good from here... Did you rattle can it?

I wish work wouldn't always get in the way. I'd have it done in a week. Ready for bike week in Daytona. I am just using rustoleum and Lots of sanding. I paid for my TR6 and 944 to be painted and wasn't really pleased with the outcomes. So it is my belief that I can do a better job if not just as good as those. I'm really picky so it's best that I'm doing it.
The cold temps aren't helping. Hope next week they climb back up. My garage never got over 10c/48f today.

nice finish,cant wait to see the finished scoot

with all that prep, it's gonna look great.

Not much to report. I did the headset cover. It came out looking great. Very Glossy and i didn't yet do the clear coat. But i think the rattle can paint is too soft. It may take 5 years to harden, so i think i am going to use a compressor and gun to spray rustoleum in a can. Went to O'reillys and got a can of hardener and think i will reduce the paint 50:50 with paint thinner. The next step would be to get automotive paint and pay $150-$300 for it. OK i may regret not getting proper paint, maybe next project.

Here are a couple of pics. Cowls are almost done. Lots of sand/paint/sand/bondo/sand/paint.......

Waiting to put on sealer till right before i am ready to paint.

That headset looks especially nice!

Got the frame painted today. I decided to use my compressor and air gun to paint the main bits. So I shot the two cowls and they came out like crap. For the rustoleum to flow properly i thinned it down 50:50. Think that was way way too much. 12 hours later and they still are not dry. Then did some surfing and some people recommend using xlene and 75:25 mix. Or less.
So i did that on the frame and using my smaller touch up gun it went on better. Also using a bit of hardener in the mix to help the enamel.
First coat went on the frame a bit thin and rough. Lots of orange peel. So when it dried i hit it with some 500grit wet sandpaper. And then the next coat. Looks like i will have to repeat this maybe with 4 coats to get a nice even job.
I should be able to get the whole scooter to be smooth like the headset cover. (Should).

int gloss black a bastard

Wow. My arms are sore from sanding. Wet sand/coat/wet sand/coat....

I can see the progress, it is getting smoother but wow. If i was to do this again i would not use rustoleum. Sure the price is right at $10/can. But all the extra labor isn't worth it. I think i would just buy some good quality auto paint that flows better. But to give the rustoleum credit, the color is consistant and the temperature in my garage never got over 60 today. Low of... ice this morning. Maybe if it was warmer it would have been easier.

There is a lot of paint on it now. So with some good luck and some 1000 grit paper i will hit it on Monday. (Have to work this weekend). Then if all comes out ok i will forgo the 4th coat and start with the clear.

Orange peel is getting less. But still 26 miles to go.

This is coming along awesome, all of the hard work will pay off in the end!
Personally that's why I hate painting, too much hard work!

Nice work!
Make sure u test out on another peice of metal all the steps your doing before u clear coat it. I've had the clear coat lift the paint on some projects. Wouldnt want to see all that work be wasted.

good work there, I'm sure all the pains will be forgotten once its finished/

I think you've learned for next time, but there are a lot of advantages to using automotive paints. One of the best ones is you can buy thinners/reducers to match the temperatures you're shooting in, so that the paint dries slower when hot out or faster when the air is really cool.

You're getting a good result because you're willing to put a lot of effort into sanding. That's great- hope the final results turn out wonderful.

The two colors I hate painting most are black and silver. Both very hard to get a professional finish without lots of work.

That said, I did spray an old harley I had black using a rented tankless compressor out in the grass behind an apartment i lived in. Enough wet sanding and polishing compound and you can make anything look decent

I'm going to paint my P200e someday, but I decided I'm waiting until I retire so I can enjoy the time doing it. Just a couple more years......

Looking forward to seeing your finished product!

Thanks for the encouragement.
I knew ahead of time that glossy black was/is going to be the hardest but like you said.... With effort. It's good that I have to stop working on it for a couple of days. Gives the paint time to harden. Then the advantage of sand/paint/sand/paint is that the finish will show the efforts. The hardener turned out to be a great idea. (Not mine). Usually rustoleum is very soft even if care is taken with thin coats. The hardener is making the paint rock solid. Time will tell if it can hold up to rock and flying beer bottles. Tuesday ill wet sand again. And try get two more coats on.

Looks Like a Piaggo factory paint job.

Not too much to add. More sanding painting sanding. Doing really thin coats. Seems the rustoleum flows better when a bit watered down. I was using a 70% paint 25% xlene. 5% hardener. It may need more thinner. I am using a 1mm tip in the gun. Touch small maybe.
Anyway the headset, I am satisfied with. Cowls are looking great. Still going to do one more coat. Limited pics but here they are.

Using iPhone. One pic at a time.

Last addition for now.

Fantastic. If my upcoming home paint job comes out half as good as yours ill be ecstatic.

Well done!

BRW, Where did you pick up the hardener?

That should say BTW.

http://m.oreillyauto.com/mt/www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/MPR3/8105/N1979.oap?ck=Search_N1979_-1_-1&pt=N1979&ppt=C0171

Oh, cool. I'm considering using the Dupli-Color Paint Shop paint system they sell.

Astro
I just got done painting a pedal car for my son and I used the dupli color paint shop paint and clear.turned out great and no recoat window if u have to fix anything. Only problem is the limited colors they have. I used a pancake compressor and a cheap gun.Its lacquer too.

Wow man.. it does just keep getting better and better.. you're right.. I think ALL that work will payoff and show! Aint it a bitch that paint can't just be easy! Big kidos for big work!

Good to know. This will help me decide. Pedal car looks HOT!

Just got back from a trip yesterday. Was really tired of the inches of dust over everything in my garage so i decided to give it a good cleaning. Got 1/2 cleaned up. Although the garage floor is now black from painting. Not sure what to do next about that. I poured gas on it and lit it up but nothing happened. This trick works great for a OIL spill but not for paint. I may have to do a garage floor project in the near future. I really don't like the black. Makes the garage look really dark.
After i got tired of cleaning i went through some boxes of new parts. Lots of new stuff going on the scooter. And i polished the rear brake pedal. Not sure why. Anything aluminum should be polished right?








The ugly brake before

Again a short update.

Didn't really want to turn this repaint into a restoration but it seems it's turning into that. Had some Wurth Silver Wheel Paint left over from a previous project so i decided not to be wasteful and use that for the hubs. Didn't get into tearing apart the front fork and doing a rebuild. I hadn't purchased the needed parts. But i did replace the front shock and f&r brakes. Muffler was looking a bit dirty and rough so a quick trip in the blaster and coated with black caliper paint. That should keep it nice for a day or two. Flywheel just got hit with the blaster and wire brush. No paint yet.

Assembly will take place on Sunday 24th. Next day off.