Restoring old fairing

Started by calipanda, July 23, 2012, 05:14:29 PM

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calipanda

Hey guys,

So I wanted to start researching/collecting necessary tools/parts to restore my '83 fairing. It has several scratches and cracks. I want to restore it before the winter so that I can use it for cold-weather driving. Any suggestions as to where to start?

Rick G

#1
Mine had some fairly bad cracks. I repaired them with an epoxy I have used for years.It does a great job , I have also used it to repair the other plastic parts on Visions and side cover tabs on other bikes. Its called PC11 . It comes in two small cans and is mixed 50/50. You can buy it at ACE hardware.
You could also use fiberglass and epoxy resin. The PC11 will be easier for an amateur.
Rick G
Go soothingly on the grease mud, as there in lurks the skid demon
'82.5 Yamaha XZ550 RJ  Vision,
'90 Suzuki VX800, 1990 Suzuki DR350.
'74  XL350   Honda , 77 XL350 Honda, 78 XL350 Honda, '82 XT 200 Yamaha, '67 Yamaha YG1TK, 80cc trail bike

Rikugun

My brother used Plasti-fix by the Urethane Supply Co. on his VFR fairings and had some left over. I used it on an '83 fairing I'm in the process of resurrecting from the dead. The fairing has the full range of flaws -  scratches, gouges and breaks. It's quite unique in how it's applied drop by drop. We've both had very good results with it and I'd recommend it. The kit is pricey but once you have it you'll probably find uses for it. Works on ABS, fiberglass and other plastics. A coworker of his is restoring a 70's Ford and a plastic dash panel was broken in half. This product fixed that and the guy was very pleased with the results.

http://www.urethanesupply.com/PlastiFix-Kits-1/PlastiFix-Kit-White/
It is far better to grasp the universe as it really is then to persist in delusion, however satisfying or reassuring.  Carl Sagan

calipanda

Thanks for the tips. I am planning on beginning working on my fairing very soon, possibly by next weekend. I also have some dents on either side of my gas tank; is there a cheap way to fix that?

fret not

You can minimize the cost by ignoring the dents. ;)
Retired, on the downhill slide. . . . . . . . still feels like going uphill!

Rick G

The cheap way is to use bondo. The tank on my VX had 7 dents of various sizes , some pretty big. Kaylin Johnson , at Dream Machines , here in Kingman , made up several tools to go into the gas cap  and push them all out. He used no bondo !! He's a pefectionist  and  did a purfect job, It cost me 200.00, but a good tank was 450. I was very happy with the results.
Rick G
Go soothingly on the grease mud, as there in lurks the skid demon
'82.5 Yamaha XZ550 RJ  Vision,
'90 Suzuki VX800, 1990 Suzuki DR350.
'74  XL350   Honda , 77 XL350 Honda, 78 XL350 Honda, '82 XT 200 Yamaha, '67 Yamaha YG1TK, 80cc trail bike

calipanda

Quote from: fret nut on September 29, 2012, 12:44:23 AM
You can minimize the cost by ignoring the dents. ;)

haha that's my current solution..was lookin for a better solution.

Thanks for the advice Rick I'll look into it