wyly wrote:I decided to go with a non CBX colour, keeping the black center stripe and pinstripes I'm going with a medium blue for the remainder....
That sounds magnificent - I can't wait to see it!
today I sanded back the tank, fender and cowl, sanding the cowl removed the flaw that triggered the repaint...and I began taping off the center stripes, tedious trying to get those straight...I anticipate applying the decals is going to be stressful...
Have you done decals before? In some ways they're easier than masking, because you can apply some slightly soapy (100:1 mix) water to the surface before the decal so you can make adjustments as required.
Phil in Toronto
A cool guy deserves a cool bike, a dork needs a cool bike... Pics of Perry, my '79.
I've seen photos of a few blue cbxs that looked great but picking out the just the right shade of blue from the dozens of blues in the paint suppliers sample book is difficult...I'll be pleased if I can come close to others I've seen...
I went to decal applicators shop who said they put their decals on dry, they would do it mine for $100 but said I could do it myself by being meticulous and using soapy water...I've also been told by someone who has done many decal applications (including a few CBX) that the long bottom decal on the tank was tricky to do even for him...so if disaster occurs on the lower decal application I'm prepared to go without that one...
CBX a work in progress, still improving...GS1150EFE completed and awaiting modifications.....RD350, remnants in boxes scattered throughout the garage
A guy I met at a bike show a few years ago had a brand new one in 1978 and had Honda get it painted in metallic blue before he took delivery. will see if I have an image somewhere. Jeff Smale over here in the UK raced a blue one with success for many years and won the early stocks championship on it fitted with a 6 in 6 sponsored by Pipemasters in Australia. cheers Mel #1876
steve murdoch icoa #5322 wrote:I used to have a blue CB400F.
Always liked that shade.
Some info on it here. You will recognize one of the characters. http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=79761.0
Jan was working on a bluish CBX a couple years ago. There are some pics on site.
I nearly bought a blue cb400F back in the day, loved the colour and the pipes, beautiful bike, still is...
CBX a work in progress, still improving...GS1150EFE completed and awaiting modifications.....RD350, remnants in boxes scattered throughout the garage
cleaning up the garage today in preparation for paint it needs to be very clean...
saw my first bike of the year this morning, an old Yamaha 70's or 80's enduro ...a balmy -2c I thought I about bring out my GS with heated hand grips for a ride.... but the hundred meters of ice and snow from my house to the clear main road nixed that idea ...
CBX a work in progress, still improving...GS1150EFE completed and awaiting modifications.....RD350, remnants in boxes scattered throughout the garage
I was going over the many steps for painting clear coat, decals, clear coat and two colours when I realized I forgot to fit the new/old tank badges ...trying to keep costs down I bought a pair of tank badges from a salvage shop for $20, found two the right size and approximately the right bend...trying to fit them after the final paint wouldn't have been a good idea
I used the heat method some others have used and found progress unsatisfactory ...I then tried a rubber mallet and sand bag, that wasn't much better, the curves of the cbx tank requires compound bends it's very difficult to tap those multiple curves without re-bending the ones you've already completed...i was finally successful using a vice, adjustable wrench and my hands, I could control where the bend should go and where to twist the badge to wrap them tightly to the tank....lots of trips back and forth from vice to the tank but I was slowly able to tweak the badges to a shape I was satisfied with, 2hrs including the futile heating and pounding methods...
they won't fool any cbx experts here but to the non cbx world they'll look original, good enough for my non-cbx blue tank
CBX a work in progress, still improving...GS1150EFE completed and awaiting modifications.....RD350, remnants in boxes scattered throughout the garage
I changed my approach as to the order of painting and averted a minor disaster...I was going to do both colors one right after the other and then clear coat...but add masking between colors and that was rather intimidating so I decided to do it over a month, I have lot's of time so why rush...do the center black center stripe, clear coat it and then let it cure for a month before applying the blue and more clear coat ...then wait another month apply the decals and maybe more clear coat
I already had the center stripe on the cowl masked of with 3M vinyl tape but as I changed procedure I pulled it off, when I went to clean the tape residue off I found it had eaten into to the previous top coat below ...lesson learned don't apply the 3M tape until you're ready to paint, then get it off...a little bondo and it'll be okay, better to find out now than later...
my race tech toys arrived today! next week I get into the forks
CBX a work in progress, still improving...GS1150EFE completed and awaiting modifications.....RD350, remnants in boxes scattered throughout the garage
another day of painting...rear cowl needed a refresh
after the 2nd color coat I spotted a crack under the latch the third in 2 years! since it's not going back on I went ahead and put on three clear coats. Ill try stabilize the crack from the inside with JBweld, 39 yr old plastic is very brittle it seems the smallest impact will damage it.
I'll wait a month before I apply the missing decals on the side of the cowl and then finish it with 3-5 coats of clear.
I found a local decal shop that can replicate decals, before I apply my new decals to the old cowl and new bodywork I'll ask them to make a couple copies. That's gotta be cheaper than the internet suppliers.
CBX a work in progress, still improving...GS1150EFE completed and awaiting modifications.....RD350, remnants in boxes scattered throughout the garage