Kawi2strokes.com Forum

my project '69 had it's frame painted blue when it was only a year or two old, according to the original owner.
It's a rather crude brush painting job, but apparently was pretty well disassembled to do it, as it is completely covered.
I had planned on stripping and repainting it of course, but now I'm wondering if there might be a chance that I could get the blue off without harming the original paint.
What type of paint was used on the frame and how was it applied? Spray, dipped, or? This information would be helpful in choosing strippers/solvents to try and save the original paint.
Thoughts?

I was a Painter for many years, the original H1 frames were painted in a synthetic enamel, not a '2-pak' type paint. Durable for the time, but fairly basic. Anything put over it would 'key' to it, so your chances of removing an old top-coat and restoring the original would be minimal, I would think. The original paint was either manually sprayed, or early days electro, but it is thin, and marginal, considering the price and age of these bikes! (they are tough bikes!!). Ideally, bead blast and two-pack the frame, and you have a great foundation for your project.

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"One day, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it's worth watching." : anon.

Did they use any sort of primer originally...or just shoot them over bare steel like a lot of car parts from that era?

Wow, memory dims here, but I can't recall a primer...I would say no. It was good paint back in the day, but that was what, 46 years ago!! Modern paints are thick, durable and shinier than the original, I would use a modern 2-pack with approx. 25% flatting base to reproduce the original..... couple of good painters on this site, who may chime in !

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"One day, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it's worth watching." : anon.

I say just strip the frame and re-paint. I can't see it being worth the effort trying to save the original paint or even have a chance of the original paint looking half way decent when it was done.

I have my frames sprayed with a single stage black enamel(10% Flat)and it never seems too thick and shines great. The other option is two-stage base clear.

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1969 H1, 1971 G3SSA, 1974 G5, 1973 H2A, 1975 S3A, 1975 H1F, 1973 Z1, 1988 HD FLTC, Captain America chopper, 2000 Excelsior Henderson, 1965 Bridgestone BS90