Kawi2strokes.com Forum

Im at the point where I need to get the tank, fender, side covers and rear tail section painted on the 72 H2 to its original blue. I shopped around here local for a painter, an air brush custom painter. The guys that paint skulls, flames, your girlfriend and so forth on your tank. I ask for a simple original blue with the letterings painted instead of the decal. Price $1200 We then get the price down to $700.00 with the decals.

Anyway, I call another similar place Lucky Devil something. Price $2000.00 - $2500.00 I think I can get a car painted for that. On the phone Luck Devil insisted I email the photos rather than stop by. I put together the reasoning is that they did a quick Sherlock Holmes into the bike, its value.. They replied back with a photo of another 72/ H2 and saying “we can restore it to its former glory…”

Am I missing something here? There’s little to no masking, no parts to remove, no dents… just taking it to bare metal and spray it. ... or maybe thats why im not a painter.

My next stop is going to be a car and body shop Maaco and im not telling them it’s a restoration project on a vintage bike from the 70’s. Im going to tell them it’s a 2009 Kawasaki that’s been sitting up with little value of interest.

What’s an average price for this???

Joe, painting your own parts can be very rewarding. A bicycle frame is about 6 times harder to get right than a front fender, tank, side covers, and tail. $700 is a good price if that guy really does good work.

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If it surges, that's normal, upshift.

I don't know what he charges, But Brian H is the triple paint guy. To get the color correct the painter has to do it with candy colors and base coat. It won't look correct in a one color. I would not suggest a non triple painter, as 9 times out of 10 they don't get close.

Paint shops just aren't cheap, so you have to decide how much or how close to stock you want to be.

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Twist the throttle, tilt the horizon, and have a great time. What triples are all about...........

The price of materials is the killer for a quality clear over base paint job, and it is fairly labor intensive. See if you can find a small body shop/ custom shop run by a couple of old blokes who might look after you. $700 seems about right. On the other hand , I have seen some top jobs done by amateurs with a bit of skill, and lots of patience! (I am a painter.) You can match any Kawasaki color with modern clear over base systems.

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

Check out Vendors/Services section here.
You'll see respray/ paint by Brian H and it will show you his work. It will also be at a cost you will like I think......Good Luck

hey joe i hadnt forgot you but was knocked on mt a$$ buy the quote i got.
so i am still looking to.
cheers mark

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she will never be pretty but she is a fun ride.

73 KAWASAKI H1 (Sold).
82 YAMAHA RD350LC
2000 KAWI KDX200H
2001 Triumph TT600

A big +3 on using Brian H. for paint work. You will be happy with his work which is quality and it holds up very well over the years. I used him for my blue H2 (in 2006) and retro3 ('73 H1) used him among others. These two bikes will be at the Gap if you want to check them out and talk personally.

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1972 Kawasaki H2 Mach IV (Candytone Blue), 1976 Suzuki GT750 (Maui Blue)
1984 Yamaha RZ350 (KRR- Yellow/Black).

“Jeff and Chris are THE MEN!”
RIP John E. Evans

$700.00 is a steal if the guy is painting the stripes and letters (and does them CORRECTLY! both color and decal placement)

Brian H has done 3 bodysets for me over the years and I couldn't be happier.

Why give your money to someone that doesn't know one thing about proper decal placement and color matching? Why not support one of our own enthusiasts?

If you are going for that stock '72 H2, Brian has done a bunch of them, and I can vouch for the color. It is an EXTREMELY good match to Candy Blue Metallic.

If you bring it to someone that doesn't know anything about triples, and you aren't there to hold their hand and assist in color match and decal placement, chances are you're going to be dissapointed, and it will be money poorly spent regardless of "how nice" the quality is. In painting it is more than just "quality" of the workmanship and materials. Just as important (or maybe even more so) is the correct color, decals, and placement)

And if you use Maaco, you are nuts...... Might as well go out and buy a few cans of rustoleum and really save yourself some money.


and Brian isn't paying me anything to say this stuff. Although, maybe he should?

this speaks for itself. no brainer.

http://3cyl.com/mraxl/brianh/

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1973 Z1
1974 H2 750
1976 kz 1075cc ATP turbo

OK OK OK ill call Brian in the morning. The $700 was using the decal, $1200 to paint on. The only problem im having is he was kinda young. ... the Maaco guy is only $750 But at first he didnt think they had Pearl back then, but closer inspection of the tank in the sun you can see the Pearl

Now im discovering new stuff and thats matching the paint.

Im still getting high prices. But now I may have another problem. Getting the correct color . Since there is no color code the painter needs to be pretty darn good at matching & mixing. There is this guy on Facebook that is working on the near exact color codes for the Z and H Models. He has quite a few paints already. Said the 72 H2 candy blue is quite a challenge to duplicate in one pass as opposed to the three layer/stage,
http://3cyl.com/mraxl/paint/triple_colo ... od10e.html , been working on it for months then had to take a break to do other things., says he may get back to it again.

I said then just get the paints for the three stages. Replied thats even harder, there is no sample color or codes for the different stages. He has a nice H2 blue tank available as a model to duplicate the one pass stage. He takes the duplication paint process as far as getting the inside of the cover a lighter color as opposed to the outside. Im not sure I need to get that exact though

Heres the link if anyone interested- page thu the samples below via the ‘next’ button. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid= ... permPage=1

For some reason there is another link
http://www.facebook.com/ReproductionPaint

Anyway, I have a while to digest all this as I wait for the water decal from Z1parts. They have both the water and vinyl type. The water decal slides off the paper using water and you can float the decal around the tank to line it up...I know because the Maaco guy told me

And ill call Brian and his pics do look kind good.


Thats fine Mark, this is kinda fun, well see what we both come up with.