Restoration Painter

Terry2wheel

New member
Welcome to 2021! :party

I’ve got a project doing a light restoration on a 1978 CB750F. It’s a lovely machine, mostly original with 6,700 miles. The tank paint is original and has a 1.5” long and 1/2” wide gouge on the bottom right. It looks like a toddler tried to touch it up. The side covers are reproductions with the typical gel coat finish. I’m looking for a local painter who can refinish/touch up the tank in the damaged area, matching the original color and leave as much of the original finish as possible. Also spray the side covers. Any suggestions BARF’ers?

Terry

2018 R1200RT
1997 CBR1100XX
1978 CB750F (black)
1978 CB750F (red)
1976 R90/6
1975 Trident
 

afm199

Well-known member
Not going to happen. No way to match that. Moto paint darkens in the sun, and the original code won't be close to the color it is now. Also, even it was new, a touchup like that is EXPENSIVE, not cheap. Blending and clear coating is a laborious process, along with several sandings.

I suggest you just get it painted the same color as the side covers. It's almost as much work, if not as much work to repaint a gouge as repainting the entire tank.
 

budman

General Menace
Staff member
PainterDude here did my Kawi H1f and it was awesome.

He is down in Monterey though.

Good luck Terry.
 

Terry2wheel

New member
AFM199: got it... I love the original paint is so will likely live with the blemish.

Budman: Thanks for the reference. That’s what I need.
 

Frame Maker

Well-known member
I would highly recommend Bobby Kieth at Cycle Finish. He does both custom and restoration work. From my experience working with him on several projects I can say that he has a very high attention to detail, and a very good eye for color matching. He understands how colors change with age and can do a very good job with the match. If something doesn't turn out 100% perfect he will re-do so that it is perfect. I've been extremely happy with his work.:thumbup

One note, he is a one-man shop so he may not pick up the phone right away. He's usually good about returning messages, but be patient with him as he does get busy.

http://cyclefinish.net/

Here are a few parts that he painted for me. One of the tanks had an extremly small bubble/blemish right on the edge of the logo. It was barely noticeable, but Bobby caught it and offered to fix it (no extra cost). I came back a few days later and it was perfect.

20180510_124744 by andbike, on Flickr

20170110_132155 by andbike, on Flickr
 
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Frame Maker

Well-known member
Here's a good example of a challenging paint project I brought to Bobby. I wanted a re-production seat cowl painted to match some NOS bodywork I have for my '83 RZ250R. I brought a sample of the bodywork for Bobby to color match. He immediately noticed that the red was not an ordinary red but had an almost florescent undertone. He found some florescent red to put down as a base coat (I think he may have added some to the top color as well). It turned out perfect and the color match was spot on to the original Yamaha red.

52828217_10157113100954468_6969166118065799168_o.jpg
 

kuksul08

Suh Dude
Heard nothing but good things about Bobby.

Every time this gets brought up there's bobby and painter dude. Guess there's only 2 moto painters around lol.
 
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