Fairing repairs

Ok so as we all know buying new genuine fairings cost a bomb. So I’m just wondenig if you know anyone or could recommend a company that could repair mine? Scratches would need repairing, 3 holes (about the size of a 1p piece) will need filling. A crack would need stiching up and also a small chunk that came off (that I’m glad I picked up off the floor) would need plastic welding back on.

I can then buy genuine touch up paint from Kawasaki and hopefully the fairings would be looking as good as new.

pop down and see Matt at OMC http://www.ovalmotorcyclecentre.co.uk and see what he says

Post some pics up. I can give you some instructions and you can have a crack at it yourself.

A touch up kit might not give you a smooth finish, you might need to get the whole panel resprayed if you want it to look good as new…

Send a message to Bikergirl400 (Claire) - she had at least one of her panels done.

Look at my contributions to this thread http://www.tankslap.co.uk/read.php?34,28100 if you’re after doing it on the cheap…

Will definitely have a go at a bit of DIY. If I **** it up then I’ll just have to splash out on new ones. The tank is unscathed which is a bonus.

Pics of the damage are on the thread I put up about my crash.

http://londonbikers.com/forums/963783//just-had-my-first-off

Looking good mate.

I use a soldering iron to met the cracks back together, then sand it flat and fill it out with isopon or smooth filler

Smooth off those cracks and then fill them out with fine filler, rub down to top it off.

As for the holes… You could try and plastic weld in some bits of plastic, or glue some mesh to the inside of the panel and then build up the filler from the outside…

So, patience and a cheap soldering iron. I might be able to help you out if you need it

I could take some tips from Scorch’s thread. Using some PVC is a very cheap way, so could use that to fill the holes.

Thanks for the info. I’ll definitely give this a bash.

Is all this stuff available off E-bay?

I guess you could get it from ebay. B and Q, Wickes, anywhere like that will have .it. A dremel or similar is handy, but abs is fairly easy to cut and shape.
With regards to the holes in your fairings, I would sand off an area behind the holes, then stick a backing piece on. Put a weight of some description on it for an hour or so to help bond it right on there.
Then I would cut a square piece of abs, slightly bigger than the hole, offer it up and score round it with a Stanley knife, ensuring you get as neat an outline as poss. Then using the dremel, (or knife and patience) I would trim out the excess, so that your insert slots in neatly. Then bond it to the backing piece.
I’m not a great fan of touch-up paint, unless its for the tiniest of scratches.
If you have a good look on ebay, you can buy colour coded spray paint for your bike in a tin, with tin of clear coat to finish it. Costs about £20 for the kit.
Take the repaired fairing, coat the areas you have repaired liberally with a decent plastic primer (check the side of the paint tin, some top coats demand a specific colour primer) allow to dry, rub down the whole thing with 250 grit to a smooth finish…not shiny, just even.
Then build up some coats of paint on it, my top tip is to do it somewhere warm, and in between coats run a hairdrier over the wet paint. Not close, and certainly not on full power, but enough to gently warm the fairing. The trick to spraying with a rattlecan is getting enough paint on the job so that the individual particles of paint ‘run’ together and pool to create a solid surface, but not too much so that the paint becomes heavy and sags/runs. Making sure the fairing is kept toasty makes this a lot easier to achieve. Don’t be tempted to apply 500 ‘mist’ coats, the result will be a sandy unstable surface. Practice on the back of the fairing until you get an idea of how much paint you can get on before it runs.
The finish will be eggshell, but you don’t care at this stage. You are more interested in getting a good even series of coats across the whole job.
When you are satisfied that the colour is good, leave for 24 hours to dry. I prop mine in front of the fan oven with it on low for a few hours with the door open. Don’t let it get hot, it will bubble. I try and emulate a hot summers day with a warm breeze.
24 hours (minimum) later, get a shedload of clearcoat on it. This stuff is much more forgiving than the paint, and you can get some fairly thick coats on. Again, I gently run a hairdrier over the job immediately before and after I apply the clearcoats. You are still not really interested in the finish, just an even coat.
Leave in a warm place for 24 hours (minimum, 48 is better) and then begin the polishing… I start with 250 grit and LOTS of water with a dash of fairy liquid in it. Be gentle, be patient. It will lose any shine that it had and start to look matt. You want it matt all over, then use a 400 grit, more water, then 600, followed by 1000, and if you’re feeling enthusiastic at this stage, 2000. Be gentle, the paint is still soft.
You need to be careful with the panel for a few weeks, it will dent quite easily until the paint cures properly, but I tend to put mine back on the bike at this stage as I’m not the most patient.
When its been on a few weeks, take some rubbing compound, or at a pinch some t cut and give a really good cut and polish with a soft cloth. Job done.

I have done all my panels at some stage or another and tbh I have got a better result than the factory finish. The trick to getting the glossy finish is spending lots of time with the sandpaper.

Amazing, thanks for the detailed instructions. I’ll let you know how I get along. If it turns out **** I may have to ask you to do a little hobble for me :wink: