Lazy way to repaint a bike frame with no strip down?

[ninja_butler]

I don't mind sanding off the worst of the old paint but I don't want to take the bike to pieces because once it's apart it will never get put back together again.

Any tips? I was thinking of brush painting it but I've never done it before. As you can see, the paintwork on the frame is looking ugly:

https://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/cc469/Ninja_Butler/september%202013%20honda%20xl250%20sa/IMG_0004.jpg

https://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/cc469/Ninja_Butler/september%202013%20honda%20xl250%20sa/IMG_0003.jpg

[Frost]

If you care about a bike enough to want to paint the frame, why not strip it and check everything over?

[Rogerborg]

I'm guessing it's ugly because a previous owner made the same decision.

You could try Hammerite "hammered" finish and make a "feature" of it, but you'll never do a consistent, tidy job with it all in place.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[ninja_butler]

[ninja_butler]

[MarJay]

A stripdown on that bike should be piddlingly easy.

Just take lots of photos and make notes, and have a workshop manual to hand. Make sure you pay close attention to the routing of both the control cables and the wiring loom.
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F; Cheap project: CBR900RR FireBlade
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[ninja_butler]

Beyond my ability I'm afraid MarJay. I can remove a swing-arm but that's about as adventurous as I get.

[P.addy]

[Quornholio]

Anyone close enough to the guy to go and help him, if he heeds your advice, strips it down, then forgets how to put it back together?

[Vincent]

OP.....have you got use of any transport? If so, I'd strip it down to the swingarm then take that into a, (reputable), garage to get removed. Then have the frame powdercoated. It'll add value to the bike and it may not be as expensive as you think.
If you were nearer, I'd quite happily lend you a sledge hammer.
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Space Is Deep

[Walloper]

[Vincent]

'Doesn't look that bad to me.........get some new tyres instead
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Space Is Deep

[Walloper]

[Vincent]

[ninja_butler]

Thanks all.

The old Honda XL is just a semi-project bike I bought to play around with and sell on when I got bored with it, but I'm starting to like it and I'm not quite ready to get shot of it yet.

I might settle for repainting the tank, replacing the mudguard and buying a new set of tyres. We'll see. If you see a new topic from me six months from now with the title "Help! I don't know how to put the engine back in!" you'll know what happened.

[Nobby the Bastard]

The engine is piece of piss to take out and put back in.

Several bolts and a couple of connectors, the carb and the chain, plus a couple of cables for clutch etc.
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trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
Triumph Sprint ST 1050

[Frost]

I could strip that down to the frame in an hour, same for putting it back again and i'm hardly a mechanic. The paint job could be done quickly too but i'd highly recommend taking your time.

[ninja_butler]

An hour? Seriously?
Working on it about an hour a day I reckon it would take me two weeks to take it apart and four to six months to put it back together again. How humiliating.

[Frost]

[Nobby the Bastard]

I could strip it in an hour, but them it'll take me ages to work out where every bolt goes.

Take 10 hours stripping, marking (with masking tape with notes on) whre everything goes, with multiple photos.

Take 2 hours putting it back together...
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trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
Triumph Sprint ST 1050

[MattEMulsion]

I'll give the OP the credit he deserves for being honest about his limited mechanical skill and his intentions towards the bike. You see far too many people attempt projects that they either can't complete or they just run out of enthusiasm and they are then left with a pile of bits from what was once a usable machine.

If you want to just tart it up without starting from a bare frame, go for it, don't be pressured into doing something you are not comfortable with.
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Yamaha YZF-R6

[andym]

My first project was a GPz750, I didn't have a clue what I was doing, I ended up throwing all the nuts and bolts into a tub to string the project out a bit longer... I worked on the bike over a year, I didn't expect it to ever get back to road legal condition... but it passed it's mot almost 1st time (I'd missed 2 of the 6 engine bolts, but was sorted within 20 minutes anyway)....

I think that would be a great project to work on as there doesn't seem like a lot of parts.... why not take a few bits back on until you are confident enough to strip the whole thing down

[Nobby the Bastard]

A good way of doing it is, put nuts and bolts through the pieces you take off so that you don't need to find the right ones when you try to put them back on.

If it's a captive nut, put the bolts through the frame until you are painting it and them place them in order in a bit of cardboard with a drawing of the frame on.
____________________
trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
Triumph Sprint ST 1050

[Frost]

I actually find the putting back together to be the fun and satisfying bit. The taking apart is what i always find makes me nervous.
When taking stuff apart i'm always worried i'll encounter a ceased bolt, when putting back together i always clean and copper grease stuff, so i know it's going to be right.

[DJS]

The other massive advantage of doing the stripdown yourself is that you will learn a huge amount about your bike, the condition of many of it's parts and how it works - priceless IMHO.