Hey folks!
Newbie here. I have a bit of experience working in a resto shop in Massachusetts, mostly in sanding, so I've got prep work under control, but I'm looking for advice on how best to get the finish I'm after, and whether to go with a matte or glossy clear coat, or whether I need clear coat at all.
It started this morning when I started sanding the awful rattle can black paint job off my '79 CB750 to get some of the prep work out of the way for an early spring paint job. My original plan was either a '40's Willy's OD Green, or the old Ford Cayman Green (I love both colors). But when I went to sanding, I discovered the gorgeous old, if not original (I actually don't know), real and well done paint job underneath. Now, there are few styles I like better than a distressed finish, and when I started getting that, and the color underneath was Red-Baron's-Fokker red, I got excited. Before and after photos of my sanding are below.
My next steps will be to get some primer down over bare metal and sand it back, black over that and sand it back, and to add some swaths of black sand back and get even a little more streaking and "scoring."
My main question is: matte clear coat or glossy? I know some of the advantages and disadvantages of both, but any opinions on that would be welcome. Also, which would look better for keeping this sort of battered, distressed, "battle scarred" appearance?
Also, for any other First World War history lovers on the page, I plan to try to find Von Richthofen's flying circus squadron emblem and to develop my own "pilot's" emblem and stencil them both onto the side covers. I'll probably also stencil over the Maltese Cross (it's an old decal that came with the bike and stubbornly won't come off) with a bigger Maltese or Prussian cross in antique enamel white.
TL;DR: I need advice on whether to use glossy or matte clear coat, or no clear coat at all, to really bring out and keep the distressed look of the old red paint job with black streaking from the newer job and undercoat that I've uncovered.
Newbie here. I have a bit of experience working in a resto shop in Massachusetts, mostly in sanding, so I've got prep work under control, but I'm looking for advice on how best to get the finish I'm after, and whether to go with a matte or glossy clear coat, or whether I need clear coat at all.
It started this morning when I started sanding the awful rattle can black paint job off my '79 CB750 to get some of the prep work out of the way for an early spring paint job. My original plan was either a '40's Willy's OD Green, or the old Ford Cayman Green (I love both colors). But when I went to sanding, I discovered the gorgeous old, if not original (I actually don't know), real and well done paint job underneath. Now, there are few styles I like better than a distressed finish, and when I started getting that, and the color underneath was Red-Baron's-Fokker red, I got excited. Before and after photos of my sanding are below.
My next steps will be to get some primer down over bare metal and sand it back, black over that and sand it back, and to add some swaths of black sand back and get even a little more streaking and "scoring."
My main question is: matte clear coat or glossy? I know some of the advantages and disadvantages of both, but any opinions on that would be welcome. Also, which would look better for keeping this sort of battered, distressed, "battle scarred" appearance?
Also, for any other First World War history lovers on the page, I plan to try to find Von Richthofen's flying circus squadron emblem and to develop my own "pilot's" emblem and stencil them both onto the side covers. I'll probably also stencil over the Maltese Cross (it's an old decal that came with the bike and stubbornly won't come off) with a bigger Maltese or Prussian cross in antique enamel white.
TL;DR: I need advice on whether to use glossy or matte clear coat, or no clear coat at all, to really bring out and keep the distressed look of the old red paint job with black streaking from the newer job and undercoat that I've uncovered.
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