Happy to report that all of my prep work has been completed and almost all of the parts are now with the painter. Still have some pieces to take over to him and will do so tomorrow. He will probably do some prep work of his own on the pieces, but I expect he will be painting later this week.

For this update, I will "complete" a couple of projects left from my last update.

First, the bolt head in the lower portion of the rear fender is now nicely covered and ready of the painter. Heck, I even got props from the painter when he inspected it. Here's what the fender looked like untouched. (Note: some pics are from prior updates and included here to have the process from start to finish.)

http://

I used Bondo Glass short strand fiber glass filler as the primary filler material. It's a two-part product that you mix then apply. It cures pretty fast and is very hard. Here's what it looks like when applied:

http://

Using a file and some 60 grit 3M paper with a sanding block, the Bondo Glass is sanded and the area prepared for using Bondo Spot Puddy and Glaze. Here's what it looked like after applying the Glaze:

http://

From this point it was a series of wet sanding with 400 grit paper and filling with Glaze. Because of the multiple compound curves in the fender, I purchased a "stupid stick" to help with the sanding:

http://

Periodically, I'd shoot the work area with self-etching primer to identify areas that needed additional work and repeat the sanding/filling process.

The second bodywork project was the SG facia. I don't use the antenna holes or care for the black rubber plugs HD offers to fill them. I've seen color-matched painted plugs (black plugs painted to match the bike), but to my eye they're only marginally better than the black. So, I had some scrap Evergreen styrene sheet material left over from a long ago model railroad project and decided to use it for the backing material behind the holes.

This is fairly thin material and easy to work with. It cuts by scoring the piece with an Xacto knife or box cutter and rule, then snapping the piece off at the scored line. I made four pieces, roughtly 1.5" X 3", then laminated a pair of them to create two laminated pieces. Super Glue was used to bond the laminated pieces.

The facia was prepped by using 320 grit paper to remove paint and primer approximately 1" around the backside and front of each antenna hole. I then super glued the laminated pieces behind each hole. The laminated pieces are pretty stout, but flexible enough to conform to the curvature of the filler strips.

Using the same Bondo Glass used on the fender, I filled in the recess created by the holes and backing material, but being careful not to over-fill the recesses because I didn't want to use a file or 60 grit paper on the plastic (polypropolene) facia. I then followed the Bondo Glass with the Bondo Glaze. A series of wet sanding using a sanding block and 400 grit paper/re-glazing followed. For whatever reason, the right side was done in only three or four cycles of sanding/glazing. The left side was more problematic. Nevertheless, I eventually got it "right" and this is the "finished" product; finished in the sense that it is now up to the painter if it needs any more work:

http://



And this is the backside showing the styrene backing behind the former holes:

http://

These "bodywork" projects were a "first" for me. Pirateye gave me good advice as to the fender procedure, and I pretty much "winged it" on the facia. The latter wasn't much of a gamble since a primered facia from HD is $56 list, so if I screw it up, the cost is not great to replace this one with another.

While the bike has been apart, I replaced my front motor mount (the bike has 53K on it) and, using the HD alignment tool on loan from PhilM, I aligned the engine/frame/swingarm using Method A in the HD Service Manual. I also have some other non-paint work to do while the paint gets done and before re-assembly begins.

It's been a blast to really get to know my bike by taking it apart, and the bodywork has been a bonus. I'll even get to shoot some of the paint under the painter's supervision, so this has been a great project. I'm sure I'll revisit the bike's appearance in the future (I really like the stretched gas tank look; but didn't want the expense of the tank, console, and new seat involved just now), but for now I'm anxious to get the paint done and the bike back on the road.

Here are links to the earlier updates:

#4: https://www.hdforums.com/forum/touri...rsion-etc.html

#3: https://www.hdforums.com/forum/touri...oject-etc.html

Original post and first update: https://www.hdforums.com/forum/touri...owers-etc.html

 

Looking good!! Cant wait to see the finished product!

 

Looks great, we spoke a couple of weeks ago, I have tons of hours in doing my body work, RWD fender extension, stretched tank, etc. Put some primer on today, was kinda disappointed in the outcome, especially the tank, there is a LOT of work getting a RWD tank ready for paint. Thank God for sanding blocks. Looking forward to seeing your bike in person. gary

 

nice, good job on the body work, saved yourself some money doing it yourself and maybe even did a better job than someone else would have done for you