Front forks repaint
- essexbloke
- Posts: 656
- Joined: Wed Nov 13, 2002 12:29 pm
- Location: Colchester, England
- Stormtrooper
- Posts: 389
- Joined: Sun Jul 28, 2002 9:17 pm
I got hold of some Plasti-kote enamal based spray from B&Q. Its called Projekt Paint Fast Dry Enamel. Colour 109S silver.
It looks exactly like the original Honda factory finish. It comes in little 100ml cans for less than a quid.
Must say I was very impressed with the finish. Looks good and is standing up well. Even brake cleaner and various potions I use to clean the bike have had no effect. Do use in a well ventilated area tho. I was sort of high for the rest of the day.
One tin did 2 coats on each leg. It covered well and was dry in less than five mins. Was well impressed and made the bike look tidy for not a lot of money.
It looks exactly like the original Honda factory finish. It comes in little 100ml cans for less than a quid.
Must say I was very impressed with the finish. Looks good and is standing up well. Even brake cleaner and various potions I use to clean the bike have had no effect. Do use in a well ventilated area tho. I was sort of high for the rest of the day.
One tin did 2 coats on each leg. It covered well and was dry in less than five mins. Was well impressed and made the bike look tidy for not a lot of money.
- essexbloke
- Posts: 656
- Joined: Wed Nov 13, 2002 12:29 pm
- Location: Colchester, England
What about laquer? Surely you did that too, or was the plasticote hard enough?BarryH wrote:I got hold of some Plasti-kote enamal based spray from B&Q. Its called Projekt Paint Fast Dry Enamel. Colour 109S silver.
It looks exactly like the original Honda factory finish. It comes in little 100ml cans for less than a quid.
Must say I was very impressed with the finish. Looks good and is standing up well. Even brake cleaner and various potions I use to clean the bike have had no effect. Do use in a well ventilated area tho. I was sort of high for the rest of the day.
One tin did 2 coats on each leg. It covered well and was dry in less than five mins. Was well impressed and made the bike look tidy for not a lot of money.
The Plastikote seems to be holding up well. Gives a nice satin finish and stands up to a scrub with a nail brush to get rid of the brake dust.
For the life of me I cant see why Honda thought it would be a good idea to have the finish that they did. All the Honda's I've had in the past have either had a smooth gloss paint finish or have been polished and then laquered.
Easy to clean and seemed to last for ages. My other bike is 20 years old and the forks are just about ready for a repaint. The storm is just under 5 yrs and needed it more or less as soon as I got it.
For the life of me I cant see why Honda thought it would be a good idea to have the finish that they did. All the Honda's I've had in the past have either had a smooth gloss paint finish or have been polished and then laquered.
Easy to clean and seemed to last for ages. My other bike is 20 years old and the forks are just about ready for a repaint. The storm is just under 5 yrs and needed it more or less as soon as I got it.
Just sprayed my forks on the bike, rubbed them down a bit, washed them, then sprayed with brake cleaner to remove all traces of grease and dirt. Used Primer, two coats of silver paint, then laquer. Did the same on my old TDM and although it doesn't take long before they chip etc, they look a lot better than last week!
Like the sound of this, but a year since you posted this.....BarryH wrote:I got hold of some Plasti-kote enamal based spray from B&Q. Its called Projekt Paint Fast Dry Enamel. Colour 109S silver.
It looks exactly like the original Honda factory finish. It comes in little 100ml cans for less than a quid.
Must say I was very impressed with the finish. Looks good and is standing up well. Even brake cleaner and various potions I use to clean the bike have had no effect. Do use in a well ventilated area tho. I was sort of high for the rest of the day.
One tin did 2 coats on each leg. It covered well and was dry in less than five mins. Was well impressed and made the bike look tidy for not a lot of money.
Wonder if they still do it?
£1 a tin sounds too much of a bargain!!!!
I was looking at various Silver Sprays in Halfords today, but no idea which one to get.
I did mine in gold spray paint a couple of years ago - wire brushed the forks down to bare alloy, applied alloy primer by brush, rub down, sprayed up with gold.
They look fine - I had a quick spray over last winter where there were a couple of chips etc.
If you have your polishing kit handy, once you've got all the paint off with the wire brush they will shine up like any other alloy part - I've seen it done but wouldn't want the work in trying to keep them like that!
They look fine - I had a quick spray over last winter where there were a couple of chips etc.
If you have your polishing kit handy, once you've got all the paint off with the wire brush they will shine up like any other alloy part - I've seen it done but wouldn't want the work in trying to keep them like that!
Just an update..........
Managed to get "Exactly" the same paint as was mentioned above today.
They have it in B&Q and Sainsburys Homebase.
100ml tins, but not at £1 a tin...
£3.50 ish a tin !!!
Not a great deal of cash I know, but still a con for just a tiny spray can full.
I'm sure it will be enough for the job though, and will smarten up my forks as the do let the bike down a bit.

Managed to get "Exactly" the same paint as was mentioned above today.
They have it in B&Q and Sainsburys Homebase.
100ml tins, but not at £1 a tin...
£3.50 ish a tin !!!
Not a great deal of cash I know, but still a con for just a tiny spray can full.
I'm sure it will be enough for the job though, and will smarten up my forks as the do let the bike down a bit.

Just to update....
Sprayed my forks today (with the above paint)
Was just enough for 3 coats, which should do I guess.
I did not really have the gear to get the front wheel off, so I left it in position, removed the brake calipurs and everything else from the forks (inc the bottom clamp bolts on either side.
Masked off the spindle bolt both sides, masked off the black plastic fork guards, and cut a couple of thin black bin liners to bits, and covered everything really well.
Before I started I used some Scotchbright scrubbing pads and AutoGlym engine cleaner to clean all dirt and muck off (it's quite abrasive so it also will have given the surface a key)
Then made up a sollution of hot water and fairy liquid and sprayed all over many times to wash all the cleaner off, and finally, just hot water to give a final, rinse.
Let all dry and then did the masking off.
Must say, certainly looks a LOT brighter than before.
Kinda a matt silver finish.
Not perhaps a 100% professional job, but nonetheless, it's all clean and fresh now, and no sign of the old worn paint which really spolied the look of the bike.
Just going to wait a few hours before I fit everything back together again.
Will do a photo when finished
Sprayed my forks today (with the above paint)
Was just enough for 3 coats, which should do I guess.
I did not really have the gear to get the front wheel off, so I left it in position, removed the brake calipurs and everything else from the forks (inc the bottom clamp bolts on either side.
Masked off the spindle bolt both sides, masked off the black plastic fork guards, and cut a couple of thin black bin liners to bits, and covered everything really well.
Before I started I used some Scotchbright scrubbing pads and AutoGlym engine cleaner to clean all dirt and muck off (it's quite abrasive so it also will have given the surface a key)
Then made up a sollution of hot water and fairy liquid and sprayed all over many times to wash all the cleaner off, and finally, just hot water to give a final, rinse.
Let all dry and then did the masking off.
Must say, certainly looks a LOT brighter than before.
Kinda a matt silver finish.
Not perhaps a 100% professional job, but nonetheless, it's all clean and fresh now, and no sign of the old worn paint which really spolied the look of the bike.
Just going to wait a few hours before I fit everything back together again.
Will do a photo when finished

- essexbloke
- Posts: 656
- Joined: Wed Nov 13, 2002 12:29 pm
- Location: Colchester, England