This is a continuation of my series of posts documenting the restoration of my BMW R65. For the previous (first) post, click here.
Where I left off, I had begun disassembling the forks and was looking to get the front rim fixed. This portion of the restoration will be covered in a separate post. For now, I'll focus on the disassembly and re-painting of the frame and subframe.
To start, I removed the forks, subframe, swingarm, and rear wheel. The forks were pretty severely bent, but I was able to remove them in one piece. I later had to cut off the lower yoke with a cutting wheel to separate the forks, which I'll keep for spare parts later on. The swingarm and back wheel were super easy to remove, albeit messy!
The electronics were a bit more difficult to remove, requiring me to drill out some screws to detach certain components. Many of the small screws had rusted and there was simply no better way to remove them. After that, the main frame was free of all non-metal components.
The electronics were a bit more difficult to remove, requiring me to drill out some screws to detach certain components. Many of the small screws had rusted and there was simply no better way to remove them. After that, the main frame was free of all non-metal components.
To begin the paint stripping process, I used Airline brand paint remover. First blasting through an aerosol can of the stuff followed by a can of liquid stripper, it did a decent job of loosening the paint. To remove the rest and to blast off the rust, I took an angle grinder with wire-wheel attachment and went to town. This ended up being very effective and before long the frame was basically entirely down to bare metal!
The primer and paint I used for the frame and subframe were fantastic. Both sprayed on incredibly smoothly and were easy to use. There really weren't any challenges associated with painting the frame, so there's very little to say! I would highly recommend this combo for anyone wanting to paint automotive parts, especially the high-durability roll bar paint.
One coat of primer, and a smooth coat of paint. Couldn't have been easier!
Though I suppose a lot went into getting the frame prepped...
The black paint needs several days to fully cure, so after attaching the subframe, I just let it sit. However, I couldn't resist setting the gas tank onto it for a final pic!
Thanks for reading,
Juju