Repairing large graphics

cantdecide

The neighbour reversed into my Busa :mad: He damaged the can, the clutch lever and the mirror which are obviously bolt off and on. He told me to give him the bill.

The problem is that the nose cowel is painted blue with a very large black stripe made from vinyl or whatever. There are ugly scratches through the 'vinyl'. Is there any way of repairing or fully replacing this large graphic without having strip down the whole nose cowel? I just want to avoid painting the bike.

P.C.

No, I think that you will have to take the fairing off, and get the whole thing resprayed.

The only other option that I can think of is to put a sticker over the damage.

JohnnyCrash

Is the "vinyl" stripe on the surface of the paint or lacquered over???

cantdecide

JohnnyCrash wrote: »

Is the "vinyl" stripe on the surface of the paint or lacquered over???

Unless I'm very much mistaken, it's not lacquered over. Wax lodges at the edges of the graphic after valeting the bike. My feeling is that it's not impossible that if you were careful enough, it might be possible to lift off the old one and replace it. The first question is whether you can physically remove the graphic or if it's somehow glued down permanently.

Beyond that, I think the next question might be whether the vinyl has some kind of paint code so that I could touch it up with some certainty it will look ok. I don't want to have put up with cruddy touch ups. Equally, I know my neighbour thinks this will probably cost him a couple of hundred tops so im trying to avoid a row.

KamiKazi

If it's not lacquered on you should be able to remove the damaged vinyl (use a hairdryer or something) and replace it.

JohnnyCrash

+1 what Kami says. I would try a hairdryer on an inconspicuous corner and see if it can be lifted.(ive done this a few times with factory decals etc)
If its successfully removed,if it were me,i would bring it to a sign maker or if you know of anyone who makes the likes of road signs etc,im sure they would have the materials and know how to run off a match

cantdecide

Thanks all. Will crack out the hairdryer and report back!

Just wondering. Who's the best guy to sort this, nationally? I'm pretty sure there are no professional bike finishing specialists left down my direction but if there were someone nationally, that could advise me about genuine graphics and/ or carry out the work, I think that's womething worth traveling for.

eurofoxy

its very common now on cars to have vinyl graphics, maybe over on the car tuning forum you will find someone that does them near you....

I have put a few on the bonnet of my classic mini, they are easy enough to do it just takes time,abit of water and soapand a lot of patience and a very steady hand.....

maameeo

omg CD! im just reading this! Did this happen after i visited you on sat?

I went to art college and a lot of guys got vinyl stickers made up for presentations, i presume theyre the same thing
if so you can get it printed yourself, just need the graphic + size to sent to the printers (i can help you with the graphic)

but then there is getting the vinyl neatly on the bike

ah i cant believe that happened, she was perfect!

cantdecide

maameeo wrote: »

omg CD! im just reading this! Did this happen after i visited you on sat? ah i cant believe that happened, she was perfect!

Literally minutes after you left. I was about to go and move it when the knock came to the door

eurofoxy wrote: »

its very common now on cars to have vinyl graphics, maybe over on the car tuning forum you will find someone that does them near you...

maameeo wrote: »

I went to art college and a lot of guys got vinyl stickers made up for presentations, i presume theyre the same thing
if so you can get it printed yourself, just need the graphic + size to sent to the printers (i can help you with the graphic)....but then there is getting the vinyl neatly on the bike

I'm trying to find out if I can actually order the graphic from Suzuki. We have a signwriter that we use at work and he did some things for my Blackbird.



I think the big problem is matching the exact colour and finish of the new and the old graphic because they're butted together. I think I have a couple of people I would trust to fit the graphic.

CJhaughey

I bet that bobbin saved a lot of money for the neighbour!

cantdecide

CJhaughey wrote: »

I bet that bobbin saved a lot of money for the neighbour!

There actually wasn't a mark on the bobbin. The bike fell up against a very rough wall. I think there would have been nothing but a dent of the can if it fell over flat. My mate's ZX6 fell over last week and there was not damage to paint whatsoever.

maameeo

ah i hope you get it sorted and perfectly

i hope it wasnt there just so id find your gaff!! id be so upset if i was to blame in some roundabout way!

cantdecide

maameeo wrote: »

ah i hope you get it sorted and perfectly i hope it wasnt there just so id find your gaff!! id be so upset if i was to blame in some roundabout way!

It's in no way your fault, m'darling. He should have been watching where he was going. Simples. Most of the damage is bolt off/ bolt on stuff and the scratches could have been way worse.

galwaytt

...don't know if he can match or not, but he does vinyl for a living - try Ivan at www.positivesigns.ie

He's a fellow petrol head, and has vinyl'd all sorts - he even wrapped his entire car lately, to change the colour - came out fab.

Tell him galwaytt sent ya

cantdecide

After a lot of wrangling, guys, replacing the graphic here is definitely not on the cards.

I don't think I want to paint it. I was thinking about patching it but I reckon it'll end up worse off. I was thinking that the best solution is to put a patch over it that looks deliberate enough that it would have been a factory thing. Like a silver crescent shaped stripe plonked right on the graphic.

Any better ideas or variations?

Owen

Have you priced a replacement fairing panel? They're sometimes not so bad.

Failing that, on my way out of Macroom last week, there was a guy on the side of the road advertising the way to his motorbike painting workshop. Might be worth investigating?

cantdecide

PaintDoctor wrote: »

Have you priced a replacement fairing panel? They're sometimes not so bad

€475 fully finished which is more reasonable than I'd expected. The bike isn't half new enough to justify that kind of expense for a scratch.

My mechanic had a blue OEM side graphic the same colour as my bike which he gave me FOC!! The scratch is about 4" long and the width of a pencil so I've decided to have our signwriter cut a pair of stripes or crescents out of it as a patch. I'll mirror it on the other side. Hopefully, it'll look like it's from the factory.

PaintDoctor wrote: »

Failing that, on my way out of Macroom last week, there was a guy on the side of the road advertising the way to his motorbike painting workshop. Might be worth investigating?

That'd be Clarki. He painted my Blackbird. I had to chase him but I'd certainly recommend him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUps8XfTf-w

I must get onto him to paint my belly pan on the GSX actually.

Sids Not

It looks sprayed to me..i.e black over blue....you could easily touch it up yerself ..doesnt look that bad...is that a hole in the fairing , and did the mirror get all scratched too...???

cantdecide

P.C. wrote: »

The only other option that I can think of is to put a sticker over the damage.

LOL! Just re-read the thread and this is the very first reply I got!!

This is why You're in charge, PC!

cantdecide

Sids Not wrote: »

It looks sprayed to me..i.e black over blue....you could easily touch it up yerself ..doesnt look that bad...is that a hole in the fairing , and did the mirror get all scratched too...???

In front of the mushroom? That's the ventilation hole. There is only one other area of damage on the fairing. It's below the mushroom and it's only about the size of €1 coin. You can see that it's vinyl over paint there too because if it was paint, it would have cracked.

I got a used mirror. I also had to get a temporary used std screen and a replaced DB screen.

SeamusG97

I found this fellow good when I needed graphics for a couple of bikes a while back. He seems to know his models and will probably have anything standard in stock.
email: yamahaxt5@hotmail.com He has an eBay shop called themotorcycledecalcompany2002

Not dirt cheap but good value I thought.