Re: 1970 Honda CB450 K3 - Tentatively named "Grey Ghost" Build
I was able to make a lot of progress over the last two weeks on the bike, focusing especially on the tank.
Stripped down, patching, and refinishing the tank was nearly a Day 1 project, so I’m glad to see it finally done and mounted. It’s not perfect, but neither is the bike.. and I think it goes with the whole look. Needless to say, I’m impressed with the outcome.
On my last post, I showed you the tank that was just bondo'ed. Since then, I glazed, sanded and primed it. It took about 6 coats of priming and sanding with 800 3M Imperial. Dusted and wiped with alcohol.
For paint, I went with Dupli-Color Perfect Match, since it comes in a huge assortment of colors. I wanted some in the grey color pallete, to follow my original “Grey Ghost” inspiration. The initial color I went with was Graphite Grey Metallic (a Nissan color). After a few coats, I decided it was altogether too dark. As you can see from the photos below, its nearly black, with metallic. I’d say its like the color of pencil lead.
It went on thick and even with about 4 coats. Surpisingly, the small 8oz touchup cans covered the tank completely, with some leftover. For $6.99 a can, its not a bad deal. The metallic finish came out very nice, better than I expected from a rattle can. However, it was altogether too dark.
I decided I was going to go a shade lighter, to find a more silver grey than this dark grey I had put down. I was initially going to just cover the whole thing, but then I had some vivid flashbacks of the Shelby GT Cobra from Gone in 60 Seconds.. My mind shouted “Eleanor! Eleanor!”. So rather than let this dark grey go to waste, I taped it off for a triple racing stripe!
I used blue 3M painter’s tape, the wide kind for the thick stripe down the middle. I then used 3M automotive tape that comes in a thinner roll for the double stripes on either side. It made things much easier than having to try and cut 2 stripes the exact same size out of the thicker tape. As for laying it down, I could’ve measured and sketched out the lines, but I just eyeballed it. I’m right brained and have a good eye for lining things up. Setting it on a saw horse, I just looked down the tank and lined up the stripes with some on the horizon. Repeated it for both sides and then front and back. I had to make sure that the overall stripes stayed straight even though the tank is irregular in a few spots. The stripe maybe straight in one part, but it could look crooked in another just due to the metal. The tape also lays flat and will start to wrinkle if you go off course.
The lighter silver grey was a Honda Phantom Grey Pearl. I thought that the pearl finish would help make the stripes stand out more….which it did.
The tank came out great. I put 4 coats of Phantom Grey over it. When I pulled the tape to reveal the lines, it gives it a “ghost” stripe effect since its just a darker shade of grey. Also, the stripes look a little recessed and have an edge to them. I decided not to sand these down, because I think it gives a bit of a “crude” look to the bike. I don’t want this thing sleek and sexy. It’s a bruiser with some style.
Dropped on 4 coats of clear coat and mounted it up. I also took the time to put in a new gas vent gasket that I had picked up from Dime City, along with new red polyurethane fuel lines & filters.
