Willow...An Evolution
- Thread starter troybilt
- Start date
Maritime
Over 10,000 Posts
Re: Willow...An evolution..
Wow, I love that green, but agian, Green is my favorite colour. Motor looks great too, I like the new offset design of Canuck Plumbers copper stacks. With the colour you could quick patina the copper to get that natural green it turns after years of exposer? May work, and if not you can polish them back out in munites. Whatever you do with the amount of work you are doing to this, it will look incredible I am sure.
Wow, I love that green, but agian, Green is my favorite colour. Motor looks great too, I like the new offset design of Canuck Plumbers copper stacks. With the colour you could quick patina the copper to get that natural green it turns after years of exposer? May work, and if not you can polish them back out in munites. Whatever you do with the amount of work you are doing to this, it will look incredible I am sure.
JustinLonghorn
No Purple Hearts, No Blue Ribbons
Re: Willow...An evolution..
Damn sir, she is looking beautiful. I need to come by and see this thing in person.
Damn sir, she is looking beautiful. I need to come by and see this thing in person.
thompsonmx100
Over 1,000 Posts
Re: Willow...An evolution..
Looks good Troy. Where did you get that color? Did you use a paint gun or is it rattle can? I cant wait to see it come together.
Looks good Troy. Where did you get that color? Did you use a paint gun or is it rattle can? I cant wait to see it come together.
Re: Willow...An evolution..
I really appreciate the kind words fellas. Unfortunately I have nothing new to report. Things are on hold at the moment because I'm neck deep in hay season. First I was busy fixing equipment and now I'm sweatin it up in the fields. I'm up before the sun and when I get off the tractor at dark I'm dog tired. I think I'm asleep before my head hits the pillow, haha. Hopefully I can get things rolling again once the weather changes. However, it looks like my commitment to make hay will continue through the first of next week. Its calling for rain after Wednesday. So hopefuly then I can lock myself in the garage ;D
So I apologize for not having been on here. Hope you all can forgive me.
Anyhow, the plan is to clear the frame at first chance then things should roll along pretty quickly. I hope to sneak a coat of creme onto the hoops anytime after sunday that way the wheels will be ready. The top of the tank mold is done and Jim and I are aiming for mid-week next week to finish the bottom half. After that the layup on the tank should be pretty quick.
The color on the frame is Krylon Italian Olive. It will get a coat of two part clear as soon as I get the chance. Iam considering leaving the copper patina. Right now it has a nice light cast of green. Like Mike said I can always polish it out if I need to.
I really appreciate the kind words fellas. Unfortunately I have nothing new to report. Things are on hold at the moment because I'm neck deep in hay season. First I was busy fixing equipment and now I'm sweatin it up in the fields. I'm up before the sun and when I get off the tractor at dark I'm dog tired. I think I'm asleep before my head hits the pillow, haha. Hopefully I can get things rolling again once the weather changes. However, it looks like my commitment to make hay will continue through the first of next week. Its calling for rain after Wednesday. So hopefuly then I can lock myself in the garage ;D
So I apologize for not having been on here. Hope you all can forgive me.
Anyhow, the plan is to clear the frame at first chance then things should roll along pretty quickly. I hope to sneak a coat of creme onto the hoops anytime after sunday that way the wheels will be ready. The top of the tank mold is done and Jim and I are aiming for mid-week next week to finish the bottom half. After that the layup on the tank should be pretty quick.
The color on the frame is Krylon Italian Olive. It will get a coat of two part clear as soon as I get the chance. Iam considering leaving the copper patina. Right now it has a nice light cast of green. Like Mike said I can always polish it out if I need to.
Maritime
Over 10,000 Posts
Re: Willow...An evolution..
Cool Troy, Got to make hay when the sun shines. Can't wait to see some updates but we all understand. There is a way to get the copper to patina in a few hours to a green, but can't remember off the top of my head, we used it in art class in highschool. I will try and look it up for you while you are haying your ass off.
Cheers,
Mike
Cool Troy, Got to make hay when the sun shines. Can't wait to see some updates but we all understand. There is a way to get the copper to patina in a few hours to a green, but can't remember off the top of my head, we used it in art class in highschool. I will try and look it up for you while you are haying your ass off.
Cheers,
Mike
analogue vanity
75'cl360
Re: Willow...An evolution..
wow! looks so good! how did you get your carbs so clean? i would love mine to shine like that. whats the secret?
wow! looks so good! how did you get your carbs so clean? i would love mine to shine like that. whats the secret?
troybilt said:Appreciate the input fellas!
Pawn I love that bike. Thanks for the inspiration and also thanks for that web site. Very cool and will come in handy on other projects too. I think its telling me I'm on the right path with the colors I've chosen.
I ended up going back over the frame and had to smooth out more grinding marks. I found a bunch more when I started blocking the primer down. The last frame I did I left the welds exposed. This one I wanted super super smooth. Anyway,
the frame has a coat of base. I'm super stoked about the color. I just ordered 2k clear and it should be here sometime next week. I may get inpatient though and find a painter to toss it in when they go to clear a customers. Then just use the 2k for the tank and fender. Anyhow,
I wasn't going to do this but I have a hard time keeping a secret ;D :
Spent a ton of time on the motor and carbs. Motor has been painted and is buttoned back up. Still need to install the clutch cover. Its all ready to go back in the bike.
I broke down and used tape over the wires as a loom last time. Not this time though. Almost all of the wires will be inside the frame and exposed wires will get some special cloth loom.
Re: Willow...An evolution..
Thanks man. The process is not bad at all. This is actually the second go around for these. The first time (couple of years ago) they had a massive amount of corrosion going on. You can still see some evidence in a couple places. Anyhow, they first got boiled in lemon juice. Not sure how hot is safe so I just brought it to a boil and shut it off. Let them soak for about an hour or so if I remember correct. Once removed there was still a good bit of tarnished clear coat left but it softened it up considerably. Then I use a coupe different very soft brass wire wheels on a drill. They are different shapes to help get in all the nooks and crannies. Also have to be quite creative with where and how to reach into places with the brushes. If you use a wire brush make sure its brass and soft. Mine are so soft you can grab them with a bare hand with no ill effects. Hope this helps.
Thanks man. The process is not bad at all. This is actually the second go around for these. The first time (couple of years ago) they had a massive amount of corrosion going on. You can still see some evidence in a couple places. Anyhow, they first got boiled in lemon juice. Not sure how hot is safe so I just brought it to a boil and shut it off. Let them soak for about an hour or so if I remember correct. Once removed there was still a good bit of tarnished clear coat left but it softened it up considerably. Then I use a coupe different very soft brass wire wheels on a drill. They are different shapes to help get in all the nooks and crannies. Also have to be quite creative with where and how to reach into places with the brushes. If you use a wire brush make sure its brass and soft. Mine are so soft you can grab them with a bare hand with no ill effects. Hope this helps.
Re: Willow...An evolution..
Some progress to report and a couple mishaps but its all good. Two steps forward and one back right?
My good friend Beatnic came up with the idea to use old springs from my rear shocks on the forks. I go about 235# so a little stiffer fork is better for me. Turns out it is killer looking. Anyhow, I cut the springs down so they would have a slight preload. I used one of the retainer rings from the shocks as a retainer at the top just under the tree. Works like a charm. I still need to strip the springs and repaint them but I'm lovin it:
I had a little mishap with one of the wheels. I hasd them setting in front of my garage baking in the sun when I went to back my haybailer to air up a tire. I backed the bailer shute right into the hoop of the front wheel. It left a small ding that ended up being not too bad. Luckley the hoops weren't painted because I planned to paint them with the creme. So I decided to try to paint and see how they look. I painted the hoops epoxy black because if they weren't salvagable I didn't want to have the lost time of taping all the nipples and spokes. Anyhow, the ding is pretty much not noticble. However, now my hoops are black instead of the creme like I planned. Turns out I'm more than satisified. Paint turned out super smooth so I jb welded the screen to the hub and now they will be used:
If anyone has been following along still you will already know that Jim and I completed the top mold for the tank a couple weeks ago. I finally got to work on the bottom half today so its getting close. Plan is to layup the tank at the first of next week.
Top half of the negative mold for the tank:
This is after one layer of fiberglass. You can still see the layer of gel coat that was shot on the plug. The gel coat will be the inside layer of the mold.
This is after two layers of fiberglass and an extra strip of one layer (about 1" wide) running along the edge.
After the glass cured it was time to remove the plug from the mold. Started by cleaning up the edge by cutting a clean line with a cutoff wheel. The plug gets thrown away so damage to it is ok. However, damage to the mold would not be cool.
I wanted to show the neat little stand that Jim made. Just a sheet of scrap wood with screws as a stand. Jim used a dab of putty to set the screws to the taped surface of the plug. This worked beautifully.
Removing the plug with the help of tongue depressers and compressed air.
I ended up cutting the shit out of the plug because it wouldn't totally release and I didn't want to ruin the mold. The plug is not needed anymore anyhow
Super smooth on the inside. Jim says the key was removing all air bubbles during the fiberglass lay-up. There were bubbles in there that couldn't be seen. The little roller found them and removed em. I also dabbed the pain brush quite bit and that removed a lot of the bubbles as well.
The is where the bottom of the tank will purchase on the frame tabs
Turns out this is why the plug was impossible to remove. At one point we ended up breaking the plug. Jim trimmed it back and re-bondoed the broken part. Wasn't a big deal at all but the bondowed part ended up getting stuck to the gel coat. Not a problem however it kept the plug from being removed in one piece. Hopefully there wont be too much impression left in the gel coat. I plan to wait till monday when Jim can help me remove the remains
I still have a great deal of work to finish before we can start layin the glass for the tank. The inside of the mold will have to be super slick. It will get sanded with 320 all the way though 0000 steel wool. Then several layers of caranuba wax. Hopefully I'll have the molds ready by Monday. The plan as of now is to have a roller by mid week
Some progress to report and a couple mishaps but its all good. Two steps forward and one back right?
My good friend Beatnic came up with the idea to use old springs from my rear shocks on the forks. I go about 235# so a little stiffer fork is better for me. Turns out it is killer looking. Anyhow, I cut the springs down so they would have a slight preload. I used one of the retainer rings from the shocks as a retainer at the top just under the tree. Works like a charm. I still need to strip the springs and repaint them but I'm lovin it:
I had a little mishap with one of the wheels. I hasd them setting in front of my garage baking in the sun when I went to back my haybailer to air up a tire. I backed the bailer shute right into the hoop of the front wheel. It left a small ding that ended up being not too bad. Luckley the hoops weren't painted because I planned to paint them with the creme. So I decided to try to paint and see how they look. I painted the hoops epoxy black because if they weren't salvagable I didn't want to have the lost time of taping all the nipples and spokes. Anyhow, the ding is pretty much not noticble. However, now my hoops are black instead of the creme like I planned. Turns out I'm more than satisified. Paint turned out super smooth so I jb welded the screen to the hub and now they will be used:
If anyone has been following along still you will already know that Jim and I completed the top mold for the tank a couple weeks ago. I finally got to work on the bottom half today so its getting close. Plan is to layup the tank at the first of next week.
Top half of the negative mold for the tank:
This is after one layer of fiberglass. You can still see the layer of gel coat that was shot on the plug. The gel coat will be the inside layer of the mold.
This is after two layers of fiberglass and an extra strip of one layer (about 1" wide) running along the edge.
After the glass cured it was time to remove the plug from the mold. Started by cleaning up the edge by cutting a clean line with a cutoff wheel. The plug gets thrown away so damage to it is ok. However, damage to the mold would not be cool.
I wanted to show the neat little stand that Jim made. Just a sheet of scrap wood with screws as a stand. Jim used a dab of putty to set the screws to the taped surface of the plug. This worked beautifully.
Removing the plug with the help of tongue depressers and compressed air.
I ended up cutting the shit out of the plug because it wouldn't totally release and I didn't want to ruin the mold. The plug is not needed anymore anyhow
Super smooth on the inside. Jim says the key was removing all air bubbles during the fiberglass lay-up. There were bubbles in there that couldn't be seen. The little roller found them and removed em. I also dabbed the pain brush quite bit and that removed a lot of the bubbles as well.
The is where the bottom of the tank will purchase on the frame tabs
Turns out this is why the plug was impossible to remove. At one point we ended up breaking the plug. Jim trimmed it back and re-bondoed the broken part. Wasn't a big deal at all but the bondowed part ended up getting stuck to the gel coat. Not a problem however it kept the plug from being removed in one piece. Hopefully there wont be too much impression left in the gel coat. I plan to wait till monday when Jim can help me remove the remains
I still have a great deal of work to finish before we can start layin the glass for the tank. The inside of the mold will have to be super slick. It will get sanded with 320 all the way though 0000 steel wool. Then several layers of caranuba wax. Hopefully I'll have the molds ready by Monday. The plan as of now is to have a roller by mid week
Re: Willow...An evolution..
Troy love the idea on the forks! LOVE the look... my only worry is flext wiht the epoxy paint them chipping... but man does that look cool. i have a CB450 wheels in my shop if you need them for the ding in your wheels let me know bud. does not look bad at all (actully could not find what you where talking about) but if you need them let me know they are all yours
Troy love the idea on the forks! LOVE the look... my only worry is flext wiht the epoxy paint them chipping... but man does that look cool. i have a CB450 wheels in my shop if you need them for the ding in your wheels let me know bud. does not look bad at all (actully could not find what you where talking about) but if you need them let me know they are all yours
