suggestions please

J

jeffery

New Member
I have adapted an XS 750 tank to my XS 650. I am going be painting the bike soon and plan on using some knee pads on the sides of the tank where the indentions are. I am probably going to cut some ribbed rubber matting I found on the internet to form the knee pads, since I would never find knee pads that would follow the contours of the indentations on the tank. I have seen this done before and it looked fine to me. Besides most kneepads you see have some other logo on them like Triumph or Norton and that just wouldn't be cool. Would it be best to adhere these knee pads to the tank first and then mask them off for painting or would you paint the tank first and then place the knee pads? This sounds like a touchy job since I don't want to mess up a nice paint job by trying to get these knee pads set exactly centered when using adhesive. Can anyone suggest which to do first and also an adhesive that would hold them long term.
Jeffery
 
Late 60s Triumphs were painted and the pads glued in place after. It far and away the easiest way to get everything looking right (even though the risks are high) and is the best way to resist rust. You can tape the pads in the spots you want (blue tape will never harm a clear coat) and adjust them all you want. Then you can lift up one edge to glue them in place like a tack weld. Once it's cured just lift up and do the rest. An acid brush works wonders.

At the very least prime and do a first coat before gluing on the pads and then do a finish coat so you have some protection.

As per adhesive I would stay away from the yellow auto trim ones. I had horrible luck with those on pads. Now I use Shoe Goo thinned with either lacquer thinner, tolulene or mineral spirits. It takes awhile for it to mix properly but you can adjust the constancy to what you'd like. Straight Goo is too thick for my tastes.
 
Thanks Retro Joe. I had never used shoe goo but after reading some reviews on the stuff it may be just the ticket for those knee pads. Some people it seems have used it to glue side moulding and such back on there cars and report it lasted for forever.
Jeffery
 
+1 on the Shoe Goo. Also, automotive Goop (dang near the same stuff as Shoe Goo), or if you want to get fancy, 3M and Permatex make emblem and trim adhesives. I also agree with paint, then glue.
 
Mach-5(50) said:
+1 on the Shoe Goo. Also, automotive Goop (dang near the same stuff as Shoe Goo), or if you want to get fancy, 3M and Permatex make emblem and trim adhesives. I also agree with paint, then glue.
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The 3M trim adhesive is the yellow stuff I was talking about. It has very high tack but low overall adhesion and strength. It dries fast, which has its place, but I'll never buy it again. Goo(p) is half the cost and twice as good. The only difference between Shoe Goo and the various Goops is that the Goo is more flexible when dry. E600 is another decent adhesive in the same vein as Shoe Goo.
 
Woah there cowboy!
If you're going to glue them, you want 3M Hi-Strength Spray Adhesive 90 series spray on contact adhesive. It's just like their Super77 stuff but stronger than Oprah's fork arm at a pie eating contest! It's the same stuff that holds the vinyl top on your grandma's 77 chrysler. You spray each surface, let it tack up for 3-4 minutes then stick'm together. It's nearly instant compared to waiting for shoegoo or any other tubed goo type glue.

I worked for a while at a hotrod shop when I was a kid and we used the stuff to hold cut&paste fender and door skins on. The 'skin' of the work piece was cut away with a sheetmetal nibbler leaving the 'flange' portion bolted in place. That was taken to bare metal, the spray adhesive held the new skin on so it could be positioned then it got welded and worked as needed....but the gaps stayed the same blah blah blah. One car slipped thru, it was his wifes car and apparently not a huge priority. I stuck the skin on, but we had to move the car. When we got back to it, the boss rushed it to mud and paint....forgot the glue job.
That fender (74 camero front) held in place for two years. Nobody could figure out why it kept getting odd cracks along the reveal line (remember the mud?)....one day the fender skin fell off in the driveway......one day a couple years after the fact.

The tank pads wil lstay on and you'll be happy that it only took a few minutes to go from nothing to tank pads.
 
Swagger said:
Woah there cowboy!
If you're going to glue them, you want 3M Hi-Strength Spray Adhesive 90 series spray on contact adhesive. It's just like their Super77 stuff but stronger than Oprah's fork arm at a pie eating contest! It's the same stuff that holds the vinyl top on your grandma's 77 chrysler. You spray each surface, let it tack up for 3-4 minutes then stick'm together. It's nearly instant compared to waiting for shoegoo or any other tubed goo type glue.

I worked for a while at a hotrod shop when I was a kid and we used the stuff to hold cut&paste fender and door skins on. The 'skin' of the work piece was cut away with a sheetmetal nibbler leaving the 'flange' portion bolted in place. That was taken to bare metal, the spray adhesive held the new skin on so it could be positioned then it got welded and worked as needed....but the gaps stayed the same blah blah blah. One car slipped thru, it was his wifes car and apparently not a huge priority. I stuck the skin on, but we had to move the car. When we got back to it, the boss rushed it to mud and paint....forgot the glue job.
That fender (74 camero front) held in place for two years. Nobody could figure out why it kept getting odd cracks along the reveal line (remember the mud?)....one day the fender skin fell off in the driveway......one day a couple years after the fact.

The tank pads wil lstay on and you'll be happy that it only took a few minutes to go from nothing to tank pads.
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That whole "nearly instant" is the issue he was worried about. Spray contact adhesive has its place but not on a tank. You'll have to mask off the areas you don't want glue to get onto and then you have one, and only one, chance. No repositioning, no pulling off and trying again. Patience is very important here.
 
Not true at all. Even the 90 series will allow you to reposition within the first minute or so. Plenty of time to dial it in. As well, if you're not up for a little masking and detail work, perhaps you shouldn't be doing detail oriented work.
 
The point is I have the patience to do the detail work. I'm not going to mask off a tank to spray glue onto it. You have to get that glue straight to the edges otherwise you wont' have the same bond all around.

I'm really surprised at just how friendly everyone here is. So welcoming and not condescending at all.
 
3M Super77 is pretty awesome stuff. I used it to hold the fabric on my KZ. Even when the fabric got soaked in gas from a petcock leak the fabric stayed in place.
 
retro.joe said:
The point is I have the patience to do the detail work. I'm not going to mask off a tank to spray glue onto it. You have to get that glue straight to the edges otherwise you wont' have the same bond all around.

I'm really surprised at just how friendly everyone here is. So welcoming and not condescending at all.
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Yup great group here.

As to the rest, it's little more than methodology. You use what works for you, I'll use what works for me (30 years or so of doing this) and all will be cheers in the end. Retro, do you have a bike in the works? I get the impression you're one to watch.
 
I've also heard of folks using the "Rhino Liner" spray on type stuff for knee pads. Never tried it, never seen it, just a thought.

CC
 
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