My wife's scoot - damage, repair, and new paint

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BMW_Art
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My wife's scoot - damage, repair, and new paint

Post by BMW_Art »

After my wife pranged her Buddy 150 I started removing the front end plastic to assay the damage. What I found was she toasted the triple tree. So I bought a new triple tree and front forks assembly. In the process I also removed all the plastic to prep for new paint.

While doing so I found she also broke a tab on the lower right bottom trim piece. And her front fairing with the dead lights has a worn spot with a slight melted area too. The trim I think occurred at impact. The front fairing though looks like it has slowly worn due to the tire rubbing on it. Is that normal, or does it indicate there was some frame damage before we bought them?

I'm in the process now of prepping her plastic for Krylon Fusion paint job. She wants white on the bottom and pink on the top. Go figure. :)

After I took off all the plastic I reinstalled the triple tree. I bought new bearings and races but didn't have a tool handy to install the new parts so reused the old ones after cleaning. I did not see any damage to the races or pitting on the bearings. I havent decided yet if I'll take it all apart or not and install the new parts or not. Assuming I can get a tool - or maybe just long bolt, big washers, and a nut - to press in the new races. Some thought or suggestions from others that have had some experience here would be welcome.

I also found that a few washing cycles with Simple Green and a garden hose can really clean off the dirt, gunk, and watnot on the scooter. That's going to make the engine oil, transmission oil, fuel filter, oil filter, and spark plug change a lot easier. Really surprised me that I didn't even need to use a brush to clean it.

If anyone is interested in seeing how I prep and paint it, let me know and I'll post some pictures as I go.
sc00ter
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Post by sc00ter »

If you mean pressing in bearing races/cups into the frame use a looong threaded rod. Put it through the head tube. Put a BIG fender washer on each end then a nut on each end and tighten away. Its the simple mans press. Also works on bearings. Hope that made sense. Im picture dumb but I have a homemade simple mans press that I have used on everything from bicycles to motorcycles.
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CountChocula
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Post by CountChocula »

1 vote for pics!
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Post by cummingsjc »

Make sure you post information about your wife's incident in the "Who's Crashed" thread so that hopefully someone can learn from from her mistakes.
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Post by BMW_Art »

Sure, but it's not a case of an oops I made a mistake. It was pure panic and target fixation. She was driving in circles and when she came out f it was pointed toward a pole. Had plenty of time to stop or change direction. Instead, she freaked, forgot about the brakes, and drove - literally - right into the pole (cement bottom) in the parking lot.
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Post by jrsjr »

BMW_Art wrote:Sure, but it's not a case of an oops I made a mistake. It was pure panic and target fixation. She was driving in circles and when she came out f it was pointed toward a pole. Had plenty of time to stop or change direction. Instead, she freaked, forgot about the brakes, and drove - literally - right into the pole (cement bottom) in the parking lot.
I hope your wife is okay!!!
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Post by BMW_Art »

Thanks! She is OK. Or recovering anyway. There was a bit of a complication because she is on blood thinners. So the bruise on her leg required draining after a few days. So the recovery has been slow, but no real long term damage. It was a light impact really.

I'm just glad she is OK and still wants to master scooter riding. :)
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Post by cummingsjc »

Is she licensed to ride? I know you mentioned that you have previous motorcycle experience but does she? Glad to see that she willing to get back into the saddle though. That is the most important thing to in an incident like this.
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Post by BMW_Art »

No. This is the vehicle she is going to use to get her license. She drove a Vespa - her grandfather's - when she was younger and decided she wanted to do it again.
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Post by cummingsjc »

BMW_Art wrote:No. This is the vehicle she is going to use to get her license. She drove a Vespa - her grandfather's - when she was younger and decided she wanted to do it again.
Good for her. The more folks on the road riding scooters the better for all of us.
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I am ready

Post by BMW_Art »

I bought an air compressor today to replace the one I sold before we moved out here. If it's up to the job my air tool sander and orbital sander/polisher are ready to prep the faded plastic, peeling clear coat, and whatnot. Plus I have everything I need for basic maintenance minus a few carburetor parts. So tomorrow or a Saturday I'll start working on preparing the plastic for paint.
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Post by BMW_Art »

I'll post some pics tomorrow as I can't upload them from my iPhone as the images are too large for the forum, but I've been prepping some of the plastic and will paint the instrument cluster top piece to make sure my wife is happy with the color.

I started the prep by using my pnematic 3" sander with 120 grit. Way too aggressive. So went back to my 3" orbital sander with 320 grit. Too bad after 9 years of sitting in storage it fell apart. So off to a 2" pad. That worked much better until it died today. Got to order one if I can. The 3" pad from Chicago Pnemstuc was readily available but not the 2" pad. I'm using a 2" pad that came with some sanding discs I bought but it's not quite the right thread size.

But here is what I learned from today's experience:

Old sanding discs should just be tossed out. They delaminates soon enough anyway to make them useless.

60 grit 2" discs with very little pressure work very well on removing the texutered paint on the inner panels.

I followed up with 120, 240, 320, 800, & 1200 and the panel is nice and smooth again.

A minor application of body putty/glaze will fill in any minor areas that need it. Hand sanding of the thin coat is recommended.

The next thing I'll do is a final cleaning with a bit of paint thinner as recommended by Krylon - and others - before I paint it. I figure 6 light coats with a 10 minute delay ought to do it. Then depending on how it looks will hit it with 2000/3000 sandpaper by hand (wet). Then hit it with Rutoleum clear enamel for UV protection snd gloss.

Not sure how long I may need to wait for the clear cost though. I'll be googling my heart out today to find out.
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Progress pictures

Post by BMW_Art »

Here's a few pictures as promised
Attachments
Original - Backside Handle Upper Cover
Original - Backside Handle Upper Cover
IMG_0689.jpg (66.43 KiB) Viewed 2567 times
Original - Handle Upper Cover
Original - Handle Upper Cover
IMG_0688.jpg (61.78 KiB) Viewed 2567 times
Original - Backside of Upper/Lower
Original - Backside of Upper/Lower
IMG_0686.jpg (60.4 KiB) Viewed 2567 times
Original - Upper/Lower section
Original - Upper/Lower section
IMG_0685.jpg (60.59 KiB) Viewed 2567 times
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Intial Sanding

Post by BMW_Art »

Here are the pictures of the initial sanding using a 3" 120 grit sander (no pad) followed by a pass with a 320 grit on a 2" sanding pad (orbital sander).

You'll notice the upper/lower has been broken down into sections. When I originally disassembled it I didn't notice the screws and thought it was one part.
Attachments
First pass - handle upper cover
First pass - handle upper cover
IMG_0693.jpg (62.51 KiB) Viewed 2566 times
First pass - handle upper cover
First pass - handle upper cover
IMG_0692.jpg (62.08 KiB) Viewed 2566 times
First Sanding - Front - Lower cowl
First Sanding - Front - Lower cowl
IMG_0691.jpg (65.99 KiB) Viewed 2566 times
First Sanding - Lower Cowl
First Sanding - Lower Cowl
IMG_0690.jpg (65.59 KiB) Viewed 2566 times
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60 Grit

Post by BMW_Art »

60 Grip pass - Notice the pilling in the close up.
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60 Grit - Close up
60 Grit - Close up
IMG_0703.jpg (115.62 KiB) Viewed 2565 times
60 Grit - Lower
60 Grit - Lower
IMG_0702.jpg (50.35 KiB) Viewed 2565 times
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120/240 Gript

Post by BMW_Art »

Next was the 120 followed by 240 grit.
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120/240 - close up
120/240 - close up
IMG_0705.jpg (103.37 KiB) Viewed 2564 times
120/240 Grit
120/240 Grit
IMG_0704.jpg (52.1 KiB) Viewed 2564 times
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320 Grit

Post by BMW_Art »

320 Grit
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320 Grit close up
320 Grit close up
IMG_0707.jpg (100.5 KiB) Viewed 2563 times
320 Grit
320 Grit
IMG_0706.jpg (53.19 KiB) Viewed 2563 times
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800/1200 Grit

Post by BMW_Art »

800/1200 Grit
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800/1200 Grit - close up
800/1200 Grit - close up
IMG_0709.jpg (95.83 KiB) Viewed 2562 times
800/1200 Grit
800/1200 Grit
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Handlebar Cover Upper

Post by BMW_Art »

Upper handlebar cover
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Still has some dust marks I'll need to see if they come out with a light sanding
Still has some dust marks I'll need to see if they come out with a light sanding
IMG_0713.jpg (42.01 KiB) Viewed 2561 times
Painted
Painted
IMG_0712.jpg (41.37 KiB) Viewed 2561 times
Upper handle bar cover
Upper handle bar cover
IMG_0711.jpg (55.77 KiB) Viewed 2561 times
Upper handle bar cover
Upper handle bar cover
IMG_0710.jpg (56.83 KiB) Viewed 2561 times
BMW_Art
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Wife likes the color

Post by BMW_Art »

So, the wife likes the color, but I did this outside without my painting shelter. I bought one form Homeright on Amazon and will use that in the garage for the rest of the parts. I have some duct and a bit of peeling/rough spots that I will need to sand out. If they don't sand out I'll be painting it from scratch again.

One thing I did find out was the paint is so pale it took over eight coats to provide full coverage. So I think I'll buy some white paint and use it as a base coat before I apply the color paint to it.
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babblefish
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Post by babblefish »

That's an awful lot of prep work there. You must be an experienced body man. Looking great. And yes, a white base will help make lighter colors pop and make top coat coverage easier, but I'm sure you already know that.

Just as an FYI, making a painting tent using plastic PVC pipe and plastic drop cloth is cheap and easy to do, plus it can be taken apart, stored, and reused again at any time. Just lightly push the PVC pieces together (don't use glue) and tape the drop cloth to it.
Some people can break a crowbar in a sandbox.
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babblefish
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Post by babblefish »

Is this the look that your wife is after?
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pink buddy 125.jpg
pink buddy 125.jpg (37.84 KiB) Viewed 2546 times
Some people can break a crowbar in a sandbox.
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Post by BMW_Art »

Pretty close. It's actually going to be an off white and pink scooter. I'm not all that experienced in body work, but have done my fair share of painting the occasional moped or motorcycle.

And it is a bit of work, but not really that much since I have the power tools. If I were doing this by hand it would be much more difficult. That textured paint is just horrible to remove.
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Post by ronfer »

That's a lot of prep work, though it looks great. Nice work!
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Body Panels

Post by MYSCTR »

Not to rain on your parade but you can buy new panels in pretty much any color Buddy offered and save oh so much time, or at lest buy those panels that are missing clips, then paint to match your new color.
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Post by BMW_Art »

Thanks for the thought but did you know a complete new body panel set is over $1000.00? I checked and it is much less expensive to DIY if you can.

Besides, this way I get to keep the tools I bought for the project. :)
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