George Clay Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 I have a 1982 Yamaha XJ 750 Maxim. I am preparing the gas tank to be painted. I would like to remove the Yamaha logos from that tank, and then smooth out whatever I find under them. How do I do this? Can I just chisel off the logos? what will I find under them? will it be easy to sand, bondo, and smooth it out? AtDhVaAnNkCsE George Clay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator drewpy Posted February 7, 2006 Moderator Share Posted February 7, 2006 (edited) I have a 1982 Yamaha XJ 750 Maxim. I am preparing the gas tank to be painted. I would like to remove the Yamaha logos from that tank, and then smooth out whatever I find under them. How do I do this? Can I just chisel off the logos? what will I find under them? will it be easy to sand, bondo, and smooth it out? AtDhVaAnNkCsE George Clay I used a hair dryer up close and they came off luverly using a finger nail to lift then pull/tug off if you mean badges, then still try the hair dryer method the graphics will of course be stretched and can't be used. use solvent to take off the remaining glue Edited February 7, 2006 by drewpy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbie Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 I used a hair dryer up close and they came off luverly using a finger nail to lift then pull/tug off if you mean badges, then still try the hair dryer method the graphics will of course be stretched and can't be used. use solvent to take off the remaining glue Exactly the way I would suggest just be careful with any residual fuel left in the tank. Also use a bit of 2000 bit wet and dry after the solvent just to make sure it is completely flat. Also another note make sure that the company you get to paint it uses a 2 pack laquer and drys it in an oven as I've come unstuck before due to petrol spillages. Regards Robbie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Clay Posted February 8, 2006 Author Share Posted February 8, 2006 (edited) Thanks Drewpy and Robbie for your help. I will try using a hair dryer. I am a bit confused however. Maybe I wasn't clear enough in my question. I want to removed two solid pieces of plastic that are the name "Yamaha", not a laminated thin plastic film. Is this still something to use a hair dryer on? Thanks George Edited February 8, 2006 by George Clay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator YamaHead Posted February 8, 2006 Moderator Share Posted February 8, 2006 George.....Being a former 750 Maxim owner, the best way I found was to carefully pry off the plastic "Yamaha" badges from the tank.....there's a rubber base underneath 'em which can be removed with a hair dryer & solvent if needed. As I recall, the larger displacement Maxim's & Seca's had this type of badge mounting.....where as the smaller one's were actually mounted with screws, which would require some body filler & sanding, etc..... if you were after that smooth clean finish. Hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Clay Posted February 9, 2006 Author Share Posted February 9, 2006 (edited) Thanks Drewpy, Robbie, and Yamahead My wife wasn't home last night (couldn't find a hair dryer), so I used a wood chisel and Acetone and removed the logos. There were no screws, pins etc. It was just glued on like Yamahead said. I used my DeWalt with an abrasive wheel to grind off the paint and primered it. and you cannot see where the logos were. I have some pitting due to the rust, and a small dent, so I do have to do more prep, but I'm sure it'll look good when I am through My Chrome fenders are pretty rusted also. I plan on cleaning them up and painting them also. Do I need to do anything special to prepare chrome for paint? AtDhVaAnNkCsE George Edited February 9, 2006 by George Clay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbie Posted February 9, 2006 Share Posted February 9, 2006 Thanks Drewpy, Robbie, and Yamahead My wife wasn't home last night (couldn't find a hair dryer), so I used a wood chisel and Acetone and removed the logos. There were no screws, pins etc. It was just glued on like Yamahead said. I used my DeWalt with an abrasive wheel to grind off the paint and primered it. and you cannot see where the logos were. I have some pitting due to the rust, and a small dent, so I do have to do more prep, but I'm sure it'll look good when I am through My Chrome fenders are pretty rusted also. I plan on cleaning them up and painting them also. Do I need to do anything special to prepare chrome for paint? AtDhVaAnNkCsE George In my experience cellulose paint and chrome don't mix. In order to paint the chrome you will have to sand it all down to bear metal. This is because no matter how carefully you put on the paint it will react. The best way to do this is take the parts off of the bike and have them proffesionally bead blasted by someone who knows what they are doing (some firms will use the wrong beads). Hope this helps. Regards Robbie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator YamaHead Posted February 10, 2006 Moderator Share Posted February 10, 2006 Good advice from Robbie Those fenders will look a Helluva lot better with paint on 'em anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tomg Posted February 11, 2006 Share Posted February 11, 2006 if its light rust then some autosol might help but make sure its the chrome one. but thats only for cleaning if its light rusting. otherwise follow what robbie said and get it bead blasted it will make the painting so much easyer and save you time and possibly more money! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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