Painting it Green

It Was Time for a Change…
2007

I’d been toying around with the idea of painting up the KLR in the same scheme as the bug but never got around to doing it. Finally I resolved to go through with it. There might be some adjustments on what’s left silver vs black, but for now, here’s the process and the results.


Starting with a pile of plastic, some sand paper and paint. I was surprised by how much the green had faded over the years and how much sticker residue was left behind.


Glen can somehow see through the pitted glass of the sandblasting container. Here he’s roughing up the surface and taking out as many imperfections as possible.


The black bits are undergoing their first coat. I used Krylon’s “Fusion” spray paint, as it is formulated to bond with plastics and will (hopefully) not flake or chip off. You can see the painted tank in the foreground.


The lighting wasn’t all that great so I hand-held a few pieces to make sure that they were getting an even and thorough coating of Olive Drab.


All (well, ‘most’) of the pretty pieces, ready to go home for assembly.


The KLR is not a pretty bike to look at without its shell.

There’s a utility right-of-way near my house that I’ve always wanted to test the KLR on. I figured that it would be a good spot for photos, if nothing else. So once I had everything bolted back together I took it out for a spin.


Here it is! I’m going to probably touch up a few more parts, like the brake pedal and the skid plate. That’ll be another day though.

Really, its not much of a trail and the blackberries were fairly aggressive, repeatedly tearing my feet off the pegs.


Home again, and parked next to its now-faded companion.


Later I went in and painted more of the silver bits with flat black. I think it gives the bike a better look.

Tell me what you think! I want to know!

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