Right! More weeks have passed, but in my defence I have not been sitting on my hands... I have actually made good progress and am now on the downhill run.
The last photos I posted were of the first bag of goodies from Boats.. since then I pulled the last bits apart, especially the wheels needed quite a bit of attention: All the bearings rusted in, the spokes had to be cut with the angle grinder and the rims had some minor cancer attack, especially the front rim around the valve hole.
But, with a bit of patience, the rims actually cleaned up allright and although I found a few hairline cracks in the rear rim, I think they remain usable. Have coated the corrosion with POR15, to stop it getting worse.
Then it was onto the front fork legs again... after Tommy's advice to just use elbow grease, scotchbrite and degraser they came up really well! Thanks Tommy! Before I clear coat them they still need a bit of detailing, but they are 98% ready to go back onto the bike.
The success with the fork legs gave me the drive to start the 'external' work and I packed up all the bits for the powder coater and zinc plater and after a bit of ringing around I used Global Powder Coating in Archerfield (07-3275-1984) and Custom Coatings in Brendale (07-3205-7099). They both did a reasonable job.. some of the zinc parts didn't turn out as well as I liked to (especially the aluminium parts and the golden valve caps), but I am happy with the result and the cost ($330 for the powder coating and $121 for the box of zinc plating.
Here the before shot of the zinc bits box:
And here the after one - all nice and shiny:
Those are the two items I didn't think turned out 100%
The powdercoating came out well... went for a yellow shock spring to give the bike some colour... nice to get lots of shiny bits back!
So, onto the tank then next. My original tank has had too many dents, has been distorted from pulling them out (or at least trying to) and after the flood disaster has been rusted badly inside. So I got a "new" one from Germany for E120 plus same in freight... my dad found it for me.
It has a small crack and 7 layers of paint! Red, Black, White, Primers...
so I spent a Saturday attacking the under side with paint stripper and the Kaercher - sort of successful, but not complete yet. Another weekend to go (or two). Don't want to blast it, but may have to if I don't get the crap off.
To get a break from caustic burns, I did some smaller parts that needed cleaning up, break fluid reservoir, switches, brackets, break calipers. Paint came off well:
So I was able to start spraying... exciting! The parts turned out quite well, I just hope the rattle can approach is sufficient and doesn't come off the first time something tries to scratch the parts... we will see.
Next was to strip the side covers and grind down the weld from years ago where the clutch cover cracked near the kick starter. Looks neater now and gave me an excuse to buy a Dremel tool.
The side covers will be painted next week, together with the freshly honed and blasted barrel and the head where the valves and seats were still good enough, so I got away quite cheaply. Gave the head to Brisbane Cylinder Head Service in Wooloongabba (07-3392-1371) for $110 and the barrel to Serco in Deshon Street, just round the corner for $66! A steal! And took them exactly 4 hours to complete the job...
Will upload those shots next, ran out of time today.
So, more soon... it is getting exciting and I can see the end of it now.
Sven
I love that bag thing on the table....... 
Keep up the great photo's! Do you still have the original seat cover as I would like a copy of the pattern?
