Kawi2strokes.com Forum

For you pro painters out there: is it possible to remove the Kawi factory clear, and re-apply without wrecking the original paint? I know it sounds stupid, but I would like to restore the original paint rather than re-spray. I used to be a Mustang fanatic and I remember seeing a before and after shots of paint restoration that were almost impossible to tell from original. Any thoughts? Oh, and just to complicate things, I would be air brushing the stripes...but I know that can be done successfully.

Thanks for any input.

Short answer, no, due to the type of paint [amino alkyd enamel - essentially a "one-pack" finish] and the age of the original paint. While it is a clear over base procedure, [originally] , it is very thin. The Mustangs were probably an early version of current two-pack technology.

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"One day, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it's worth watching." : anon.

Thanks, can it be sanded off (by hand)?

The clear? - not without damage to the basecoat. Sounds like there is a paint-job in your future! Probably worth it with modern clear-over-base 2-packs.

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"One day, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it's worth watching." : anon.

Thanks Rod. I know a paint job is easy enough these days, but even the best of them look "thick" and unoriginal - the clear bulges over the decals which are much thicker than original water slides.. I might try air brushing over the clear (to fix the flaws and faded stripes) and then put a super-thin final clear.

Thanks again for the advice!

Let us know how you get on - patience is the key. I remember fitting a few of those early KAWASAKI tank transfers, they weren't waterslide more like a soft transfer, softened in a special solution - bit of a heart-stopper Good luck!

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"One day, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it's worth watching." : anon.

You could buy the decals and paint from Kawi right? I saw some NOS decals on eBay once...but figured they would be pretty brittle by now. A friend of mine has a set for blue H2 which he offered me for nothing, so I might give those to my painter -- along with a bottle of Scotch.

Oh, I thought Rod was saying the transfers were softened by a special solution.

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If it surges, that's normal, upshift.

The scotch just might do it!! You could buy the transfers back in the day, I haven't seen any for years. They had backing paper both sides, the last step was to EASE the top layer off and let 'em dry completely before the clear. There was a knack to it, wonder if I can remember what we used to soften them [wanders off, scratching head.....]

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"One day, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it's worth watching." : anon.