A better looking old ST (grey to black trim conversion)

Has anyone else wondered why Honda went with ugly grey for the trim color on these bikes? Don't you hate how it fades and looks even worse over time? I decided to recolor the grey trim on mine over the last few weeks, a little at a time starting with the lower belly plastic, side lowers by the pegs and then the tip over wings. A night and day improvement in my mind. Next will be the pannier trim (they are currently off the bike)and finally the inner fairing pieces. Black trim looks so much better.

Also, I bought my 92' black bike pre-owned and it has black wheels. Was that available from the factory or did someone have them re-sprayed or powder coated? They really look factory. I am planning to black powder coat all bright aluminum pieces for a more stealth and clean look anyhow.

PS: I am using common Krylon black satin plastic paint after prep (resurfacing as necessary for scuffs and texture coat) and cleaning.

Pics??

Peace and All Good

eburr said:

Was that available from the factory...

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A Honda 50th Anniversary edition of the Pan-European ABS-II/CBS was released in '99, Gold-metallic with black wheels...

https://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?118735-Honda-50th-anniversary-ST1100

Most of the brethren instantly nicknamed it The Bumblebee... ;-)

I did not think I would like the look of the gold ST, but I have to admit, it looks pretty nice

Erdoc48 said:

I did not think I would like the look of the gold ST, but I have to admit, it looks pretty nice

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Was thinking the same. Especially if it had a little metallic sparkle.

Peace and All Good

Hey I was thinking the exact same thing about the old ugly grey trim... Can you post pics of it after you paint and let us know if the paint cracks at all?

Cribhenny said:

Hey I was thinking the exact same thing about the old ugly grey trim... Can you post pics of it after you paint and let us know if the paint cracks at all?

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I used Duplicolor bumper black paint on all of the grey trim while I was working my way through this one.

The finished result, after no less than 5 coats per panel, is spectacular, and so far seems to be holding up ok.

Nice look. I'll be interested in how long it does last as that is an interesting approach. Thanks.

That looks good. I suppose if it bonds really well to the plastic, it ought to last a long time.

Peace and All Good

I didn't take the time to go deep into the details last night because it was late and I wasn't thinking too clearly, however, I feel the need to throw in a little information here to anyone who is considering doing this.

The key to any paint being successful is 99% in the preparation. As the grey plastic in question is textured, prep can be done 2 different ways to insure top coat adhesion.

1. With a DA (Dual Action) sander with 600 grit paper. This will cause you to have to do a lot of sanding in order to smooth the surface because if the paint is going to not stick somewhere, it will be in the crevices in the texture. It will leave you with a smooth surface, which will make it possible to paint it any color you like as long as the paint has an adequate flex agent mixed into it.

2. (And this is the route I took) 3M makes Scotch-Pads specifically for doing body work. They are inexpensive, and can be purchased at almost any chain auto parts store in the body repair section (just up the aisle from the Duplicolor rack). The ones I used are grey and are marked "Fine". They are intended for scuffing up hard to reach areas, as well as areas where the surface might be a little textured. I used these scotch pads like I would a piece of wet sandpaper, with a trickle of water running over the area I was scuffing at all times. This not only allowed me to scuff the surface, but the nature of the scotch pad also allowed me to clean out, and scuff down into the crevices of the textured plastic. The constant running water carried away all the debris that was created while scuffing, leaving me a clean surface to paint.

After the plastic had been scuffed to my satisfaction (when dry it should all have a milky grey appearance), I left the piece sitting out in direct sunlight on a 90 degree day for at least an hour to dry the piece thoroughly.

I chose the Duplicolor Trim and Bumper because it's pre-mixed with flex agents and designed to adhere to surfaces that may felx and bend a little. It comes in black and charcoal grey. I chose black because I was already going grey with the rest of the bike.



If you take the time to do a good, thorough scuffing, your surfaces are clean, and you use the right paint, it will look beautiful for a good, long time.

Hope this helps!

Fantastic, thanks for the follow-up. Great info. I was imagining my grey parts black and I think it would look really good. I may have a go at this.

Peace and All Good

Another option you might consider is using spray-on truck bed liner. I did this on the back shells of the paniers and bag carry handles. The front half's were painted black when I got my ST. The liner spray is tough, flexible and resists scratches and abrasions very well. You'll want to sand/scuff up and clean the plastic before applying. You'll get a nice, tough, textured protective coating.