Paint

[beemeruser]

My 1100 RT is begining to look chipped round the silver painted bits-final drive cover,etc.Has anyone come up with a viable way of dealing with this age problem?And what sort of paint should I use?Avoiding the inevitable is futile,as my wrinkles will testify, but a little touching up is nice....

[T__]

My 1100 RT is begining to look chipped round the silver painted bits-final drive cover,etc.Has anyone come up with a viable way of dealing with this age problem?And what sort of paint should I use?Avoiding the inevitable is futile,as my wrinkles will testify, but a little touching up is nice....

 

 

David, I believe BMW sells a small silver touch up pen.. Quite pricy though I believe..

 

I can’t really help you on the exact color or brand but can relate my experience on locating a matching silver color for my last 1100 R bike..

 

I went to the local auto parts store (they know me real well there) & grabbed a basket full of look-alike silver touch up paint then headed to the parking lot & my bike.. What I found was there were a couple of almost exact matches BUT the ones that matched the best were lacquer based.. You really don’t want to use a lacquer based touch up paint over original enamel as that CAN (not always will but sure can) soften, lift, or wrinkle the OEM enamel.. I did end up taking a can of lacquer based touch up paint that was almost an exact match..

 

I had no problem using that lacquer based touch up paint for just pinpoint touch up of VERY SMALL stone chips but was afraid to use that lacquer based paint for anything that required actual spraying on or heavy application (too much of a chance of wrinkling the original paint)..

 

I bought the bike used so there was some light tip over damage to the R/H valve cover & I sure didn’t want to use that lacquer based paint for major paint coverage on the valve cover.. I eventually found some silver truck wheel enamel in rattle can form that was close to the silver color but not an exact match so I used that.. Was never really happy with the color match (especially in the direct sun light).. That match up bothered my but not enough to do much about it quickly.. Eventually I was doing a paint job on a different vehicle so had to visit the auto paint supplier in a neighboring town so I took a silver panel with me & had them computer scan the silver piece.. They mixed me a pint in a custom silver acrylic enamel that was an exact match & that worked out wonderfully..

Unfortunately that paint store has changed ownership & the new owners didn’t keep all the old computer records of the custom mixed paints from it old customers.. I have since used that silver paint on a different project so don’t have the can anymore either..

 

I guess what I am using a lot of words to say in above is: You can get a close match from a rattle can touch paint.. DON’T get it in lacquer for any major repair.. If you want a real close match in a good quality paint visit an automotive body shop paint supply company & have then computer scan an existing piece then mix you up a custom paint..

 

Twisty

[Sellis]

Just repainted my valve covers after dropping one on the garage floor while doing a valve adjust (I figured I'd do them both, since I was not sure the paint would be an exect match). Went to the local automotive paint suppler and they did a computer match, got it really close. Also had them put something in it to kill the gloss, like the orginal satin finish, forgot what they called it, but it worked fine.

 

Steve

[beemeruser]

Thanks guys