Christy - There are a few things to remember when doing a machine like this (I learned all of this painting that bike on the previous page - it wasn't one go, it was a period of weeks of repairing damage and sanding my mistakes and leveling this and de-gumming paint guns, etc):
1. Decals are hard to tear while they still have the cover coat. You have to try to ruin them.
2. paint is protected by clear coat. Other than a gouge through to the base coat - a mistake can usually be polished out. I put 2 scratches in the motor with an exacto knife, the body shop 1 on the extension bed and DH 1 on the motor so far and reassembly hasn't started! All of it will polish out so far.
3. What doesn't polish out can usually be "fixed" with a touch up pen of the same paint.
4. it's just paint. It can be redone if need be. Not that I'd want to but worst case, no lives are lost unless DH does have the heart attack. Man he was jittery!
DonnaMiller - When you did the clearcoat, how did you do it? A spray gun or a spray can? was there anything else that was notable that may have contributed to the problem? Were the decals on top of the base or was there clear under the decals too? I agree, I wouldn't want to have to redo it but I can't leave unprotected decals on a machine I'm going to use, so I have to go the next step. By Glenn's process, you mean the shellac repair? I'm simply not good enough at it yet to want to try. I have a 201 in progress using that process and it's taking a lot to get it smooth looking.
DH has been doing some research on this. Apparently there's some talk in a few of the motorcycle forums and modelling forums and the general consensus seems to boil down to a few things for best
most consistent results:
1. It must go: 1. Paint 2. Clear Coat 3. Decals 4. More clear coat.
2. No reducer - Use a clear coat that you have to mix - not a spray can. The activator and the clear coat seem to be fairly friendly to the decals but the reducer seems to have a violent reaction sometimes. Reducer slows the dry time too. You want the clear to "flash off" quickly so it has minimal time to react negatively with the decals. This seems to indicate too that relatively speaking - higher ambient temps are better than cooler temps because the clear will flash faster in warm weather. Once again, I get kicked in the butt for where I live.
I'm going to guess this reaction with the reducer has to do with certain reducers and which paints are being used. Using a spray can takes away the ability to remove the reducer. I'm thinking some cans are better to the decals than others though because I know of people who've used spray cans successfully.
3. Spray the coats touching the decals as dry and as light as possible. i.e. stand back like 3ft and spray and do 8 - 10 light coats 15 - 30 minutes apart before a serious regular one.
4. Use good quality decals.
I have control over the first one - the machine currently has base clear on it and then the decals. The next coats of clear should seal the deal.
The second and third I can control if I do it myself or to a smaller degree if the body man takes the advice we've found if we have someone do it.
The 4th, I just have to trust at this point.