Ducati Monster Forum

Hiya,

I recently bought a pair of used Showa forks off a 998, to put on my 695.  The anodizing on the ends was a bit scuffed, so I figured I'd recoat them.  Powdercoat was out of the question, as I didn't want to throw my forks in an oven.  Anyway, I ended up shooting Imron 2 part polyurethane black over epoxy primer.

The result (shown below) is okay (certainly Imron is the most durable paint coating I've ever used, so from a practical perspective it'll be great), but quite glossy, and doesn't match the stock black parts on my bike at all (clutch cover, stock triples, rearsets etc).

So I'm thinking I'll go buy a tin of flattener, then either shoot another coat of flattened black, or else a coat of flattened 2 part Imron polyurethane clear.

So has anyone done this?  A recipe would be neat, so I don't have to spend days experimenting with varying amounts of flattener to get the right gloss level.

(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3324/4629931577_a005fd177d.jpg)

Assuming you're going to get a DuPont product their tech sheet, which should be available from your supplier or online, should give ratios for gloss levels across the product line.

I use PPG, and the amount of flattener varies depending on product.

I would re-spray single stage black for your application.

Yeah, thanks for that.  I rang the mob I bought the Imron from, and they don't sell dupont paint any more.

I think I might just go in there and explain the application, and use what they recommend.

Any brand flattener will do the job. Unfortunately you won't know how much to use if it's not the same brand as the paint.

You've probably gone to far at the point, but the lowers un-screw from the legs for future ref....

On the advice of the nice young guy from the local paint shop, I mixed up a satin clear coat, rubbed back the black colour coat, and sprayed over the top.  They didn't have a satin clear coat, so gave me a matte one, with instructions to add a little gloss to get the level of flatness desired.  A little gloss goes a long way.  In any case, the recipe ended up:  4 parts Debeer 1-105 matte clear, 1 part Imron gloss clear, 2 parts Imron activator, with reducer to taste.

Here's the result.  Just a teensy bit more glossy than my triples, but a good finish to be working with.  Certainly it'll be much, much more durable than the awful coating they've put on my triples, which is already showing signs of flaking.

(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4009/4651102797_9586537723.jpg)

Alert observers may notice that I took the time to file off the casting lines.  I'm considering doing the same to my lower triple as well.

Thanks for that - I'd probably still have gone for a 2-pack finish though, as I like the durability.

I like it. They look "serious" instead of blingy.