Painting + Body work (I have questions)

P.Blackthorne · Post by **P.Blackthorne** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 2:30 am

So I wrecked my brand new Stella... like a dummy... and it's all scraped up and the leg shield is bent. Glove box is trashed and the left side cowl is scratched and pushed in a bit.
I have a million questions. I'll just start with the general ones though.
Can I get paint to match the original "Avocado" color somewhere without having to go and have some paint shop botch it all up trying to match it? What about the body work? How should I bend the leg shield out? I tried just pulling and pushing with my hands but more leverage or some other "gentle persuasion" is needed. Turns out I'm not that strong!
When I go to paint, I'll probably take off the engine and wheels and plastics and all that, but can I leave the steering column (or whatever the technical term is) in or should I try and remove it? Are there loose bearings I need to worry about? How about the grip strips on the floorboards? Those seem to be riveted in place and I don't own a rivet gun. Tape over them I guess. Should I just try and tape over the wire loom too?

I guess to summarize (TL;DR):
Can I easily bend the body back, how do I remove the dings, do I need to take the bike COMPLETELY apart and should I try and tape the things that don't come off easily?

Oh, and should I try and sand the whole bike? I know, a million questions, but I'm stressed and just wanna ride my scoot again! Spring is coming!

viney266 · Post by **viney266** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 3:49 am

Easiest thing to do. Get a paint shop to "match" the avacado but repaint the whole bike. That way if its a little off, it won't matter. REALLY is easier. And get a body man to hammer and dolly the metal back into shape. Those guys are MUCH better at it. Check prices on new bits ,too. Some aren't too pricey, may be cheaper than bending it back...depends on how pretty you want it.
You can tape off the whole scoot and paint it that way. If you can drive it by a body shop, just get advice from a good bodyman. I have 2 friends in the business and they are magicians.

It can all be fixed, paint does wonders

P.Blackthorne · Post by **P.Blackthorne** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 5:56 am

Well, I kinda thought the leg shield was part of the monocoque and not really replaceable unless I buy a whole new body. It's not too bad. It's just kinda sharply bent in some places from where it slid under the back end of a station wagon.
Maybe I'll go by a body shop and see what they can do. It's drivable, but the left side handlebar is kinda bent down, jamming the shifter on the head set. I think I can bend it back, but I'm still trying to figure out the best way to get the shifter and grip off. It's such a mess.
I do have a paint gun and compressor though, so I'm thinking about painting the bike myself. I could even just do my own fresh colors and two-tone it. I just hadn't thought about it much until now. I don't know what colors I would even want! I really just want to ride it... without it rusting from flaked paint and bare metal.

viney266 · Post by **viney266** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 6:53 am

Yes, the legshields are part of the frame. Spot welded to it. So, yes, it has to be repaired as is.

Depends how handy you are. You can repair all that yourself if you have the skills.

BuddyRaton · Post by **BuddyRaton** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 10:06 am

If you're going to do a full repaint it is MUCH easier to disassemble. Most paint shops hate painting a classic style scooter and many just will not do it. If you bring it in for a repaint assembled you're going to get slammed on prep time and will not get as good a paint job. There are enough nooks and cranies when it is apart to make a painter crazy.

Also make sure the frame is not bent, not just the legshield. Legshield bends can often be bent back to the metal "memory" position. I have used BFCLs (Big F*****g Channel Locks) for this.

P.Blackthorne · Post by **P.Blackthorne** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 5:29 pm

I have a paint gun and I know how to paint so I might just do it on my own to save money. I'll get to paint it exactly how I want it as well. As for the body work, I'm almost certain the frame isn't bent. When I went down, I laid the bike over on the left side and it slid into the back of a station wagon. You can tell by looking at it what happened. It slid under the bumper of the car and the fender and leg shield on the right side got pushed back from the impact. The left side where it slid is a little bent out of shape too. The turn signal isn't flush with the metal like it should be and it's only noticeable if you stare at it.
I just want to get the metal work done the right way. Painting can always be redone if I screw it up the first time without lasting damage to the frame.
You guys have been a lot of help! I'm still open to suggestions and advice. I'm pretty fresh in the scooter world.
Oh and has anyone ever replaced the leg-shield trim? I don't need a special tool or something, do I? It seems to just be squeezed on there... or it was until it got scraped off on the asphalt. Haha!

lempira · Post by **lempira** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 11:22 pm

just get the two piece screw on kind.

http://www.scooterworks.com/Legshield-T ... 6C405.aspx

Post by **ericalm** » Wed Feb 08, 2012 1:50 am

A company in LA is making Stella-matched paint colors. PM member Jelbi.

P.Blackthorne · Post by **P.Blackthorne** » Wed Feb 08, 2012 3:16 am

Awesome. I'll probably get the two-piece trim. I went to a body shop today and the guy quoted me $500+ JUST to bend the leg shield back out. Not including paint! Ridiculous. He told me it would be cheaper to replace the part, but he couldn't understand that it's part of the monocoque.
I don't know what I'm going to do. :cry:
I just want my scooter to be pretty again! :(

Scalpel · Post by **Scalpel** » Wed Feb 08, 2012 4:36 pm

P.Blackthorne wrote:Awesome. I'll probably get the two-piece trim. I went to a body shop today and the guy quoted me $500+ JUST to bend the leg shield back out. Not including paint! Ridiculous. He told me it would be cheaper to replace the part, but he couldn't understand that it's part of the monocoque.

You might try looking for an auto body shop, the older the better. If you can find an old guy that used to work on metal-bodied cars, they're more likely to know how to hammer it back into shape. Most body shops nowadays just order new plastic body panels rather than hammering out dents and dings.

Steady Teddy · Post by **Steady Teddy** » Sat Feb 11, 2012 7:28 am

FYI... the legshields CAN be replaced. Grind off the weld spots and remove the beat up section, then re spot weld, grind and finish. Our shop just did a similar job and the results were amazing... just a bit time consuming!

Good luck to you!

Ted

Post by **ericalm** » Sat Feb 11, 2012 9:17 pm

Steady Teddy wrote:FYI... the legshields CAN be replaced. Grind off the weld spots and remove the beat up section, then re spot weld, grind and finish. Our shop just did a similar job and the results were amazing... just a bit time consuming!

Got pics? Would love to see this.

P.Blackthorne · Post by **P.Blackthorne** » Sat Feb 11, 2012 10:54 pm

FYI... the legshields CAN be replaced. Grind off the weld spots and remove the beat up section, then re spot weld, grind and finish. Our shop just did a similar job and the results were amazing... just a bit time consuming!

That had never crossed my mind. I'd like to see some pictures too, if you have some. I don't have a welder of any kind and I've never welded before. If I could get the leg shield off, I could even just try and straighten mine out instead of persuading Genuine to sell me the shield. I really doubt they'd sell me just the leg shield.
In any event, I could work with the part a lot easier if it were off.
One question I have is... how do I get the speedo off? There's such a mess of wires in the headset! Jeez. Anyway, here's a few pictures for you guys of just exactly what I broke.

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viney266 · Post by **viney266** » Sun Feb 12, 2012 10:53 pm

I have replaced the headset, and its a bear with all the wires. Just take your time and work your way through them.

Yes, I'm sure you could grind them down, they are just spot welds, but that is time consuming, and I don't know where you can buy just a legshield. he is pretty bent up. You can get it Close with a ball peen, love taps, and some wood behind it. Use the wood as your form to shape it with. Budget hammer and dolly work. But there are guys that do this all day and make it look easy . But you can get it pretty close, then do the rest with filler. You are doing well if the filler is less than 1/8" thick. But its doable.

P.Blackthorne · Post by **P.Blackthorne** » Mon Feb 13, 2012 3:54 am

I saw a video of a german guy filling the rust holes in his Vespa with some kind of silver solder or lead or something. He just ground it out, heated the metal and melted the solder on it. He then smoothed it with a wood block or something while heating it and ground it smooth with a big file. I don't think it would work with my dings and creases since it's smooth metal and not rusted (yet) but it gave me ideas.
If I could take the shield off, I could lay it on a wooden work bench at my buddy's house and just go to town with heat and a hammer. Get some real sturdy whacks on it. He has a welder. Guess there's no better time to learn to weld, huh?

viney266 · Post by **viney266** » Mon Feb 13, 2012 6:55 pm

That metal isn't all that heavy. Do it all on the bike. Its less work. far less.

what you saw was "leading" the old style of doing bodywork and is VERY tricky to do properly. Bondo brand body putty is MUCH MUCH easier to work with and you don't have to be as careful with the dust. Lead is safe to work with, but you MUST NOT injest it. Body putty is just self hardening plastic. great stuff. Get it close with hammer and dolly, body putty it and paint

P.Blackthorne · Post by **P.Blackthorne** » Mon Feb 13, 2012 7:28 pm

I would like to steer clear of body filler if at all possible. I feel like there's nothing for it to adhere to since the metal isn't broken or jagged anywhere. It's just curved and bent. I would think the putty would just vibrate off. But then again, I'm no specialist on the matter.
Maybe I'll just hammer it straight, paint it and put a big sticker over it! Haha. Giant mod bulls-eye or something. I wanted some kind of unique logo there anyway. Perhaps a P!