I really wanted to add a pop of color to somewhere on the bike while waiting for the CB1100 EX side covers to come out. I was browsing photos of vintage CBs and realized they all had color matched headlight buckets. Therefore, painting mine to match the tank was the most logical course of action.
I purchased aeresol
OEM paint from ColorRite. The Honda Candy Glory Red (R101) is a tri coat paint. There's a silver base coat, the red top coat, and a clearcoat.
Painting the bucket took about 5 hours last Sunday, mostly due to wait times between coats, then there is time for sanding/polishing.
What you'll need:
1. OEM Color Matched Paint (linked above)
2. 600 Grit Wet/Dry Sandpaper
3. 1500 or 2000 Grit Wet/Dry Sandpaper
4. Polish
Steps:
1. Remove the two phillips head screws on to lower right and left of the headlight bucket to remove the lens.
2. Detatch the headlight cable from the rear of the lamp.
3. Disconnect all of the cables inside the headlight bucket. They are all quick releases and either color coded or unique sizes so putting everything back together later is not an issue.
4. Unscrew the hex bolts connecting the headlight bucket to the silver mounting brackets and remove the bucket from the the bike.
5. Remove all 4 grommets from the headlight bucket. Mine were a pretty snug fit.
(Photos shows 2 grommets in place)
6. Using 600 grit sandpaper, wet sand the entire bucket until it has an even honed finish. This will allow the paint to adhere to the plastic better.
(Photo is of sanded bucket)
7. Tape off the black tabs that protrude from the front of the bucket. These will be covered by the chrome headlight lamp frame and painting over these tabs would make reassembly difficult.
(no photo)
8. Using the OEM colormatched paint, apply 2 coats of the silver base coat, waiting 10 minutes between coats.
(Photo is of bucket with 2 layers of base coat)
9. Apply 5 coats of the color mid coat, waiting 10 minutes between coats.
(Photo is of the first color coat.)
10. After waiting 1 hour, apply the clear coat, waiting 10 minutes between coats. The can recommends no more than 3 coats to avoid yellowing. I applied 3 coats. Wait 3-4 hours before handing the bucket. Photo below is of the bucket after the clearcoat has dried. You will likely notice an orange peel texture in the clearcoat after it starts to dry.
(Photo is of bucket with 3 layers of clearcoat and 4 hours of dry time)
11. Wait at least 24 hours and using 1500 or 2000 grit sandpaper, wet sand down the orange peel texture. Be carefull not to sand through the clearcoat into the color. There are lots of videos on youtube showing how to do this if you're uneasy about it.
(Photo is of sanded clearcoat)
12. Polish the bucket with automotive polish and a polishing rag. I wasn't satisfied with the luster of the bucket and decided to add another layer of clearcoat. I have yet to do final polishing. I plan to wait at least a week for all of the paint to dry.
(no photo)
13. Reverse the removal process to install the bucket back on the bike.
Conclusion:
Overall, I'm thrilled with the results. The color match is almost perfect. I can't tell the different with my naked eye though this photos makes the bucket look slightly more magenta than the tank. I still need to do final polishing to bring out the lustre of the clearcoat. The process is pretty straight forward if you follow the instructions that come with the paint. They recommended coating the plastic with an adhesion promoter which you can buy from them or at any auto supply store but I skipped that step.
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Custom Painted Headlight Bucket
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