Cleaning/Painting/Preping for Selling.

So, if you've been reading my trip log, you know I'm selling the XJ.

Thing is, I've never cleaned up a motorcycle in my life. As long as I've had an XJ, my intention has been to drive it to Central America, so I intentionally never cleaned it because I wanted it to look as unattractive a target for thieves as possible. A mismatching paintjob between fenders/sidepanels and tank was just a bonus.

Now, though, I'd like to get as much money for the bike as I can. Luckily (in this instance, anyways) bike prices are inflated in Austin. Also, we still have very driveable weather. I'd like to get at least one thousand for it, and that should be very possible--I've seen Maxim 650's listed in Austin for as high as $1700 in very good condition (not showroom), and $1500 for good condition, $1200 for fair/ok condition.

I was thinking about doing a quick paintjob on it--friend has a pressurized sander and a HUGE industrial compressor--the painting part itself sounds a little more involved than I'd bargained for. So I'm reconsidering that.

Basically, this is my question:

What is the minimum effort/time/money that will reap the largest rewards in price return?

There is a big premium on time, as I'd like to sell it within 10 days--I just want 1k. (I have some extras that come with the bike--box of parts, rear rack with leather back seat, spare seat, etc., that might help as well).

I'll be stick the decals on, and was thinking cleaning the engine would obviously help, getting some aluminum polish and some degreaser I guess? Clean the exhaust, too? (Paint the exhaust black, perhaps? Easier than other painting? Doesn't have to be the best, just the easiest/cheapest improvement. Rattlecan with high temp paint?)

I'm still open to a rattle-can option for the tank/fenders/sidepanels; anything might look better than the very 'vintage' (to put it kindly) paint that's leftover on my current tank.

I also considered just going with the bare-steel look for the tank, but I'm not so sure...

The previous owner had painted the front and rear fenders (and side covers) (and tank, but I traded tank with my old one because it wasn't the best) all matte flat black. He didn't clear coat. Paint has held up ok for the most part (though was ruined on the tank), but there is a scratch on the paint on the front fender's paint from a tool knicking it when swapping calipers and such.

Best advice for the rims? Various handlebar apparatuses? How about taking off the rear view mirrors and sandblasting them? (One has a black rear and was taken off a Honda at some point, so they don't match, so that might make it look a lot better, no?)



Open to any and all advice, I'm completely inexperienced on this one.

 

Also, derusting and cleaning up the rear rack, offering it off the bike and putting the original rear on. Bike includes the original factory chain, as well (which I pulled off the prior XJ, as well as all other key'd parts to maintain a one-key bike).

Any tips for cleaning up the gauges? Those look chrome, but are actually plastic, right?

Cleaning the forks/blinkers/headlight bucket...

Those new grips I put on before the trip sure do look snazzy, though.

Maybe a rattlecan on the center/side stands?

 

In all honesty if your wanting to do a quik sell I wouldn't worry about the cosmetic's so much as The mechanical's. When I go to look at Bikes I'm interested in I want to know it all work's and is safe. I don't want a bike I have to spend more on then it will ever be worth and that I have to spend 2 weeks working on before I ever get to ride it. Most people that look for older bikes already have an idea about what they want to change/paint/mod on it in the first place at least that's me.

As for good cleaners so many around now that most any will work. I have used from 409 to paint thinner to "clean" up greasy stuff. I use Mother's aluminum polish on any aluminum part's. Any good chrome polish on chrome work's. I do have a full Buffing station setup so that help's me alot. for the exhaust VHT flame proof works great, BUT be prepared to really prep that chrome for it to adhere properly. I myself would use some chrome polish on fine steel wool, or a light scotch bright pad on a hidden spot. then clean and use polish some more to see how it cleaned up. Also rust pits turn black when polished on chrome you really have to dig in deep to get them out.

If you do decide to paint the exhaust scuff up all the chrome and make sure it's clean!

for any high heat paint I use a torch to "Warm" the part first ( NOT glowing red or white hot ) and put on a light coat. follow directions on paint for flash time and following coats.

I usually then use torch again to "set" the paint for handling.

any way you look it painting anything takes 3 days min for a "quick" paint job.

As I am NOT a pro painter by any means I'm just a cheap home enthusiast with little patience waiting for paint to dry. hopefully more here with that expertise will give some good advice.

Good luck and hope she sells quick.

 

If it was me looking for a quick sell I would clean it up and let the next owner give if a nice shiny paint job. i know I would rather buy a bike that was in need of paint than one someone had slapped a quick job on (possibly to hide some issue) that I am going to want to repaint anyway.

 

Good points. I'm starting to think that's best--clean, don't paint.

Any chance just sandblasting the paint off the tank and fender would be a good idea?

As far as mechanical, the bike is fantastic. Full choke on, tap the starter button for a second, and it fires up and idles with no throttle. When it is warm, it idles very happily at 1k. As I drove the bike for hours and hours in Mexico at high speeds, I found that it actually seemed to be performing better--the ceiling went higher, the idle could drop lower, and it started easier.

Over-cautious oil changes (about once every 1.5k miles since I've owned it, owner before also claimed to be an over-zealous oil and filter changed, and I found him generally trustworth) and filter changes. Transmission shifts super smoothly. All lights and everything is functional. Blinkers are perfect as they weren't on the bike when he got it. Changed out final drive oil when I got the bike. Lubed the kickstands when I got it, they're super smooth. I greased the splines and the wheel bearings were inspected by my mechanic (he said they had been swapped by the previous owner with tapered bearings that were in great shape) and lubed when I put the new tires on a few thousand miles ago. Changed brake pads and shoes not too long ago, and I have spares with the bike. Flushed brake fluid a couple months ago. Swapped brake caliper out for one that had been rebuilt. Swapped left hand control pod out with one from ebay in great shape because the light switch was broken on the original.

Clutch was rebuilt on the last one, and headset bearings were replaced on the last one, and I didn't do that on this one. That's pretty much the only things I could think of that would be left to do.

 

Don't bother sandblasting, the bare metal would just draw moisture and flash-rust, causing the bike to look older and more worn out.

 

Yeah, that's what I'm leaning towards. I have opted for putting back the factory grab bar, putting the badges back on the side covers and tank, and cleaning all the chrome with acetone and paint thinner... The final drive is silver again! Things are shiny again! Lots of dust under the tank and such gone makes it look so much better! The exhaust pipes look a lot healthier, and the forks and headlight have had all the bugs and such taken off. I'll be putting pictures up for an after to compare with.

Mother's aluminum polish for the engine and such next, after some serious degreasing. Ad is already up on craigslist, but needs editing... Too exhaustive.

 

For aluminum and black painted metal there is product called Rub-N-Buff sold primarily at craft stores (Michaels, AC Moore, etc.). It's basically wax with metal flake in it. It is popular with BMW Airhead guys; a little bit goes a long way...

 

You won't be able to re-polish any of the cases until you strip the original clear coat. Aircraft Paint Remover from the auto parts will do the trick; the covers need to be removed however, because it eats gaskets.

DO NOT use a coin-op pressure car wash or power wash the bike. You can drive water IN past seals that were intended to keep oil in, not meant to keep water out.

For de-greasing, use a citris-based engine cleaner from the auto parts. Read the label carefully and be sure it's intended for use on COLD engines. Work in with a stiff nylon brush; be sure to rinse thoroughly with lots of low-pressure water.

Use WD40 to drive residual moisture out of nooks and crannies; that's what it was designed for.

 

This is cheating - - get some rattle can silver and black, spray into a cup, vary the amount to match what you need,

then brush over rusty bolts and they APPEAR to be weathered galvanized.
You want to match the look of the existing hardware on your bike.

Blend flat and gloss black and touch it into the rust spots on your frame.

Mix gold, silver and clear and you have cadmium color (sorta)

Give the whole bike a good scrub with Simple Green first. I'd shoot the tank flat black.

 

My two cents. The thing that jumps out at me is that engine. As I pretend to be a possible customer looking the bike over. The whole thing is hilariously ugly, but the only thing that would worry me is a motor that looks like it was sunk in a bog for several years. People tend to think a clean shiny motor is reliable, for some reason. You can find threads on here where people have bought bikes and are bragging about the way their motor looks, when somebody obviously just painted it, lol. So if it was me, I wouldn't touch the tank or do any painting, but I'd polish the heck out of that engine.

 

That was all great advice, but I ended up not needing it. I posted the bike on craigslist expecting it to be a bad time of year to try to sell a bike. Within 24 hours, I had, in total, like 6 responses or so--including the girl who finally texted me that night and said she'd take it.

I didn't even get to clean it, was expecting it to take at least a few days to sell.

http://austin.craigslist.org/mcy/3338691312.html

Good advice anyways, though, will keep in mind for next time. Appreciate everyone who took the time to respond.

(Only thing I *did* do was scrub on the shaft drive housing with an old shirt dipped in acetone and then paint thinner, getting all the grime off. A perfect silver underneath. Also lightly used the acetone all over to just spiff up the chrome, wipe off bug guts, clear dust off outside as well as underneath the tank and seat, clean up old oil here and there, etc.. Sounds simple, but I spent an hour or two doing it, and I think it made a big but subtle difference in the appearance of the bike.)

 

Also of note: I never cleaned the carbs on this, and didn't advertise that I did, and when asked if there were any possible problems I could think of, I mentioned that I imagined the bike would have a hard time starting cold.

But I never even needed to use the choke, I'd just roll a bit of throttle on when pressing the starter, and she'd come right up to life. It was subconscious, I never even really thought about it. Then I'd leave my hand on just a tiny bit of throttle when idling until it warmed up. All just not thinking, only in retrospect do I realize I was doing this.

When I went to sell the bike, as a test, with the bike cold (but days are still room temp/warm outside here in Texas right now), I put the choke all the way on and tapped the start button. Fraction of a second, and the bike came on, with no throttle roll on.

Weird throttle response on choke, though, which I never got used to (I have never gotten used to using choke except on one tiny 125cc bike a friend used to have that I used last winter that ALWAYS needed choke, even when 'warm' virtually), so I personally preferred my way. I did demonstrate this tap-start cold for a number of buyers, though, without problem (which impressed).

Then: Girl who buys it can't get the bike to start next morning (when it might have been a *bit* cold, 65 or so?), or that evening.

She's never had an electric-start bike, though, was riding on a kickstart early-80's dual purpose Yamaha 250 (nice .

I was about to go over and look at it, but then she texted me and said someone else got it started for her, thought it might just be her not used to electric starts yet.

I want to feel guilty, but I also know I never had a problem getting it started, and I'd gladly take it down to Mexico again tomorrow without hesitation, so I don't think I should.

Funny story, anyways. Looks like the new owner and I are going to keep in touch, though only time will tell...

Tell you what, though, I had quite the nostalgic moment looking at it right after having signed the title away. The bike looked better than ever, hadn't seen it with that original grab bar and the emblems on and everything. Had never cleaned it while I had it, wanted it to look as grimy as possible for Mexico.

It cleaned up well, though, so that I didn't even mind the black and red at that point. Good looking bike. It really grew on me.

Last pic a few hours before the new girl came to pick it up:



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pics of girl+xj?

what bike are you planning on buying now?

 

What he said ^^^^^
:twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

 

no offense but if you sold that for 1500, would you sell mine for me

 

I'll get one next time I see her, haha. Actually, I asked her on a date, and it went well... Might be going on a ride on Saturday. (Gotta be careful, she might show up here on the forum before too long! haha .

I'm getting an '86 FJ1200, flying out to Seattle, Washington, fixing it (electrical problem, had a friend look at it and seems to be otherwise in great shape), making home-made electric heating jacket and gloves, and driving it down the West Coast.

Should be an adventure to say the least!

 

A good price AND a date thrown in? Your lucky day mate!

 

I'd love to hear more about that. I'm big on DIY.

Good job with the selling! I'll have to keep all these tips in mind if I ever lose my mind and sell my XJ.

 

By all means, it's going to save me a bundle...

And yes, even though my laptop was stolen recently, there's been so much good in my life lately that I really don't find myself complaining.

Make your own heated jacket... Here's the links I've got up at the moment:

http://www.shadowriders.org/faq/electricvests.html

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-hea ... /?ALLSTEPS

http://www.ibmwr.org/otech/heatedclothing.html

http://www.klr650.marknet.us/diy-Electric_Vest.pdf

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthre ... 134&page=1

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/sho ... -high-temp)-wire

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wiring-Kit-Heat ... 0480836597 (Interesting. Still more expensive than the pure DIY option, but maybe worth time saved+degree of professionalism.)

THIS looks promising, if I can get them to answer--same price as buying materials yourself, it seems, but all put together nicely and pre-selected:
http://kustomkomfort.com/instruction.html

 

go to wal-mart and get a heated seat cushion for a car, feel around to find the wires inside it, cut off the excess, hold it on your chest and zip up your coat.
you could even get one with massage, if your into that sort of thing

 

I've been looking at that as an option, Polock. And yeah, bring it to Texas and we'll get you a surprising price. I get blown away by how cheap motorcycles are in the rest of the country, frankly.

 

Things are going pretty well... :wink:

 

i know this is bringing this thread back from the dead, and im not too sure how i stumbled accross this again, but niceee job fintip!!

Hows it going now?

 

Hot chick on a cool bike, nice resurection!!!
I said Resurection, perve!!!!
:wink: :wink:

 

haha someone's got jokes today

 

It's been a slow day, what can I say. :lol: