1973 R75/5 Rebuild: Setting Up a Paint Booth & Paint Equipment

Posted on April 10, 2014 by breams

I’ve been preparing the parts for painting. Recently, I had to get a temporary paint booth setup, connect the new compressor and paint gun and assemble all the parephenaila that goes with panting. I put together a write-up on this which you can find here:

51 BMW R75/5 Setting Up A Paint Booth & Paint Equipment

And, I updated these write-ups with some more details:

I thought that anyone who was thinking about doing their own painting could look at how I setup a temporary paint booth and the painting equipment. I have never been a professional painter, but I find learning and doing things I’ve never done before is much of the reason I work on airheads. Or, said differently “Reader Beware. This is an amateur setup, done by an amateur aming for a professional looking paint job.” 😉

BTW, my first attempt at painting was my R75/6, “Silver Ghost” that I rebuilt into an R75/”S” replica and painted Smoke Silver. It taught me a lot, particularly ways to screw up and achieve paint failure.

So, I will be painting both the R75/5 in Monza Blue and the R75/”S” in Smoke Silver. I figured when I get setup to paint, I might as well paint everything that needs painting.

I hope to complete the paint work soon and will provide a write-up on that. Here are some pictures from setting up for paint work.

Taping Plastic to Garage Door Rails

Test Hanging Parts to be Sure There is Room to Work

R75/6 Bikiini Fairing Hanging Wire

Primer Materials, Mixing Cups, HVLP Paint Guns, Gun Rack

3M Respirator and Filters

Primer Specifications and Instructions

Paint Mixiing Container Graduated for Mixing Ratios

Oil/Water Filter on Inlet to Hose

Disassembled HVLP Gun After Cleaning

1973 BMW R75/5 Rebuild: Repair Windjammer Fairing & Strip Paint

Posted on February 27, 2014 by breams

I documented the work on the fairing in this write-up including removing the headlight assembly, turn signals and repairing cracks and the broken wiring harness tabs that held it in place.

46 BMW R75/5 Repair Windjammer II Fairing, Strip Paint

The bike has a Vetter Windjammer II model, serial #14231. According to Craig Vetter’s web site, the Windjammer II series started with serial #13648 in October 1973 and ended with #43986 in May 1974 with a little more than 30,300 units produced. This fairing is the 583rd in the series so it’s an early unit.

Name Plate With Hole for Wiring Connector – 583rd Windjammer II made

Vetter manufactured Windjammer III and SS models and sold the company in 1978. The bike itself was manufactured in May 1973, and purchased in California by a mechanic for United Airlines based in Los Angles. I think the previous owner added the Windjammer either at the time of purchase or soon thereafter. He put just about 50,000 miles on it before I bought it in August of 1978 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

In keeping with the restoration goal of “close to stock”, repairing this one restores an accessory that was often found on a /5 bike. The previous owner painted the fairing the same color as the bike, Monza Blue. I’m going to do the same and ordered enough paint for the fairing. But first, I need to dissassemble it and make some repairs.

As I started work, I made an “archaeological” discovery.

Orphan Glove From Storage Compartment, Circa 1976

It was from the first pair my wife wore when she started riding with me on her first bike, a Honda 500 Four. She used this pair in the winter and it was part of her riding kit when I bought the /5 as her wedding present. Memories.

The fairing had two cracks, one pretty extensive as I found out, and a broken wiring connector where the mounting tabs had broken off. And, the headlight chrome parts and turn signals needed cleaning, rust removal and polishing. Last, I stripped the paint and primer down to the ABS plastic in preparation for painting.

Here are a couple of the photos I took with many more details in the write-up.

Barn Fresh in the Work Shop and Ready For a Face Lift

Turn Signals-Aluminum Oxidation and Dirt

Adjuster Bracket Inside Headlight Frame

Removing Damaged Trim

Polished Chrome Trim Ring & Headlight Bracket

Turn Signals-Aluminum Oxidation and Dirt

Restored Turn Front Turn Signals

Crack in Lower Edge of Left Storage Pocket

Left Storage Pocket Crack, Lower Edge

Opening Up the Crack at the Bottom of the Storage Pocket

The True Size of the Crack at the Bottom of the Storage Pocket

Hotcha Adhesive On Back of Patch Piece of ABS

Clamping the Repair While Adhesive Hardens

Clamping the Repair While Hotcha Hardens

Fairing Wiring Connector Mounting Tabs Broken

ABS Patch Attached with Epoxy to Fairing Wire Connector

Repaired Connector is Very Solid

Using 150 Grit Disk on Flat Surfaces

Fairing Ready for Painting

1973 BMW R75/5 Rebuild: Prepare Fenders and Tank for Painting

Posted on February 5, 2014 by breams

With the first engine start behind me, I have been concentrating on paint work. I’ve got the fenders stripped and the tank ready for bead blasting. Here is a write-up on that work.

51 BMW R75/5 Preparing Fenders & Tank for Painting

I have paint and primer coming in from Kent Holt at Holt BMW, Monza Blue. I have some new paint guns from Eastwood due to arrive and a new compressor in the shop with what I expect is adequate flow to run the guns.

I’m going to strip the “Silver Ghost”, 1975 R75/6 “S” bike that was my first paint project back in 2010. I made several mistakes that lead to paint flaking, so now is the time to redo that bike, again in the R90-S Smoke Silver scheme. I figure when you get setup for painting, do some painting. 🙂

I’m also going to restore the Windjammer II fairing and paint it to match in Monza Blue. I figure the cost of the paint should double the value of the faring ;-). This restoration tries to represent the “state of the art” circa 1973, and a Jammer was that at that time.

Here are a couple pictures from the write-up.