Ninja tank sticker removal/solution to clear coat lines?

4932 Views 13 Replies 5 Participants Last post by White Fang, Aug 22, 2016

afkjustin

Discussion Starter · Aug 19, 2016

I was thinking of going no stickers at all and I started with the "Ninja" sticker on the tank. It did leave behind very fine/small clear coat lines.

Has anyone else done this and what was your overall solution to getting the tank looking right again. Here are the options I am thinking if anyone could respond to the numbers and tell me if they have done it and if it worked.

For reference the bike/paint scheme is the 2015 Flat black with random blacks all over the bike and the flat/little bit of sparkle black tank. (green accents) This one https://content.kawasaki.com/Content/Uploads/Products/5989/Colors/cmrf0yni.kb1.png

*** I was told the "sparkle" would go away if you wet-sanded at all but idk how reliable the source was. ***

1. Wet-sand the lines away. (did it work? what grit did you use?)
2. Wet-sand and re-clear
3. Completely prep and repaint/color match what was there before (paint codes?)
4. Carbon-fiber vinyl wrap over the tank (I may replace fenders etc with carbon fiber in the future anyway and the color of the bike wouldn't look bad I don't think)

Any thoughts and experience with this is appreciated.

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SkyDork

· #2 · Aug 19, 2016

You should re-clear the tank. Leaving the paint exposed will make it susceptible to getting ruined from fuel that might overflow the tank (which is why it's cleared in the first place).

The paint is only available from color-rite. So you should wet sand the finish smooth and re-clear it with the eggshell clearcoat called out. But you're going to need to be very careful not to sand into the color or it will look like shit and you'll likely have to repaint the whole thing.

It's a very big job just to remove a couple of "ninja" logos.

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afkjustin

Discussion Starter · #3 · Aug 19, 2016

SkyDork said:
You should re-clear the tank. Leaving the paint exposed will make it susceptible to getting ruined from fuel that might overflow the tank (which is why it's cleared in the first place).

The paint is only available from color-rite. So you should wet sand the finish smooth and re-clear it with the eggshell clearcoat called out. But you're going to need to be very careful not to sand into the color or it will look like shit and you'll likely have to repaint the whole thing.

It's a very big job just to remove a couple of "ninja" logos.

Something like this paint? Matte/Flat Eggshell Finish Clearcoat (Pint Kit)

Have you ever actually sanded the lines away?

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Lanister

· #4 · Aug 19, 2016

It's absolutely not worth it. It took a lot of work to get the stickers off and the amount of sanding was also quite substantial. In the end, I repainted the entire tank. It would be easier to swap tanks with someone who doesn't have a sticker (yes, they exist).

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SkyDork

· #5 · Aug 20, 2016

afkjustin said:
Something like this paint? Matte/Flat Eggshell Finish Clearcoat (Pint Kit)

Have you ever actually sanded the lines away?

I think that's the paint. They should have it listed out to match the color finish if you select that.

No, I've never sanded the lines. Way too much work to ruin the tank like that. To each their own, but a repainted tank usually affects the resale and to make it look good is a lot of time and money.

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scout

· #6 · Aug 20, 2016

Take a nap and when you wake up you'll forget about the stickers. Funny that you brought this up though as I looked at the stupid octane sticker today and noticed it said 90 or above. Thought is said 91 or higher. anyway, you won't notice the stickers after awhile or even the color of the bike. Guess I can actually ride a green one and not notice it.

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White Fang

· #7 · Aug 20, 2016

scout said:
Take a nap and when you wake up you'll forget about the stickers. Funny that you brought this up though as I looked at the stupid octane sticker today and noticed it said 90 or above. Thought is said 91 or higher. anyway, you won't notice the stickers after awhile or even the color of the bike. Guess I can actually ride a green one and not notice it.

Right again, as usual. Easy to look at a bike and just have to do something to it so we start taking stuff off, putting stuff on, then realizing we liked it better the way it was. Those "Ninja" stickers are clearcoated as SkyDork said to protect them and the tank from fuel.

No other way to do it other than to repaint the tank; you cannot smooth out the clearcoat edges.

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afkjustin

Discussion Starter · #8 · Aug 20, 2016

Lanister said:
It's absolutely not worth it. It took a lot of work to get the stickers off and the amount of sanding was also quite substantial. In the end, I repainted the entire tank. It would be easier to swap tanks with someone who doesn't have a sticker (yes, they exist).

Honestly I know people that paint and having it gone is pretty worth it to me ($500ish worth it)

SkyDork said:
I think that's the paint. They should have it listed out to match the color finish if you select that.

No, I've never sanded the lines. Way too much work to ruin the tank like that. To each their own, but a repainted tank usually affects the resale and to make it look good is a lot of time and money.

I'm currently leaning towards just wet sanding and see what happens this coming winter, what do I have to lose at this point...

scout said:
Take a nap and when you wake up you'll forget about the stickers. Funny that you brought this up though as I looked at the stupid octane sticker today and noticed it said 90 or above. Thought is said 91 or higher. anyway, you won't notice the stickers after awhile or even the color of the bike. Guess I can actually ride a green one and not notice it.

The gas sticker is long gone and not even clear coated over.

I just think the "Ninja" sticker is kind of a dated thing. From a none motorcycle rider PoV "Oh you have a 'Ninja""... That's a very dated thing, when I think Ninja, I think Ninja 250.

White Fang said:
Right again, as usual. Easy to look at a bike and just have to do something to it so we start taking stuff off, putting stuff on, then realizing we liked it better the way it was. Those "Ninja" stickers are clearcoated as SkyDork said to protect them and the tank from fuel.

No other way to do it other than to repaint the tank; you cannot smooth out the clearcoat edges.

I don't think anyone would remove the Ninja sticker and say "I wish it was still there..."

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White Fang

· #9 · Aug 20, 2016

afkjustin said:
I just think the "Ninja" sticker is kind of a dated thing. From a none motorcycle rider PoV "Oh you have a 'Ninja""... That's a very dated thing, when I think Ninja, I think Ninja 250.

You millenials...the first Ninja was the ass-kicking 1984 Ninja 900, followed by various 600's, 1000's, and 750s.

If a guy wants to toss 500 bucks at his bike who cares what it's for as long as it tickles his fancy. Removing the sticker probably does more for the bike's looks than a slip-on pipe.

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scout

· #10 · Aug 21, 2016 (Edited)

afkjustin said:
Honestly I know people that paint and having it gone is pretty worth it to me ($500ish worth it)

I'm currently leaning towards just wet sanding and see what happens this coming winter, what do I have to lose at this point...

The gas sticker is long gone and not even clear coated over.

I just think the "Ninja" sticker is kind of a dated thing. From a none motorcycle rider PoV "Oh you have a 'Ninja""... That's a very dated thing, when I think Ninja, I think Ninja 250.

I don't think anyone would remove the Ninja sticker and say "I wish it was still there..."

Ninja, again interesting timing. The wife is watching the Ninja TV competition every week. The thought crossed my mind that the Ninja sticker is gonna be hot. That thought came last week. Next thought was that our 10r is gonna be popular. But no one here mentions Ninja, then you do. lol. Odd how life is. In everything. Check this one out, regarding odd life cycle or just creep precognition. The wife set down a glass bottle of whatever it was and I was just about to say that it looked unsafe as I was thinking her elbow was gonna knock it over. I changed my mind about saying anything as all looked safe. And she was in the bitch mood thingie. The next day she elbowed off the kitchen counter TWO, YET TWO big double layered tea glasses whatevers. Both of us were running around the tavertine tiles with flashlights to find the stupid glass. lol dang, makes me think that if I'd said something about the dang bottle I'd framed her mind right for the future.

Life is beautiful sometimes.

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Lanister

· #11 · Aug 22, 2016

$500 to get rid of a sticker so that people won't think that you ride a 250?

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afkjustin

Discussion Starter · #12 · Aug 22, 2016

White Fang said:
If a guy wants to toss 500 bucks at his bike who cares what it's for as long as it tickles his fancy. Removing the sticker probably does more for the bike's looks than a slip-on pipe.

Correct, removing all the stickers or even some of them looks pretty cool imo

Lanister said:
$500 to get rid of a sticker so that people won't think that you ride a 250?

$500 To get rid of something that I think is a dated somewhat gaudy term. 250 was just an example.

It's my money not yours. :wink2:

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White Fang

· #13 · Aug 22, 2016

afkjustin said:
Correct, removing all the stickers or even some of them looks pretty cool imo

$500 To get rid of something that I think is a dated somewhat gaudy term. 250 was just an example.

It's my money not yours. :wink2:

I got confused and thought the $30K guy was the OP. He's at least being logical, spending $500 on a $30K USD bike is not too harebrained. On the other hand, looks like you may be in a country that doesn't charge 120% tariff so $500 is a lot of dough to remove a sticker, no?

But you're darn right, it's your money and you can fix you your bike anyway you want.

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White Fang

· #14 · Aug 22, 2016

Lanister said:
$500 to get rid of a sticker so that people won't think that you ride a 250?

It's sort of legit; when I first got my Gen 4 I showed up at a dealership to visit with the owners who friends, and one asked me if the bike was a 300.

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