Restoring inner shell finish

Andy52

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Leamington Spa, England
Can anyone suggest a good way of restoring the finish on the inner shell of a Windjammer? The dash area of mine is quite faded and I'm wary of trying to paint the textured surface. Also the vinyl cover of the left side pocket is faded and stained - can these be renovated? I did do a search on the forums but could not find anything on this.
 
Can anyone suggest a good way of restoring the finish on the inner shell of a Windjammer? The dash area of mine is quite faded and I'm wary of trying to paint the textured surface. Also the vinyl cover of the left side pocket is faded and stained - can these be renovated? I did do a search on the forums but could not find anything on this.
They have paint for plastic surfaces that should work. Just make sure to spray it on thin so it retains that textured surface. If you take your old vinyl cover to an upholstery shop they can sew you up a new one. A simple cover without the cigarette pack pocket should be cheap. If you want the pocket the cost will go up because it's a a bit complicated to make it correctly. I used some Lexan to make a lockable hard cover for my left pocket. I did that because I came out of Wal-Mart and found someone had opened it up looking for anything of value. I also wanted to mount a CB Radio so I could communicate with other Bikers with factory installed CB Radios. I made a simple form of wood covered with felt as the form. I then put a sheet of Lexan a little larger than what I needed in an oven at 312 degrees F. Once it was up to temperature I pulled it out and laid it on the form. It molded itself to the form. I let it cool a couple of hours and then trimmed it to fit. Then it got painted black so no one could see what's inside. I also installed a lock and hung a CB radio on it. The CB easily fits in the pocket ready to hang on the mount when I want it. Here's a picture of it.
2usk6xx.jpg
 
Thanks, I might try paint. I guess using primer for plastic would help. Your pocket cover looks good. I thought about making a fibreglass one but your method sounds easier.
 
They have paint for plastic surfaces that should work. Just make sure to spray it on thin so it retains that textured surface. If you take your old vinyl cover to an upholstery shop they can sew you up a new one. A simple cover without the cigarette pack pocket should be cheap. If you want the pocket the cost will go up because it's a a bit complicated to make it correctly. I used some Lexan to make a lockable hard cover for my left pocket. I did that because I came out of Wal-Mart and found someone had opened it up looking for anything of value. I also wanted to mount a CB Radio so I could communicate with other Bikers with factory installed CB Radios. I made a simple form of wood covered with felt as the form. I then put a sheet of Lexan a little larger than what I needed in an oven at 312 degrees F. Once it was up to temperature I pulled it out and laid it on the form. It molded itself to the form. I let it cool a couple of hours and then trimmed it to fit. Then it got painted black so no one could see what's inside. I also installed a lock and hung a CB radio on it. The CB easily fits in the pocket ready to hang on the mount when I want it. Here's a picture of it.
2usk6xx.jpg

Scoot, that looks so cool. What a cockpit! CB and all. Do you use the CB?
 
Scoot, that looks so cool. What a cockpit! CB and all. Do you use the CB?
I do use the CB Radio. There is a group of people that hang out on channel 22 that are fun to talk to. A few of which were coworkers and are retired so it's nice to keep up their friendship as well. They really enjoy sparking to me when I'm riding my bike as they feel like their out there riding with me. Several are handicap so that CB Radio is the only way for them to "get out" of the house for a while. I also ride with a few people that have Goldwings that came with factory installed CB Radios so they enjoy actually using them. Cell phones have made CB Radios all but obsolete. Even Truck Driver's have moved away from there use. At one time every truck had a CB Radio. Now more trucks don't have them than do have them. At one time there were a dozen CB Radio shops in my area. Now only a very large truck stop about 20 mile's down the interstate from me has CB Radios.
 
I do use the CB Radio. There is a group of people that hang out on channel 22 that are fun to talk to. A few of which were coworkers and are retired so it's nice to keep up their friendship as well. They really enjoy sparking to me when I'm riding my bike as they feel like their out there riding with me. Several are handicap so that CB Radio is the only way for them to "get out" of the house for a while. I also ride with a few people that have Goldwings that came with factory installed CB Radios so they enjoy actually using them. Cell phones have made CB Radios all but obsolete. Even Truck Driver's have moved away from there use. At one time every truck had a CB Radio. Now more trucks don't have them than do have them. At one time there were a dozen CB Radio shops in my area. Now only a very large truck stop about 20 mile's down the interstate from me has CB Radios.
I had no idea that truckers were not using CB radios anymore. I used to have a CB and a linear on a 12V power supply. I lived not far from a truck stop, and spent many a times pestering truckers and lot lizards.
 
I had no idea that truckers were not using CB radios anymore. I used to have a CB and a linear on a 12V power supply. I lived not far from a truck stop, and spent many a times pestering truckers and lot lizards.
The FCC started going after people using modified CB Radios for the so called Free Band. It's a small area between the top of the CB band and the bottom of the 10 meter HAM band. That area is reserved for Government use. Back in the 80's the Military started using it for satellite spread spectrum digital communications. You can't hear those signals on a standard analog radio so Free Banders came to the mistaken conclusion no one was using it and started using their illegally modified radios in that government band. Needless to say the Military was extremely upset civilians were using their band and causing problems with their satellite communications. That's when the FCC started enforcement operations on those people operating in that government band as well as running illegal power that caused interference in that band. Most of the CB shops that were modifying CB Radios to operate in the governments band and selling illegal "CB" amplifiers got hit and put out of business. That and the advent of Cell Phones pretty much has killed off CB radio. Another aspect was the FCC eliminating the requirement to pass a Morse Code test to get an Amateur Radio (HAM) FCC Radio license. Depending on the class of Licence someone can legally use high power radios for world wide communications without interfering with others.
 
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