New project

[Frank Angerano]

So i have a friend at work who was recently diagnosed with a small but very manageable heart problem.  He is in good shape but doc says he shouldn't be shoveling snow or anything crazy for a while until they figure this out. So he asked me to see what i can find him to plow since he has a good size piece of property.  So i spent the last two weeks scouring the local states to find him a good atv with a plow! 
 

Found  him a big bear 400 4x4 with a plow for a steal!   Going to go through it good and put my touch on it and deliver it next week. 
 

As much fun as we have with this quad thing its just as much fun helping others out!

 

[Ajmboy]

Another great find! Craigslist? I have a friend in CT who is looking for a quad with plow also, not sure if he found one. That's pretty cool how you are able to help him out. How much did you steal it for? What state did it come from?

[Frank Angerano]

Came from NJ, the seller was looking for way too much. Grabbed it up for $1200 It runs great and everything works. It sat for a while but the gas was turned off and carburetor ran dry. So new battery and fresh gas and it fired up like it was from the dealer. I went through the usual things and cranked it over with my mini jumper, checked compression etc. 

Im going to take a few things apart  and change the oil, make sure its in tip top shape and move it along. 

[shar]

Nice find! Very kind of you!

[mikeexplorer]

Nice find and nice of you to help a friend out.

 

 

[Frank Angerano]

Thank you guys. 

[Frank Angerano]

So i got it up in the air and pulled the wheels off.  Pressure washed the entire bike and I'm pleased with what's underneath.  Everything looks in tact and untouched.  Brake pads are worn halfway down, all the bushings are in great condition. Not pulling the plastics off because im happy with everything so far. Going to paint the underside, new brakes, grease, oil lube and filter.   Add a few cool cosmetic details and sending it out.  Stay tuned! 

[Dra O]

I'm guessing he'll get a few more decades of use out of it after you've cleared it for use.  Bravo, Frank.

[Frank Angerano]

Hope so! Fighting the clock on this one. God forbid we get a snow storm! 😳

Thanks' @Dra O

[pablo Blake]

Thats a really nice machine , Wish i couldve found something a bit newer like it in my price range. I'm sure it will last a long time and serve him well once you clear it

[Frank Angerano]

Got a hell of a day in. Pulled the front and rear apart, all looked great so i greased it up, new brakes and thats a wrap on the drive train.  Blasted the axles, frame etc down to clean metal and  any and rust and  got several coats of paint on it.  Reassembled most of the drive train and shot the racks and front bumper which are hung to dry.  
Should be getting it all back together soon enough and then a custom seat cover and shes done. 
A few more pics to come! 

Zoom in on the pics and see how clean that frame and drive train came out!

[shar]

Nice! You do good work boss

[Frank Angerano]

Thanks @shar 

 

[Frank Angerano]

So I've been on the faded plastic thing for a long time and i finally found a decent solution.  Ive been on this bike for about a week and the plastics are faded pretty bad. Im going to add my findings to the faded plastics thread but let me know what you think ? 

[Nick Brooks]

Looks sharp, nice work.  

[Dra O]

Horrible, simply HORRIBLE!   Are you kidding?  They look brand new, man!  Is it paint?  Wax?  Since I have no experience painting atv plastics, my only question would be how durable is it - if painted, how is the paint able to stick to the plastic AND REMAIN THERE?  sanding / roughing and possibly priming the areas prior to painting likely helps with this.

your experiment looks fantastic.  and now i'm headed to the plastics posts.

just read your post - makes sense - and it'll likely work.  good test run for all.

[Frank Angerano]

Lol thank you. Its simply a water sand with a super fine grit so the clear coat has something to stick to. The clear coat has a flexible component in it should the plastics bend which they will. So we will see how they hold up. 

[Frank Angerano]

Had a little time to get back at it today! 
Its coming along nice. 

[Jim Denton]

You're a good man Frank. Pretty work, you'll make your friend very happy. 

[Frank Angerano]

Thank you @Jim Denton   

[Tahj]

Is that flex clear coat available ?

[Frank Angerano]

Yes i'm going to post it as soon as i know its a good product and works well.   

[Frank Angerano]

So here she is !!!!! 
I have the plow stripped down and will get paint tomorrow but it runs great and pretty fast.  
I will post the last pic with the plow right before i load her up and deliver.

And yes a Buffalo Bills fan. 
Seat cover by yours truly! 
 

Last pic i threw in for reference   

 

Click on the photos for a better view, it was dark obviously when i finished.   

[quadmaniac]

On 12/29/2019 at 10:45 PM, Frank Angerano said:

Zoom in on the pics and see how clean that frame and drive train came out!

Nice work!!!

[Frank Angerano]

A few pics in the daylight and obviously the night time photos did it no justice!  Im super impressed with this one.  The way she shines!  This front rack was bent pretty bad. I heated it up and beat it back to good, cane out pretty straight.  I shot the racks with a spray gun for the first time and love it. 

[Jim Denton]

Wow! Brand spanking new. 

[Ajmboy]

You should be impressed and I'm sure everyone else is! Looks really good. Opened up this topic on my desktop to better see the pictures. Looks really good @Frank Angerano. What's the name of the clearcoat and did you use a spray gun or can?

[Frank Angerano]

Thank you @Ajmboy 

Plastics were from a can.  I will post a pic of the can later. Product is Minwax, i asked my local place that specializes in paint and she took about a week and got back to me with it. I was a little shocked at first because Minwax makes wood finishes. So i asked how was this possible and her answer was the rep said use this because it's flexible due to the nature of wood expanding and contracting round year with heat and humidity so a flexible chemical is added.  Makes sense i guess. She went on to say that it also sticks to any surface.  So i bent the crap out of it and put gas on it 24 hours later to try and remove it but it held up very well.   The water sanding was key as it took the layers of oxidation/fading off. 
I bought a Wagner spray gun for $65 on Amazon and sprayed the racks which i I'm happy with because #1 the amount of paint on the racks #2 the hard shell feeling of them. Its almost like its factory sprayed. 
 

[Jim Denton]

Frank what paint did you use on the racks?

[Frank Angerano]

Auto body paint just a gloss black mixed with a little lacquer thinner so its sprayable. 
I forgot to mention the front bumper/guard same process and a metallic grey that was laying around. That gray was from a Mazda 3 car he repaired. 
I go to a body shop up the block from my house and grab whatever colors he has left over from a car. He gives them to me for free!  Maybe half a quart or a full quart of a color mistake. He throws them out anyway so i stop in once in a while with a dozen doughnuts and a box of joe the boys. He lets me look through the colors and take what i want.