I just got an 87 Kawasaki Tecate 4 a couple weeks ago and now Im starting the long road of restoration. The only thing that kinda sux is parts can be hard to find for these quads. Anyways my question is Im about to get the frame and other parts sandblasted. Is that bad on the metal? Im thinking that Im gonna get the frame powder coated glossy black. It was factory silver then the guy that I bought the quad from painted it Kawasaki green and I really dont like the frame that color. Anyone else have some cool color suggestions? Has anyone else in here ever restored one of these quads?

 

well what color u gonna have the plastics black would look good blue might look good it depends on the plastics

 

If I were you, I would PC the frame in the original factory color. The reason I say this is because the Tecate is a rare and unique quad and the closer it is to original in apperance, the cooler it would be. At least that's my opinion [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] However, black would look good as well. I had the frame on my R PC'd gloss black and it looked sweet. The nice thing about PC'ing is that it holds up so much better than paint, so no matter what color you do, it is worth it.

 

if you are going to powdercoat the frame imo blue or green would be the only way to go because you cant change the color of the plastics to match. maier plastics sells plastics for the tecate, but they only offer the rear and only in one color

this may give you some ideas its killerkx327's tecate. very sharp lookin

http://www.geocities.com/killerkx327...?1016235488980

 

I would keep it factory colors as custom colors tend to lower resale value.

I rebuilt 3 Honda 250r's and got the most money for the mostly stock one. My totally trick and customize one (a rocket) jkust didnt do as well. I think people percived it was riden harder because of the mods. They were right, but it also had better parts and was a better machine. 2 hours of maintence for every 1 hour of ride time. Either way the stock looking machine was an easier sale.

 

my friend and i are really into tecate-4. we both have two of them. i have an 87 and 88, he also has the same. the color that is looking the best is the blue that is used on older suzuki's. it looks good with the green or white plastic. i know how hard it is to find parts, it takes a long time and you have to spend some money. but it is worth every penny you spend.

 

I would go with the factory silver color. It doesn't seem to look as dirty as some other colors?

 

Well I think that Im painting the frame primer? Im gonna put a nice thick coat of primer on the frame then clear coat it with some nice glossy clear coat. Im gonna paint all the a-arms, swing arm, and other parts here and there with some glossy black paint. Some might say it will be ugly oh well Im thinking it will look good. My wife is making me some gray colored shock covers and Im going to sandblast all the other parts tomorrow. Can't wait to get this thing running!

 

I just finished painting my '88's frame Kawi green last night and it looks sweet (in my opinion). I have white plastics. Bascially I painted it because my friend and I did the work so it only cost me the price of the paint. If I had to pay for a job I would have definitely went with the powder coating.

As far as sandblasting goes, I used Black Max blasting powder which is very abrasive. It pretty much revealed all flaws in the frame. The frames are notorious for weakening by the footpegs forward on the bottom of the frame. I found that mine was starting to show the signs of age so we cut it out and welded in some new chromoly. It would have been silly not to fix it at that point with the frame completely stripped down. Now it looks real good and is very sturdy.

 

That is a sweet looking Tecate you have there Beastie, nice job. I like to see the nice machines you dont get to see everyday. That tecate looked good before you started and looks evan better now. Was the KX in the background an engine donor or another project?