Of all the skills in Davin’s personal toolkit, paintwork is one that he has not yet perfected. Between the space needed and the careful attention to each small detail in the preparation and application of paint, it’s not something he does often. Luckily, there are experts to step in and help get the perfect finish for the Honda Trail 70 project—because this paint job is even more different than most. Davin loaded up the parts and headed south to Trail Buddy in hopes of getting the perfect finish.

Mark is “the man” when it comes to Honda mini-trail motorcycles. His business specializes—with a laser focus—on reproducing the parts that have disappeared and brings back to life the parts that cannot be replaced. Having painted numerous Trail 70s, he understands the tri-stage paint process better than anyone. He and Davin start by doing some final prep work to the primer that was applied by Traverse Body and Paint. Mark jokes that you only need to sand where you want paint to stick, something that reinforces the nature of the paint process: do it right the first time.

During sanding, Mark notices something that Davin didn’t. The steering stop had been modified or broken at some point in the last 45 years that this bike had been puttering about. No problem; Trail Buddy actually has a new stop on the shelf, and a couple quick tacks with a MIG welder has the frame back in business. Then it’s ready for the first coat.

The final color is orange, but the first pigment from the nozzle is silver. To get the heavy flake buried in the same color as the factory finish, the silver and flake go on first, followed by a dye that builds up to the final color, then it all gets sealed with a couple coats of clear finish. The process is mesmerizing because at each step it doesn’t appear to be moving in the correct direction, then suddenly the color just pops and it is perfect.

With the paint drying, Davin leverages Mark’s time and expertise to tear into the front suspension for fresh seals, boots, and an overall inspection. As exciting as this progress is, Davin is going to have to wait to start re-assembly, because when it’s time to leave, the frame isn’t ready to be wrapped up and put into the car. We can assure you Davin still has plenty of other things to work on while he waits. Be sure to subscribe to the Hagerty YouTube channel and never miss an update from the Redline Rebuild garage.