Madhatters Monster - Trashed - Help!

[madhatter]

Those of you who know me, will be aware that I have put a lot of effort into buying a handlebar fairing, bellypan, seat cowl, 2002 tea tray, new indicators, carbon side panels and exhaust guards, ART anodised exhaust cans etc and have spent time doing corse pin-striping and other similar touches to personalise my Monster.

So, you can imaging my pleasure when yesterday around 4.00pm on my way back from the Northants NCC Bike show, I passed a garage on the brow of a hill on the A5, which had an accident with approximately 45 gallons of white paint running across my lane of the road!! With traffic coming in the other direction and nowhere to go, I went through this wave of white paint at around 65mph!! . I was 45 miles from home and when I got to a Petrol Station with a Jet Wash, it turned out to be gloss paint, not emusion.

My Black Monnie looked like someone had thrown a 10 gallon bucket of white paint at the front of it. Wheels, hugger, frame, lights, clocks, tank and all the goodies that I mentioned above!!

After five hours of scrubbing with white spirit, Mrs Madhatter and I have removed about 95% of it and I think some black T-Cut will remove the last from the plastic and carbon bits. Most of it has gone from my black wheels, and the hugger, frame, lights, clocks, tank etc.

I am left however with the undertray completely smothered in white paint, which I couldn't get off in time. This I will just spray with black paint, unless someone out there has one or knows of one that I can have???

The engine is also now half matt silver and half gloss white! My question is; as this is a non-high temperature engine paint, will it crack and craze if I get the engine nice and hot and allow me to scrub it off??? Any ideas from anybody???

I know I should have done it as an insurance job, but with the blind panic that set in, all I could think of was getting the paint off before it completely dried. Plus I don't want to pay higher premiums!

Pete S4 has gone off up the A5 this morning to get some photographs of the site and try to get the name of the garage owner, I would like to try to get some compensation either through mutual agreement, or through a small claims court. Any advice from our legal gurus; Nic the Breif or Little Monster?? What are my chances

So....that's my sorry tale of woe.....I'm now completely and utterly pi55ed off!!!

****!!! I would have stopped there and then. I'm sure you should be able to claim compensation, you shouldn't have to claim it off your own insurance. There must be numerous other drivers in the same situation. You were lucky to not have skidded on it, wet paint is probably quite slippy. Do you have white chicken strips now?

[madhatter]

Originally Posted by Chris

****!!! I would have stopped there and then. I'm sure you should be able to claim compensation, you shouldn't have to claim it off your own insurance. There must be numerous other drivers in the same situation. You were lucky to not have skidded on it, wet paint is probably quite slippy. Do you have white chicken strips now?

I had Mrs Madhatter with me on her 125 and as I said, the blind panic set in to just get the paint off as quick as possible, no rationale thought of stopping due to this. I hate to think how many other car drivers and motorcyclists also drove through this!!! As, I also said, I was coming back from the "Northamptonshire National Chopper Club" bike show, these guys think nothing of spending 20 - 25k on a bike, some of their custom paint jobs are over £2,000 - if any of them got hit by this, the garage could be a smouldering burnt out ruin with the owner nailed to the Garage sign above it!!

blimey! Its probably to early to see the funny side....Im sure someone at the spot will have taken details and given the amounts then the bill may be aware of it. The paint on the engine should be a lot easier to do when warmed up just going to take a while. good luck.
Alex.
ps.If you wanted a white paint job this would have been a cheapskates cause to celebrate!

[madhatter]

Originally Posted by A Yerbury

blimey! Its probably to early to see the funny side.....If you wanted a white paint job this would have been a cheapskates cause to celebrate!

Alex, regretably the funny-side is a long way off yet, but indeed this is an excellent cheapskate method for re-spraying your motorcycle.

Our old friends at the Northamptonshire Constabulary have paused for 30 seconds from catching speeding motorcyclists with their cameras hiding behind bushes and issuing correction orders for noisy cans, to come to my aid. They tell me that although there is an incidence report raised for this, if the investigating officer can not prove that the tidel wave of white paint was the cause of the garage and didn't just "fall off the back of a lorry", I have no option other than to put in my own claim, to my own insurance!

At least this comforts me slightly that I made the right choice by getting home and "doing it myself" as I can almost hear the non-claims discount evapourating and the premium quadrupling from my insurers.

Looks like I may just need to repaint the engine (in location on the bike if possible) and replace the tyres (MOT chap said they need replacing in about 1,000 miles anyway.........Deep Sigh of Resignation!!!

[gary tompkins]

If the paint is turpentine based (as suggested by the fact that you managed to get most off using white spirit) you will have to make sure you get rid of ALL of it prior to repainting. Cellulose paint will react badly with any turps based paint giving a horrible crazed/cracked surface finish. I found this out the hard way

I know hindsight etc.. is a wonderfull thing, but you said the white paint was covering your side of the road - was wondering why you didn't ride round it on the other side of the road or footpath?