Body mod recommendations?

[jcrandall729]

Hi everyone
I just purchased my first Kat. 2001, 600, 22,000 miles.
Runs good, came w/a sick sounding Devil exhaust. The guy said the person he purchased it from was into modding it, and may have done stuff to the engine. Idk.
Anyways, the previous, previous owner was also into modding the paint and body. I count at least 3 layers of paint, 2 layers of primer before hitting the factory yellow.
I don't have the $$ for a new set of plastics so I'd like to salvage these if possible.
I was considering chopping the front fairings behind where it meets the instrument cluster and just eliminate the whole lower area. Just enough to cover all the headlight. Cut it above the blinkers and relocate them. (Or buy different ones)
Basically stripping her naked, but keep the headlight section intact.
My only concern was how much do the fairings really block the wind?
And would removing a chunk of it make a longer ride more annoying?

If anyone has any suggestions, ride experience on a naked Kat. Any input is appreciated. But Im doing this on a tight budget.
I attached a pic to show what I'm working with.

Thanks in advance

[JSMencer]

I drove mine around with out the lower and side fairings for a couple days. Also if you want to clean up the fairings go with plastidip. I have a thread on here shows my project. It can turn out looking real nice. You can pick up Matte Black for $6 a can at Lowes.

[MEngineer]

Why not keep the fairings and repaint them?

[jcrandall729]

How much prep is needed for the plastidip? Cuz the stuff that's on there is flaking off, like they tried to strip it, but gave up

[MEngineer]

Hit it with sandpaper to get rid of all the loose stuff then spray? You probably want to start with a smooth surface.

[jcrandall729]

Ok. Thanks. Wasn't sure if I should go all the way down. Does it need primer?

[JSMencer]

Hit it with sandpaper to get rid of all the loose stuff then spray? You probably want to start with a smooth surface.

Agreed. Once sanded down use a citrus based or alcohol based cleaner to clean the surface with a MICROFIBER towel. then start spraying. Let it sit for a while and ride. watch some videos on youtube from dipyourcar they have a lot of good video's. I sprayed right over signals, head lights, and windshield then peeled them off. If you do that don't make it a light coat over those areas. The thicker the coats the easier to peel off. I would do 3 coats of matte black. After about a week of it being on there they say you can power wash it. The most I used was a garden hose so far. If you mess something up or it starts to peel, use a glove with a little thinner on it rub it on the problem area or peeling area and re spray...
The problem areas i have are the base of the tank by the seat from my belt buckle. but i sprayed about 8 coats in that one area, and haven't had a problem since. and under the seat but you can't see that.

ALSO be carful of gas. Plastidip and Gas do not mix, but again easy to fix if messed up.

[jcrandall729]

Awesome, thanks guys

[jcrandall729]

So far, so good. Got one side sanded and primed. Already looks 1000% better.
Thanks for the suggestions.
Needs a final sand before the plasti dip goes on. But it's progressing nicely.

[JSMencer]

looks better already