Repairing Some Busted Hardside Saddle Bags
I don't have any before pictures of how bad these were. I can say that one was busted clean in two up one side and down the other with some other cracks. The other was broken at the front and back and long cracks too. In my haste to get them ready for our Blistered Bottom Ride I have been rushing things perhaps to much. The first time I tried to repair the cracks they were almost perfect and then...then...somehow they had fallen off the bench. When I went in the shop prepared to add fiberglass reinforcement, I found them on the floor with the cracks reopened a few days later. My only guess is I had left the window open with them propped up when we were having bad storms and heavy winds.
So they sat neglected with my frustration until this last week. The cracks have been repaired again with reinforcement from fiberglass on the inside and are pretty strong now. The outside still shows the cracks somewhat because I didn't fill them. I'm in a rush for now so it will have to do.

I sanded, primed, sanded, primed, primed some more until I was ready to lay on some paint. Well, the paint was going good until a very long run started, then another under that one. The paint nozzle became clogged so the spray was coming out in a circle instead of the oblong pattern it should be.  Sand them all down again and prime again.

Now the paint was going on nice and smooth. Light coat after flash time then another light and still another and, well you get the picture. I had to paint them outside and wouldn't you know it pollen, I'm suspecting, found it's way to the finish coat and some annoying little stupid knats decided to get stuck in there..
The tops I did inside earlier and they look so much better but those bottoms, aarrgggg, all that pollen and bugs made it look like I sprinkled dust on them.

So tonight I wet sanded them to get the roughness out and most of the gloss. Flat black won't produce the look so you have to use gloss and wet sand it, 600 wet/dry seems to work best. At the moment I am doing the clear coating on the bottoms. They may not be as pretty as I wanted but they'll have to do and as long as they hold my stuff and keep it dry I'll live with that for awhile. Besides , they'll be getting road stickers on them I guess like an old steamer trunk here and there. The finish will be the look closely to worn soft black leather...I hope.
I'm surprised myself though that I was able to repair them at all and how the finish is coming along. Pictures will come after they're done. Whoops, time for another coat of clear. See Ya.