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RE-Painting

Started by inanecathode, May 04, 2007, 07:06:49 PM

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inanecathode

Can anyone point me at a good resource for painting tanks and plastics? I have a full fairing plus tank and plastics that needs some chromatic lovin!
Would like to try to keep the costs down, but not to the point of ugly paint jobs.
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kwells

...a vision is never complete.

www.wellsmoto.com

inanecathode

Sounds like rattle canning it will result in a crappy/short lived paint job, and honestly i can't see justifying dropping 500 bucks in paint work on my vision :/
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If you can't tell your friend to kiss your ass then they aren't a true friend.
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Night Vision

#3
get your V running good... go on down to H2O's with some wobbly pops and a jar of paint and let him practice his painting skills  :D

somewhere on this site is a thread and a link where a guy painted a car with a can of rustoleum and a roller... came out nice... least wise it looked good from here  ;)

ahh... here it is : http://ridersofvision.net/forum/xzindex.php?topic=5264.msg44724#msg44724

go to that link in the ROV post by Proteus then scroll down that page until you see a post by "69chargeryeehaa"
if it ain't worth doing it the hard way....
it ain't worth doing it at all - Man Law
;D


if it ain't broke..... take it apart and find out why


don't give up.... don't ever give up - Jimmy Valvano

inanecathode

I think a hearty "Holy sh*t!" is in order for the job on that charger.
Problem solved. Adding "Fresh Blue Rustoleum roll on paint" to my to-get list for my vision! If it works, i've got a nice looking vision, if it doesnt, i've got a primered vision!
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If you can't tell your friend to kiss your ass then they aren't a true friend.
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kwells

not sure what your current garage setup is but with a fairly meager air compressor you could get a Harbor Freight paint sprayer and some pretty generic paint to do the job for under 200 including the sprayer.
...a vision is never complete.

www.wellsmoto.com

YellowJacket!

I got my paint at www.paintforcars.com .   (sorry Reckon if it makes you cringe.  ;D  )

The picture on the first page of the 1930 ford in the Sunshine Yellow is my color.

David


Living the dream - I am now a Physician Assistant!!   :-)

kiawrench

cathode-
in order to get a decent paint job on a bike, cheap, one must do some research.
1. find your local trade school, see if they hav ea body shop class
2. go to the school, talk to the instructor about getting bike painted
3. offer only color choice, and ok additional grafix if thye fit your ideas.
4. be prepared to leave the bike for one to two weeks ,as they only work on it in class.

what you will get back is a primo paint job, all the love and care that can be fostered by a pass or fail grade on the work, and a much ,much lower bill.

   my original v was painted for under 100.00 and it looked like new from factory. too bad the dragon wanted a bite of it .
keep your bike running,your beer cold ,and your passport handy.all are like money in the bank .

Lucky

Kia, did you put anything on the tree of shame? i'm not sure if there are any vision parts on it...
then again, if there were, we probably would have taken them home & fixed them, lol
1982/3 XZ550 Touring Vison, Gold on Black

reckon

#9
you basically have two choices, do it your self, or pay someone else,......

to do it yourself, realistically you will need about $200 in materials (thats everything, paint sandpaper, masking tape, filler, etc)  I would go for the economy lines from PPG or DuPont.
PPG 's line is OMNI,....DuPont's is CHROMA,....I like PPG better,....it's easier to mix, and shoots better.

for the hard equipment you need at LEAST a 30 gallon, 4HP compressor (most tool rental places will have lots of these), if you rent one, get the NON OILER water trap (tell them you will be painting), and a 25 foot hose with a quik-connector at the end.

harbor frieght makes an AWESOME gun for shooting a motorcycle:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=90977

it only needs 6cfm to run, so most 25-30 gallon compressors can easily keep up, and shoots a VERY glassy even finish,..as good or better than some guns costing ten times as much, and I'm dead serious.


ok here's the best tip I can give you:

TEST PANEL, TEST PANEL, TEST PANEL

get something like a sheet of steel, or ABS plastic, or an old tool box, or the garage fridge (my personal favorite) and pretend it's your V, and do ALL the steps, JUST like it was the bike,..that way if/when you screw up, you can just toss it, or strip it and start again.  I NEVER understand why someone with little or no experience would just jump into an unframiliar project WITHOUT PRACTICING FIRST,.....but I see it ALL the time.

everyone makes mistakes,...a newbie makes them ON the bike, and the professional/craftsman makes the mistakes on a test panel, makes an adjustment, and then tackles the project.

the other tip I can give you is that the PREP is literally 80% of the painting,...painting is fun, sanding is tedious, so most people rush the sanding prep work, and jump into the painting steps, thinking "the paint will hide this",...well, most of you know how that works out. the professional/craftsman will spend days and weeks getting the surface straight, level, and smooth, then take only a couple of hours to paint it.

take your time with the prep, always use a sanding block, NEVER JUST YOUR HAND, use a soft block for curves, and a hard block for flats, sand filler with no finer than 120 grit, and really 80grit is what you want to use for shaping filler, use a guide coat (a mist of contrasting color primer, so you can see the scratches and low spots)  use a GOOD polyester, or urethane (better) primer, sand the primer with 320 grit for a solid color (like red or black) and smooth it out to 600 for shooting any kind of metallic (NOT recommended for the newbies, shooting metallics is TOUGH)

finally the surface can't be too clean before painting: blow it off, then wipe it down with a prep solvent (PPG DX330), THEN using a new rag, wipe it down with windex, wait 20 minutes (so the static charge you made by wiping will dissipate) and then paint. 

one of the most rewarding feelings you can get on this earth is getting complimented on a paint job you did on the bike you are riding,...and one of the worst feelings, is having to make excuses for why "it looks funny in places" when people ask

most just lie: "oh I bought it like this, man, I can't wait to get it re-painted"   :D


keep asking questions in this thread, and I'll keep posting information, that way we'll get a nice bulk of info all in one place


peace, love and isocyanates

"if it's stupid but it works, it's no longer stupid"

inanecathode

Wow, reckon that's probably one of the best short faq's i've read on painting ever!
Maybe some day i'll invest in all the proper painting gear and chemicals, but for now with this project i'll try the rustoleum treatment and see how that turns out. I like the element of control that method reads like.
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If you can't tell your friend to kiss your ass then they aren't a true friend.
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reckon

even if your using rattle can paints SHOOT A TEST PANEL FIRST

just so you see what it's going to look like
"if it's stupid but it works, it's no longer stupid"

Kevin

Quite often when recon throws in his 2cents worth, I copy it and put in my vision notebook. ;D 

inanecathode

#13
Quote from: reckon on May 05, 2007, 06:42:03 PM
even if your using rattle can paints SHOOT A TEST PANEL FIRST

just so you see what it's going to look like

Aye yea, i plan on test paneling my tool box :D
It's actually rustoleum that comes in a can. The idea is that you thin it enough so it self levels, sand between coats, and top off with a good polish, no clear coating or anything. Waxable, strong, flexible good looking paint job.

I got all my supplies together:
Paint stirring sticks (dont shake enamel! bubbles!)
Mixing containers (49 cents each, measurements in metric and standard!)
Foam brushes (uh, foam brushes, what more can i say)
Rustoleum paint, quart (hunter green, real dark green should look fantastic)
Mineral spirits (thin the paint down quite a bit, lists acetone as a thinner but apparently it flashes way too fast)
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If you can't tell your friend to kiss your ass then they aren't a true friend.
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inanecathode

I've gone ahead and started painting the left side cover. Observations:

The paint needs to be quite thin to go on. Think water viscosity, but a VERY tiny bit more goopy
It runs, very easily, you'll need super super super thin coats (to the point that it looks more like tint or stain than paint)
Make sure you get all the old paint off, or at least all the old shiny paint off, this paint pulls away pretty easily
Dries fairly quickly, dry to the touch in approximately 5 hours

What i've done so far:
Sanded off the original paint, not completely though so my test coat pulled away from the shiny spots. Also the paint was way too thick the first time on, never totally evened out and left brush strokes.
Sanded off my first coat, thinned the paint WAY out (water basically). This coat went on much much easier, got a bit messy though before i realized how little paint you actually need.
400 grit wet sanded the first coat. This was a bit spooky, i sanded right through some spots to the original plastic without even trying. Decided to go on ahead with it anyway. Piece feels VERY smooth to the touch, but looks kinda splotchy and feathered.
Second coat goes on without a hitch.
600 grit wet sanded the second coat (note im only using one coat per step to save time, hasnt hurt me yet but really you should have 2 coats per step) again pretty spooky, looks splotchy as all hell, but its SMOOOOOOTH to the touch and reflects light rather well.
Third and final coat goes on without a hitch (had to add a bit of thinner though, paint got a little thick)
This first coat in the final step looks fantastic, its not quite the quality i'm looking for yet, but this could pass as a good rattlecan job no problem.



I've made it to the final coats. I've decided to do two coats before wet sanding with the 1500, and polishing as this'll give me more paint to work with should something go awry.
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If you can't tell your friend to kiss your ass then they aren't a true friend.
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kiwibum

Nice Job  inanecathode, keep the updates coming on how it goes. I read that article some time ago on the charger paint job with a roller and going to do my bike with it next summer when I get a chance to work on it. It has to look better than it does now and I'll have time but not the money for a nice job.

BREWSKI

Had some experience with rattle can paint,try finishing your project off with Min Wax clear gloss polyurethane. Only draw backs are it,s slow drying and not really clear,has a slight amber tint, should not be a problem with darker colors,three coats 2hrs between,let it cure for about 72 hrs and should not have to be polished and tough as iron
GEORGE BATES

Sable

Just one question.... why didn't you mask off the lower part of the panel? I have seen this on a few Visions in the gallery.
When I re-painted mine, I did not find it difficult to mask the bottom part off to keep it looking kind of "stock"



My rattle can job above. A little of 1000 grit sand paper took care of the leaks where the masking tape was pulled off ;D

~John
1982 Yamaha Vision
1982 Motobecane 50V
1975 Kawasaki H-1
1972 Rokon Trailbreaker

inanecathode

I'm glad you've asked that sable!
I didnt mask off the bottom part because of a few reasons. First, the paint that was on there was really faded and downright ugly, so i sanded it off as well. Second, the paint i'm applying now should make a righteous primer for rattle can flat black. Third, is if i painted the lower part first, no doubt the (very thin) brush on paint would have ruined it 4 coats ago :D
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If you can't tell your friend to kiss your ass then they aren't a true friend.
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Sable

If you are planning to re-paint the bottom portion, you should check into the rustolieum plastic specific paint. I have used this to re-paint the rear fender, the battery box and the bottom portion of this panel. I first learned about this when I saw a guy using that paint to re-paint the fender flairs on an old Jeep Wrangler. They came out looking like new (the one flair that he still had left to do was faded and gray).
Good luck with your painting, I like the color you picked ;D

~John
1982 Yamaha Vision
1982 Motobecane 50V
1975 Kawasaki H-1
1972 Rokon Trailbreaker