Colour scheme

[The Prophet of Doom]

I'm about to send my bike into the panel shop for painting.  Price wise this is totally over the top and definately a one time deal.  I'll be stuck with it for a long time so I've been playing around in photoshoppe to try and settle on a colour that suits both me and the bike.  My thoughts have wavered a fair bit, but settling on Arctic white (with a silver metallick fleck) and matt black mudguards and rad cover.  Any comments?

[Night Vision]

I've always wondered how a copper colored V would look...

got photoshop?

[iain]

Why don't you paint the radiator cover the same colour as the rest of the bike to keep it matching ?

Iain
NZ

[The Prophet of Doom]

I've always wondered how a copper colored V would look...

Actually, it doesn't look too bad as a cop bike.  We are just starting to get cops back on bikes here.  Big BMW's that look like they would have trouble catching a cold, let alone a road racer



Durr, you meant the colour copper, not the policeman sort.  Going to white is easy, other colours less so.  I had a shot at copper, but it ended up a disgusting mess.  I don't have the technique for metallics.  I'll ask the graphic artist at work to see if he can do any better

[The Prophet of Doom]

Why don't you paint the radiator cover the same colour as the rest of the bike to keep it matching ?

Matching coloured radiators are way cool, but a bit too daring a look for me, I don't want to attract too much attention from the wrong sort of people.

[zore]

Remember your stick with what ever you pick.

Kind of a copper color

[The Prophet of Doom]

I got a quote back from the panelbeater.  $1,200 to paint the bike in white, no clear.  $1,800 to do a metallic/clear.  I rang round a couple of others and got similar estimates.  We don't have an illegal workforce here prepared to do stuff at $2.50/hr so I guess that's the price you pay for living in a civilised and just society

Obviously this is an outrageous amount to spend on a bike worth $2,000 so it's on to plan B where I spend my entire annual vacation doing it myself using rattle cans (with a lot of help from Iain who also fixed my fibreglass 8)).

So far I've spent a very long week sanding, priming and chipping off the decals.  Starting on the colour tomorrow.

Does anyone know where I can get a decal set?

[Aelwulf]

Yer coat's kinda a brownish color...

Sorry, tangent. :D

Lookin' at doing my '82 in a desert tan here.  Not sure if I'm going to try to spraycan it or get some decent paint done yet.

[Jay]

Personally I don't think of it like "1800 is a lot to spend on a 2000 bike." I prefer to think of it as "if i spend $1800 on my bike it will look great. The alternative is to get another bike looking that good, which could easily cost $4000+. And this way it's done right, to my specs, and looks how I want it to look." If it's down to paint it or buy another bike, I'd say paint it. If it's more so that you like it and can ride without shame, but would like to pretty it up a bit, maybe look at alternative options for paint, such as parts removal, and spray it yourself, would be much cheaper. Even if you spent $200 on paint, $100 on a gun, and $100 on a compressor, assuming you have no parts already, that's $400 into it to spray, you can spray a dozen times to get it as you like, and you have the experience for the future. At least that's the way I'm going. Though I already have the gun and compressor.

[Tiger]

...Obviously this is an outrageous amount to spend on a bike worth $2,000

:) I know that with the purchase price of the Vision, getting her road worthy and all the up-grades, including a custom pearl paint job that I have had done since getting her in 2005, "The Mistress" stands me around $4,500.00...infact, due to the reversal of fortune that she has just had in falling off of my trailer, she is going to empty my pocket book a lot more before spring arrives...and I don't regret one wee penny.

This has all been done for my pleasure...a labour of love really...and not for resale 8)

                   8).......TIGER....... 8)

[The Prophet of Doom]

I put the colour coat on today. No huge disasters except a bad sunburn and a sore trigger finger.
Now I have to leave it to harden and resist the temptation to wet sand it for a couple of days
Even without the sanding and polishing the white paint gleams - it's a bit hard to look at in direct sun.

So far it's cost about $300 and 60 hours labour.

[kev10104]

That paint job looks awesome.

[zore]

Personally I don't think of it like "1800 is a lot to spend on a 2000 bike." I prefer to think of it as "if i spend $1800 on my bike it will look great. The alternative is to get another bike looking that good, which could easily cost $4000+. And this way it's done right, to my specs, and looks how I want it to look." If it's down to paint it or buy another bike, I'd say paint it. If it's more so that you like it and can ride without shame, but would like to pretty it up a bit, maybe look at alternative options for paint, such as parts removal, and spray it yourself, would be much cheaper. Even if you spent $200 on paint, $100 on a gun, and $100 on a compressor, assuming you have no parts already, that's $400 into it to spray, you can spray a dozen times to get it as you like, and you have the experience for the future. At least that's the way I'm going. Though I already have the gun and compressor.

You can buy a 2003 sv650 for 3800.  I've been where you're at.  I've repainted my monster 3 times until I finally had someone do it.  I've used rattle cans and it came out fantastic but didn't last more than 2 weeks.  I have the spray guns and compressor, but unless you paint often enough to get good at it, you're making yourself an expensive mess.  I'd really have to have a personal attachment to something for me to put that kind of money into an 1800 dollar bike.

[The Prophet of Doom]

So there we have it, I still have a couple of things to do to it, but it's essentially together and road worthy
The rattle paint is not as tough as I would like.  Already I have some paint missing from a drop of petrol (gasoline).  It's only a couple of weeks old, so will see how it hardens up.  If it doesn't work I'll have to see about getting some two-pot clear blown over it.

[vadasz1]

Nice job roro.  Personally I would have painted the whole side cover white and have only the seat remain black for contrast.  Also with that BIG luggage rack I would have eliminated the rear grab bars aswell.  I will post pics in my thread for my painting experienc later this month probably.  Now I'm off to bed to see if the ringing in my ears will go away some more.

[Tiger]

 :) I like the Vision in White...it looks clean looking 8)

Sadly rattle can paint doesn't stand up to gas/petrol... :(

A couple of comments, if I may...Remove the windshield, using a fine sandpaper, very lightly sand the underside of the windshield, clean off and paint Matt black, two or three light coats will do it...Its what I did with mine...looks good and helps keep the sun off of the gauges 8)

The left and right aluminum plates for the footrests...remove, strip the clear coat and paint them black. Once dry, lay on a white pin stripe (from your local auto store) into the three "grooves"...Voila!!!

Overall, I think you have done a nice job mate... 8)

                     8).......TIGER....... 8)

[JDArgonaut]

That is one sweet looking ride! I was doing some research on re-painting my car and came across the duplicolor spray cans. I know a fella that had really good results with it. I am planning on doing my car when it gets warmer, probably in March before the annual pollen attack.
I was planning on redoing my windshield on my vision, but using the stuff you can buy from wal-mart for about $20 called CVS I think. It is for those plastic headlight covers on cars. That worked really well on my wifes Caravan.

[Rick G]

I recommend you buy one can of Duplicolor and paint a a dog food can . Let it set up fro a few days and  then spray a little gas on it .  I learned the hard way!

[JDArgonaut]

Thanks Rick, I think I will take your word for it!

[The Prophet of Doom]

I recommend you buy one can of Duplicolor and paint a a dog food can . Let it set up fro a few days and  then spray a little gas on it .  I learned the hard way!

As did I; a single drop from the tank and the paint just disappeared in a long run.  So now the tank needs to be re-done.
It was automotive paint laquer I used, so I didn't expect it to be quite this bad.   According to the paint shop guy, the spray can clear is no more resistant either, and the only way to go is the two pack paints and/or clears. 
I think I'll buy one of those preval sprayers and some professional clear when I re-do the tank, and blow a coat over the whole bike.  Will this thing never be finished???