I need some painting tips, and review my plans.

To paint the tank: sand blast (done) prime it, 2 coats, paint it, 2 coats red, 2 coats black, find some sort of clear coat, 2 coats

To paint side covers and plastic: sand with 220 grit, prime it, 1 or 2 coats, and paint, 2 coats

To paint misc metal bits: wire wheel down to metal, prime 1 coat, paint 2 coats

To paint chrome: Rougn up with 220 grit, paint 2 coats of primer, 2 coats red, 2 coats black

* i plan on using a primer that fills in dents, its a light grey, oh ya, and under the red, ill use 1 coat of silver i forgot.


also, what isa really good clear coat? i know its one that you need to wear a resperator mask, thats about it. the clear coat i had on my 3 wheeler went away with a splash of gas.

 

220 is to rough for plastic, 320 at most, better yet 400

 

ok, thanks alot!

 

if you use too rough a paper plastic will get "fuzzy" then it's a real pain
no need to take all the paint off the plastic, just knock the shine off the old paint and make it smooth
some of those misc metal parts might be easier with stripper

 

Your best bet is to buy automotive 2 part paint. Don't buy laquer. I painted my bike with laquer from autozone. It looks great, but the first time I dripped gas on it, I had to do alot of buffing to get rid of the spot. You can buy a HVLP gun from Harbor freight tools for about 40 or 50 bucks, and it isn't as hard to use as you would think. Spraying the paint is the easy part, prep work, and finishing is the hard part. I wouldn't use 220 either.
Buy some primer made for plastic. Autozone or advance auto parts has it in a can. It's a clear primer made for plastic and bare metal. I believe it is called adhesion promoting primer. Wet sanding works much better than dry sanding. The paper will last longer and won't get stopped up. I would sand with 500 grit wet, and then 1000 grit wet on the primer before painting. Also make sure you wipe the part with cheese cloth, or some other cloth that won't leave any lint, dampend with paint thinner before spraying anything, and after all sanding.

Just remember paint won't cover up anything, even the slightest little scratch or imperfection in the primer will be magnified after you spray the clear and pollish it.

After you spray on your clear coat you will have some orange peal in it (it won't be perfectly smooth). Lightly wet sand with 1000 grit, then 2000 grit until there are no high spots left, then use some finishing polish and alot of hard hand polishing (or a high speed polisher which can be easy to burn though the clear coat) and it will shine like a mirror. Then wax with high quality wax.

When you spray the color, paint it thick enough to where it covers everything, but doesn't run.

If you do this with cheap paint or a spray can and really take your time, it can look really good also. I used cheap laquer paint, but I wouldn't do it again because it is so sensitive to gas.

Google painting a motorcycle and you will find all sorts of tips.

 

wow, thanks, but what i want to know is the brand of a really god clear coat, or i guess il ask my auto color profesionals at my local Napa store!

 

i just read your post about heating your garage
KEEP SOME DOORS OPEN open flames and paint fumes is a good way to clean out the shop real fast

 

lol, no! i want to get high off paint fumes!

oh ya, should i take a hair dryer to everything i paint? cuz the metal parts are still nipply, and i sprayed some engine paint over a test cover, and it bubbled, then i took that part under ot water, and worked great, so yup, just wondering

 

You can use Omni Brand paint its ok but if you real nice paint I would sugesst PPG. You'll have alot tied up in materials because the base coat & clear coat is expensive when you get the hardner and the thinner for it. Not sure but they only sell it here in gallons. That would be enough to clear coat about 50 gas tanks.

It might be more cost effective if you can find someone who works out of his own shop to just spray those items for you. Good Luck

 

hit your paint and primer with a flexing agent when you get it mixed especially for the side covers it will go a long way for lasting on the plastic parts also get all your supplies from the same brand not all paint, primer, clear, bondo, etc are compatible, do your filling with bondo or spot puddy filler primer is only for fine scratches not dents look for "self etching primer" as it will give you the best adhession to both bare metal and painted surfaces, before you spray any surface wipe it well with a lint free cloth and methol hydrate to remove dust, grease, fingerprints, etc allow aprox 30 secs to dry and don't touch with anything other than primer/paint after it's wiped

 

no no no no no, im just doing rattle can, and can i get methol hydrate at napa? ours is called auto color napa, so its specalized on painting. how much is this methol hydrate?

 

Schooter Have you looked at Eastwoods.com to check what they have. I saw a neat little trigger sprayer that goes on a shaker can. Don't know if they still have them but might be worth a look.

 

Schooter do you have a career center (a tech high school program) around your town? most of them have a body class and do work cheap and do good work to boot mostly you just buy the paint and such they do the rest might think of that too heck you would have about as much in paint that way and would save yourself the time.......in the long run

 

Hey Schooter, You don't have to use methol hydrate.
Just about any laquer thinner ($3 a can) will do, you just need to wipe everything down with a lintfree cloth that's damp with a solvent.
After you have things primed you will want to knock down the primer with a 600 to smooth it out, before you wipe again in prep for the color.
As someone said when applying your color you want it to be wet.
As wet as it can be with out running, this will give you the deep smooth look of an air gun job.
Of course that is said much easier then it is done, if it runs you're back to square one.
Try a practice piece of sheet metal first so you can get a feel for the right amount to apply.
On the clear coat from a rattle can I would stay with the same brand of paint you are using.
You can apply many coats of clear.
Let it dry good before doing the next coat, less chance it will run.
The more layers the more protection
Cure time has alot to do with how the clear coat holds up to gas.
one step or rattle can paint needs a month to cure.
Don't do anything except wash your newly painted parts for a month then you can rub out, wax and buff the parts.
Good luck and rememeber it will never be perfect, somethings you'll just have to live with.

 

Hey Schooter....asking "what's the best clear coat?" is like asking what's the best color? "Best" is a mattre of opinion.There are many variables as well..... what is it going on top of, Laquer or polyurethane based, what type of delivery system, what is the desired end result (i.e. superhigh gloss,which is more susceptible to scratches and chemicals, of a lower gloss w/harder finish?)...blah ,blah blah...
Best advice is like TheHound said...go with the recommended clear coat for the paint you are using, especially if you're using rattle cans. I would also watch the temp of what and where you are painting.Personally myself , I would never paint unless I could get the room up to at least 60deg or close and I would let the parts to be painted acclimate naturally to that temp as well. Also you'd want to keep the temps up during the first 24hrs of dry time (although once you can handle the parts you could bring them indoors to dry....if the folks don't mind...)
The bugger with living in Mich is....during the winter you have lots of time to work on the bike, but unless you have a heated facility....it's too cold to paint ....
p.s.
If you were using an hvlp to paint I would suggest HOK (House of Kolor) paints since you can get them in very small amounts and pre-mixed so you can get just the amount you need...
p.p.s.
Make sure you're using self etching primer on any bare metal or chrome. When I paint chrome I wetsand with 400 emery cloth and use wd40 as the wetting agent.Use a good de-greaser before priming so it gets good adhesion...

 

I've just been painting my gas tank and I used automotive paint which can be mixed up to any colour you want in a can..... to finish it off, I'm using a clear which as a hardener which is activated by hitting a button on the bottom of the can and can be worked with for 45 mins.... I'm using that last after I apply the decal.

 

You sand blasted your gas tank? And it didn't distort?
Sand blasting auto sheet-metal is a no-no.
You didn't notice any ill effects?

 

laquer thinner is paint thinner, right? my mom has some low oder stuff, and ya, ive got a little extra sanding to do to the tank, then ill paint it tonite...
and, as far as i can tell, sand blasting did no damage, there is a little gas in the tank, and it doesnt leak, im going to run a fuel filter on it, so that shuld trap the sand particles, if there were any that got into the tank.