New Paint!

I just finished repainting my bike, after much frustration and back breaking work. I tried to emulate the carbonfibre look by overlaying fabric on the tank. I found out the hard way that it doesn't like to lay perfectly. So I had to improvise. Eitherway, I came out with a sore foot, and three peices of beautifully painted parts. Except on the one side of the tank...

La pieces de la resistance!

 

That looks pretty cool. Good idea!

 

It looks darn good.What ya use for paint?

 

If you did that with Lace ... THAT's OLD SCHOOL!

Came-out looking darn good!
Nice looking work!

 

I used a black base coat, and then a honda dark graphite for the inset.



I'd love to do more tanks... hint hint.... only thing is, I can only do the back and sides really. The front section doesn't co-operate with the net. So that leaves froom for another colour, and paint scheme...

 

looks nice. I really need to re-do my tank...

 

I've heard of people doing that with fish net stockings.

 

Your tank look like it made of carbon fiber now! Interesting idea. I wonder how that would look in different colors. It might be an idea for the base coat when I lay some flames over it in a contrasting color. The ideas are endless.

 

I take it these aren't rattle can colors.I have a sprayer that I will attemp to use some time in the future.Did you use clearcoat of some sort and a hardener.

 

Well, I actually did it with rattle cans.. lol I'm very surprised at how it turned out as well. Usually with a gun, you mix the hardener with the clear and colours, but in rattle cans it's already premixed. Ask a body shop how much hardener they would use and such to get an idea of what you should do.

I was thinking of doing the same thing in other colours, like even a red. Get a nice deep red base coat, then spray a red metallic over the net. Maybe just sprinkle in that case so then you get the depth of the base red. It doesn't looke good untill the clear is on it, then it really pops!

Oh, and as I'm finding out, make sure you get alot of clear on it. Get 3 coats down, let it harden and sink into the paint, then add three more thicker coats. Im letting mine harden through the week before I add more coats. The texture of the pattern is showing through the clear. You want it like glass so then it really adds depth.

Time to find fishnets and redo the side panels! Anyone know how to remove the side emblems without breaking them?

I will experiment more with it, and then I'll be able to help people out! I was thinking of doing it with a sprayer, and using a dark black base with a black with silver pearl in it as the top colour. That way it looks all black untill the sun hits certain spots. Anyway, happy trails everyone!

 

Actually, rattle can clear has no hardeners whatsoever. Drip gas on them and watch the finish dissolve before your eyes. Wiping it immediately is too late. VHT and Duplicolor make chemical resistant clears, designed for engines, brake calipers, headers, etc.. These will give you a better chance of survival in case of a drip, but its nothing compared to a 2 part clear. Trust me.. I learned the hard way. I have a beautiful gray metal fleck rattle can job that i cleared with the ceramic Duplicolor, and I now have a nice rough patch right below the cap hinge. I am going to restrip and repaint it over the winter and see if one of the shops around here can clear it for me cheap with something that isn't going to dissolve.

Also, you HAVE to follow recoat times. You can generally recoat for 1 hour, but then after 1 hour you MUST wait 7 days before recoating again. If you don't, you will wind up with clear that lifts/bubbles/flakes.

 

Thanks alot for the info! I was going to wait until Saturday, but now that you remind me, I have to wait the 7 days. It's just the regular duplicolor clear. I was thinking if taking it to my local bodyshop and asking them to shoot some of their clear on it.

I spilt gas on it last night, and I was just like "Oh f***!!" And watched closely hoping that it didn't smear the metal flake everywhere. I was lucky and it didn't. I remembered not to wipe it, I just left it. It now looks like it's still cleared there, so I'll just make sure I get extra clear on that side.

I'm going to stress to my dad to not spill any gas on it. Because he has a tendency to do so. (It's his bike, it's going back to him for next year)

Anyway, I have yet to repaint the side panels, so updates will come!

 

When I painted my bike the 1st time, it looked SWEET!

Then I spilled some gas on it after about 6mos.
I got hazy and looked bad but wash and wax and it looked better.
I had shot it with Martin Senour automotive paint. Base coat Clear coat.

Then one day I was working on my petcock and thought I had all the gas out of my tank.
I turned the tank over on a towel to keep from scratching it and some gas spilled out on the paint for about 20 minuites.

The bloody paint curdled up and looked like cr@p. 1 day before a big ride with friends with really nice bikes.

I stayed home and stripped the paint off of my tank.

This time I repainted with Dupont base coat and used a ClearCoat that resists gasoline.]

Plenty of hardner in both paint and clearcoat.

The other day I spilled gas on my tank........... It Was OK and washed up after about 15 min.

I think this stuff is going to work out!!!!

The moral here is to use the right stuff, I had to ask at the automotive parts store where they sell the stuff to the big body shops.

 

I see you used my idea on the carbon fiber look, good job, came out great, if you use the duplicolor High Heat clear, gas shouldn't affect it once dry, at least it's holding up on my bikes.

 

Is there a clear coat in a can that will protect from gas spill?

 

Never heard of it, where can I get a can?

 

Duplicolor high temp comes in many colors including clear and is available at most auto parts stores.

 

If you can't find duplicolor, there's always VHT Gloss Clear (PN# SP-145)...



From their web site:

 

I've had good luck with the Duplicolor high heat clear on mine (spilled gas on it a few times now)
When I painted my tank, fender and side covers, I used Duplicolor for the primer (2 coats and wet sanded it) then used 3 coats of Duplicolor for the main color (wet sanded w/1500 grit between coats) then did some pinstriping and air brushing over the base coat, so I wanted to protect my work. I found the idea of using Dupicolor high heat clear here on the forum, so I tried it. I ended up with 7 coats of clear and set sanded between each coat to make sure it turned out smooth and shiny.
I will be changing the colors this winter (I guess because I can) so I get to do it all over again!!! Not sure what colors/technique I will use just yet, but I have a few ideas in mind and it should look sick when I get'r done!! >PD<