Paint
THIS IS MY DISCLAIMER.
Note to the Do it yourselfer. I have been painting with a spray gun for YEARS….let me reemphasize that….YEARS!!! So if you undertake this and have less luck than me. Practise more and try again. After all you already bought the equipment and the paint was only 100ish dollars (and if you're like me you have enough for a full extra paint job)
THIS IS MY DISCLAIMER.
Alright now that I have said that step by step, word for word details incoming...by the way this could be wickedly boring.
Obviously remove all of the fairings and parts you would like to paint.
Step One - (Materials needed: 800 grit sandpaper, water hose, warm sunny day) Start by wetting down the part you are going to sand and soaking the sandpaper with the hose. Begin sanding away the TOPCOAT ONLY....you are trying to break the clear coat of the paint. NOT sand to the metal or bare plastic. The process goes like this. Sand. Wet. Let dry. Check for clear coat remains. Sand. Wet. Let dry. Rinse repeat until clear coat is no longer present on all of pieces you would like to paint.
Step Two - (Materials needed: lacquer based universal automotive primer (i used gray), lacquer thinner, 400 grit sand paper, 800-grit sand paper, air hose, air compressor, gravity feed paint sprayer and this is no lie you dont need a million dollar gun mine actually cost 12.99 at harbor freight) 50% primer, 50% lacquer thinner...that depends on the brand you are using of course... combine and spray over all pieces that you have sanded the clear coat off and allow to dry (roughly ten minutes with a lacquer based primer) BUFF with 800 grit sand paper...buff is very different from sand, buffing is a light touch to smooth a surface and remove settled flaws in the primer. Sanding is what you will need to do with any runs and visible defects in the primer. Sand these types of defects with the 400-grit paper and then run back over with the 800-grit paper. Add multiple coats of primer. I used 3 coats.
Step Three - (Materials needed: base coat metallic paint (I used a turquoise blue made from several different green and blue metallic paints I had in my shop) remember this color WILL show through if you follow my steps, automotive paint reducer, air hose, air compressor, gravity feed paint sprayer, 800-grit sand paper) Mix 50% base coat and 50% reducer. Spray an even coat of base mix and allow to dry before adding a second coat. Not really any sanding or buffing needed unless you have runs or spatter. Obviously if you do sand and then buff that area, feather the surrounding paint into the area you sanded with your 800-grit sand paper and add another coat until you have no mistakes. This coat needs to be smooth all over to accept the next coat.
Step Four - (Materials needed: Green automotive paint dye, Clear automotive topcoat, automotive paint reducer, automotive topcoat hardner air compressor, air hose, gravity feed paint sprayer) Mix topcoat and green dye and automotive paint reducer. 50% reducer, 50% Topcoat-dye combination. Now mix in a proportionate amount of topcoat hardnr according to the brand you are using. Obviously dye the topcoat till you are satisfied by the result. Spray ONE COAT and be CAREFUL to avoid runs and any defects in this coat of paint because it is semi-clear and everything can be seen very well. Also you CANNOT sand dye jobs because if you sand and then apply another coat you will change the color around the sanded area NOTICEABLY. I used only one coat of green dyed topcoat because I was completely satisfied with the look and the showing of the turquoise color through the green dye in the light and in the dark.
Step Five – (Materials needed: clear automotive topcoat, automotive paint reducer, automotive topcoa hardner, air hose, air compressor, gravity feed paint gun, 2000-grit sand paper and no its not 200 it is two thousand grit) 50% clearcoat, 50% reducer. Add propotionate amount of topcoat hardner according to the brand you are using. Spray several coats (3-4) allowing to dry in between. Buff the last layer with 2000 grit sand paper until perfectly smooth and stand back in awe and happiness at your beautiful paint job. Add a final layer as SMOOTHLY AND CONSISTENLY as possible as this will be the touchable layer of your paintjob.
Step Six – Put you bike back together and love it more than ever with your thousand dollar paint job for about 300 bucks in materials.
THIS IS MY DISCLAIMER.
Note to the Do it yourselfer. I have been painting with a spray gun for YEARS….let me reemphasize that….YEARS!!! So if you undertake this and have less luck than me. Practise more and try again. After all you already bought the equipment and the paint was only 80-100 dollars (and if you're like me you have enough for a full extra paint job)
THIS IS MY DISCLAIMER.
Links to materials used. (Prices may have changed so the paint job might be like 350$)
Spray Gun - http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=47016
Air Compressor - http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=95498
Air Hose - http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=47
Sand Paper Wet/Dry - http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/producte/10001/-1/10001/34694?&cid=chanintel&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=34694
Automotive Paints - Pretty much on your own here I got mine locally at Carol's Color Connection. I used cheap laquer based primer (about $20). 1 quart of high end topcoat ($50). 1-2 ounces of candy dye ($20). 1 quart mid range metallic paint ($40) These prices are updated as they were about 5 dollars cheaper when i did my paint job.