Please help, problems with painting.

[stevemac12073]

OK I'm about to go crazy!  :x  :x  :x I've painted this damn part twice so far and it's giving me nothing but problems. the first time i sanded it down to get the clear off and rough it up a bit. i then primered it anbd put some color on it. The thing cracked all over the place. The second time I sanded it down to bare, primered it three times, sanded again, and once again attempted color. This time it came out spotty. no matter how many coats of color I put on it you can see through it in certain areas. This is driving me crazy. I have used the same exact paint and "technique" on every other part of the bike without any problems. I will attempt to post a pic of the nightmarte so you can see for yourself. Any help is very much appreciated.

[goat]

personally, painting is something that I will pay someone who has experience and the right tools to do. There are just too many things that can (and will, if I'm doing it) go wrong.

I have painted small stuff (crank case covers and the cover over the speedo and tach) but thats the limit to what I am willing to attempt myself. I want to have my bike repainted but I'm not going to do it myself.

[dgyver]

What kind/type and brand of paint & primer are you using?

[stevemac12073]

i used color-spray primer and krylon paint. every other part came out fine except for the two fairing pieces. even the front fairing which is made of the same material came out fine. i'm ready to light these two pieces on fire. :lol:

[tdan553527]

Was the weather different on this piece compared to the weather for the others. Temp and humidity can cause many odd things to happen.

[stevemac12073]

i thought it was warmer, but i could be wrong.

[jiggersplat]

first, i would suggest using duplicolor spray cans.  of all the spray cans i have used, they are by far the best.

second, make sure your primer and top coats are compatible.  i.e., you don't want to use a lacquer primer and an enamel top coat or vice versa.  

if possible, strip the piece before trying again.

also, painting plastic can be problematic.  when the plastic flexes the paint can crack.  if you were to take the part to a paint shop, they would mix in a flex additive to the paint.  you won't be able to do that with spray paint.  try and find paints made to paint plastic.  that should help.

read the  instructions on the can.  also make sure you shake the cans for a LONG time.  they aren't kidding when they say shake for two minutes.

[tdan553527]

I agree with duplicolor, that's what I just used on my bike and it turned out pretty good, can't tell it's a spray can.

[stevemac12073]

thanx for the info guys. i'll try stripping it down and starting over again. i'll post some pics when i'm done.  

[jiggersplat]

shane,

did you use a flat black or semi-gloss?  i assume you didn't use any clearcoat.  i was going to do a flatblac/gloss black combo, but when you clear the flat paint, it becomes glossy.  it looks good though.  i had given up on the flat black and was going to go with a silver but now i am reconsidering.

[Traveler]

I've got a '92 BMW k75 with the enormous fairing in German police white which is still stocked in Europe, but we cannot get it imported due to new regs following 9/11.
Having just gone through much the same thing you have experienced, I learned that compatibility is the key. I, too, had to strip and reprep and finally figured out that a plain 'fiberglass' paint from the local hardware store might work.....it did. The first lacquer I tried  blew off some of the non-original paint (yup it was enamel). The second paint went on well, but came out yellow, not at all like the paint can cap.
Now I'm trying to work up the nerve to do the tank and spot the fairing which look like two different paints to me; almost guaranteed to chicken up one or the other.
Maybe I'll just keep potential buyers at 30 feet :lol:

[cernunos]

That yellow piece looks like it had oil or grease on it. Any oil or grease, even from a fingerprint, can ruin a paint job. And the temperature and humidity can wreck havoc too. The bad thing about can jobs is that you never know if you are going to get the same consistency from batch to batch. I know there are some paint houses that will mix the paint for you and place it in spray cans   . Pretty cool huh. Love the little 500 and this forum.

C........

[VersOne]

another thing to consider is the quality of the paint.   You said you are using Krylon...hmmmm I can tell you straight off that certain colors such as orange, some bright greens and "yellow" suffer from bad "cheap" pigments.

Paints all have a different opacity level, yellow is probably the worst of all those colors.  All the krylon yellows I have used were transparent and didn't have any opacity at all.

my 0.02cent


Jonah

[tdan553527]

jiggersplat  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

shane,

did you use a flat black or semi-gloss? i assume you didn't use any clearcoat.  

On the Duplicolor can, it said universal Flat black. Stated it was good for plastic bumpers and trim work. No clearcoat.

[splatt]

shane, did you use the "bumper paint" on your tank as well?  also, any tips on the painting process?  ie how many coats, did you sand the original yellow down to metal, how long did you let it cure in between coats?  i just dented my tank yesterday and am going to need to repaint it :x

[xtalman]

jiggersplat  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

shane,

did you use a flat black or semi-gloss? i assume you didn't use any clearcoat.  

On the Duplicolor can, it said universal Flat black. Stated it was good for plastic bumpers and trim work. No clearcoat.

Also, is the paint gas-resistant?  I just spilled gas all over my tank and it damaged the paint.  Your bike looks great!

[tdan553527]

Yes, i used the same paint on the tank, gas-resistent  :dunno: , I've only spilled a couple of drops on the tank so far, but no damage yet.

Sanded the tank all the way down to metal, used the duplicolor red filler primer, sanded with 600, then primer again, about 3 coats of the primer.
When I sprayed the black on, very thin coats, probably 8 to 10 coats of the black, with about 20 minutes between coats. Before the last coat, sanded with 600 again, then sprayed the final coat.


I did mine outside and I live on a dusty, dirt road.
Best if done in a shop. Any amount of wind will cause havoc. Humidity should be below 60% also if done outside.

Also, for the inside of the fairing, I used the cheap Wal-Mart flat black. .94 cents a can, and you can tell a huge difference between the Duplicolor and the cheap paint.  .94 vs. $5.50 a can.  But you can't see the inside, so it didn't matter to me.

[splatt]

nice, thanks for the feedback shane.  what did you use to get the tank down to metal?  i was thinking one of those paint/rust remover drill bits would do the trick.

[tdan553527]

I used Bulldog Paint stripper from walmart, very corrosive, wear gloves. Then I gave the metal a light sanding and sprayed away.