Painting My Tank & Plastics Need Help

[That_Dude]

Hello All,

I was wondeirng if you guys can help me.  I'm wanting to paint my tank and plastics this weekend.  I need some help on what equipment I will need and techniques you guys have.  I have the paint and clear coats.  Now I just need to know what sand paper to use and if I will need some turpintine to remove the clear coat.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.

[08GSSteve]

There is plenty of info here on this issue just use the search function. 

or

This is from a KLR 650 site which covers painting plastics.

http://www.klr650.marknet.us/paintingplastic.html

[tt_four]

http://www.klr650.marknet.us/paintingplastic.html

That was the longest possible way to tell anyone to "follow the instructions on the can" I've ever read.

I've always just used spray paint, and have never had the patience to sand between coats, but i think I'm going to buy an actual paint gun this winter and see what i can do.

[That_Dude]

I have the paint adhession for plastics.  Anyone know a good way to get all of the gas out of the tank?

[bassmechanicsz]

easiest way to get the gas out would prob be to lift the gas tank and turn off the petcock on the bottom of the tank and then hook up some hoses to where you disconnected it from the frame petcock and then reopen the tank petcock while the hoses are feeding into a gas can so that you can then put it back in when finished.  Just move the tank around in your hands while draining it to make sure all the gas is out of the tank.

Are you painting it with spray paints or a gun?

[That_Dude]

I was going to siphon out as much as I can at first and then try to turn off the petcock.  Yes I will be using rattle can paint.  Flat black with egg shell clear coat.  It should take me the whole weekend.  We'll see how it comes out.

[tt_four]

The tank will be lighter, and easier to move if you empty it, but if you're just spray painting it, I'd probably just leave the gas in it. Well I guess the only thing is the gas cap, but if you set the tank on something, and aren't going to be flipping or handleing it you could just remove the gas cap and cover the hole with tape.

Draining it from the petcock is pretty easy, I'm just saying. I don't even think I took it off the bike last time I painted it, I just slid garbage bags under it to make off the frame and everything else. Same with the front fender.

[KasbeKZ]

equipment you need is a compressor and a hose and a spray gun. when you spray primer, it should be being sprayed over 220 or 320 grit. use whatever you have to to get it smooth then use 220 and 320 (320 is optional). not very easy to jump more than 100 grit. always use a block. you should never ever use sand paper and your hand. you will see finger grooves. wipe down with "prep all" or "prep solve" whatever it's called before each spraying. you should sand to 220, prime (going around 3 or so times with 15 minutes in between), then sand down to 220 or 320 again (preferably 320 this time), then wipe down again, then spray your paint. spraying then sanding paint for several coats is for noobs. just go around and do 3 hot coats. spray as thick as you can without letting it run.

long story short, buy a book on it. there is a ton that goes into painting something well, and a motorcycle is hard to learn on being so small and curvy. this is why people that can paint actually get paid a little more than a grunt most places.

[tt_four]

If you're going to use a compressor I'd recommend getting one of those filters that helps suck the water out of the lines too. The tanks tend to collect a little water inside them, and if that blows through to your paint it'll mess up the paint.

[KasbeKZ]

another necessary part. like i said, there is a ton of stuff to know about putting good paint jobs on stuff. you need to use the right tape, right plastic, use tack rags, know what tack rags are, use the correct respirator... there's a ton of stuff. knowing some of it won't get you a good finish. if you want a decent finish, clean it very well, sand to 220, spray rustoleum primer very heavy, sand it to 220, then spray rustoleum. that's the easiest way to get a somewhat decent finish.

[DoD#i]

Given you're heading down rattlecan alley (hey, I live there myself)

http://wiki.gstwins.com/index.php?n=Restoration.PaintTank

Pretty much the same for the plastics.

[tripleb]

I just sanded my plastics down and then primed and painted them.  for the tank I had to take everything off of it after emptying it and then applied some paint thinner, scraped as much as I could off and then sanded the rest off. then primed and painted.  turned out pretty nice if you ask me.

[joshr08]

you do relize that as long as theres no shine to the peice your painting the paint will stick right.  you dont have to goto bare metal or plastic.  red scotch brite pad everything your painting until its dull wipe down with a wax and grease remover and paint.

[KasbeKZ]

you kinda contradicted yourself there in that one post. statement 1: it will stick as long as it's not shiny. statement 2: it will stick as long as you wipe it down with wax and grease remover. paraphrased of course.

being not shiny does not mean paint will stick, or even etching primer. rust is not shiny... paint doesn't stick to it very well. 

[liquid0715]

I tried to post yesterday but for some reason it didnt post.
I have painted my bike twice in about 6 months period and even though my results did not come out great, I have learned a lot.  My standards are set tooo high.

Plastics are easy, light dry sanding and a nice primer should do the trick.  Use bondo glazing putty to fill in any cracks or scratches.  Nice prime and your ready to paint.

The tank is metal therefore a differnt animal to deal with.  Filling any dings and dents is a lot harder and will show themselves later on during the game if you did not prep them correctly. 

My suggestion would be to use something that is fuel and oil proof, such as engine enamel or Krylon X-metals type of thing.  I would avoid clear coating as most spray clear coats will look really nasty if your not careful at your next fill-up or your brake fluid change.  modern auto's clear coats are baked much differently and are tougher.

I would use a nice gloss non-metallic color.  They do exist, think of 2000s BMW M3s, sick colors that are none-metallic.  The reason for non-metallic is because spray paint is already non-consistent as it is.  too many variables for an amateur to avoid.  Your too close to the tank, too far, you swung too fast or too slow at some parts.  Then you have to worry about shaking the can evenly, all the metal flakes to come out consistently out of a $5 can. 

I used Krylon X-metals and regret it.  I always get caught up on the promises on the cans but too many variables as mentioned above.

lastly, you have to do a lot of wet sanding between coats if you want a nice soft touch.  otherwise even if the paint looks good it will feel rough to the touch. 

Practice makes perfect and you need a lot of patience.  If you can afford go to a local shop with all the parts and see how much they want.  You will have a lot more riding time and less frustration which will balance out your empty pockets.

[joshr08]

you do relize that as long as theres no shine to the peice your painting the paint will stick right.  you dont have to goto bare metal of plastic.  red scotch brite pad everything your painting until its dull wipe down with a wax and grease remover and paint.

for the people that are challenged in there reading or comprehending.  you scuff everything with the red scotch brite pad until its not shiny.....(if theres rust you have to sand it done to bare metal) thats a given but i guess for some its not....... after your done scuffing everything your going to paint wipe it down with wax and grease remover to get all dust off the part your going to be painting.  then you prime and paint.  is that a little better i didnt relize i needed to speel out every little step.  maybe some of you could read older posts before you critisize me acting like i dont know what im talking about.  if you are to look at a few of my build posts youll see not only do i know what im talking about but you will see that it doesnt take as long as most people streach it out or over complicate thing.  i tore down ad rebuilt my wifes bike start to finish including body work on it in if i remember right just over 3 weeks.

maybe this one
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=46909.0
or maybe this one
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=46664.0

[KasbeKZ]

take it easy man. just cause you've rebuilt a bike doesn't mean you can't make an  incorrect post that needs to be corrected at some point.

and my reading comprehension is not challenged at all. you said "you do relize that as long as theres no shine to the peice your painting the paint will stick right". no matter what follows that, it can still be taken seriously, and is incorrect. why throw something unnecessary out there and spend your whole post saying something different, when some people might get exited about reading this easy way out and not even read the rest? again, not trying to be a butt, i just don't like to let incorrect statements pass on forums when i can correct them, because i as well as many other people use them for research and tend to believe most of what they say. so take it easy.