How to do a basic low budget paint job

[redhenracing2]

This 'guide' is mainly just to share my personal experience/advice, as I am not a professional. This is all personal opinion. Feel free to correct me/ offer criticism, but please keep it nice.

These are the paint materials that were used-
One quart of acrylic urethane topcoat ('sour apple green metallic' in this case)= $30
One can of urethane activator= $8
The reducer pictured was not used for this, as I did not see any need to thin the paint.
Two cans of prime coat were necessary= $10


First, the plastics and tank were removed from the bike. A wire wheel attachment in a power drill was used to remove the old paint (which was not the original paint, my bike had been repainted before.) At first, sandpaper was used, but as long as it was taking I found the wire wheel to be much more effective in taking it down to the metal. It also left a nice smooth surface on the metal. It did, however, leave some gouges in the numerous bondo spots that were found all over my tank. These had to be sanded out before continuing. The tank prior to prime coat--


Next, the plastics were sanded down to the original paint, which was a bright metallic PURPLE. Seriously. After they were nice and smooth, they were primed with the primer/sealer pictured, which works VERY well. It fills in all the little nicks and dimples and leaves everything nice and smooth. I had my 'helper' tape up my helmet to prime and paint as well.--


Once everything was primed and ready to go, I set up my work area. It was basically a large piece of plywood over a pair of sawhorses behind my garage. It is a small, closed in space, so overspray to other areas was minimized. This was an important factor, as the Fury, the Super Bee, and the Duster were all out in the yard being washed and detailed. Any overspray on them would be worse than dividing by zero   --


With my workstation set up, I got the compressor and the gun ready. My spray gun is a Husky grativy-feed unit which was about $35 and works very well. The compressor doesnt have to be anything fancy, this one I borrowed from a neighbor.--


The paint is to be mixed with the activator at a 4:1 ratio, 4 parts paint to 1 part activator. DO NOT try to mix this in a plastic cup. I made a mess doing so. Apparently this type of paint eats right through thin plastic (yet not the container on the sprayer?  ).

I used one of my chick's skateboards to get the pattern and spray ratios right on the gun, basically it was just a test run. I put some chrome stripes and a sticker to make it actually look pretty decent (even though it is a crap board).--


Once I was satisfied with the spray pattern, I started on the plastics. The trick with spraying paint is to get the coat as thick as possible without causing runs. A thicker coat will lay more smoothly and look much better than several choppy, light coats. I propped the tail pieces up against the garage to get a better angle on them --


Once everything was sprayed, it was laid in the carport to dry. Here I learned the biggest mistake that I had made: when painting outside, bugs stick to wet paint and are impossible to get out without making it worse. The few minor defects that I have are mainly due to bugs landing on the paint (and then me trying to get them out  )--


It was left to dry for about 24 hours before reassembly. Here is the tank prior to installation--


And here is my helmet (sitting on the spot where the plastic cup busted on the workbench  )--


I also hit the ring around the gas hole (not sure what to call it?  ) with some chrome spray paint and did the center with black. Of course, the first time I filled up the tank a single drop fell (in slow motion) and landed on the chrome spray paint. And we all know how well spray paint holds up against gas . . . . anywho . . . pic upon reassembly--


The final product--


All in all, this was done in about six hours (plus 24 hours drying time) and for about $50-60 worth of materials (plus the gun and compressor, which are easily borrowable). The results? The next day seven different people asked me if I got a new bike. Seriously. Plus the countless amount of people that just recognized the fresh paint, I haven't heard the end of it. I am very pleased with it. Please let me know what you think  

[ver4]

Looks good.  I may have to try this during the winter.

[DoD#i]

Your respirator seems to be missing... From what little I can make out of the text on the cans, this is modern, really, really bad to inhale paint, no? Sure you're doing it outside, but as you say, in a fairly enclosed area.... Yeesh.

[scottpA_GS]

Looks GREAT! nice work! 

[Dj Hunny]

Very nice, looks really clean 

[ohgood]

I used one of my chick's skateboards to get the pattern and spray ratios right on the gun, basically it was just a test run. I put some chrome stripes and a sticker to make it actually look pretty decent (even though it is a crap board).--



The final product--

tthat's the coolest thing i've read on a forum in months. and the picture that goes with that highlighted quote- cool. the job looks great man, rock on.

[mister]

And the side of the house? Hope you ain't renting 

Bike looks good. 

Michael

[dohabee]

And the side of the house? Hope you ain't renting 

Bike looks good. 

Michael

Did you mean to paint the side of the house?

Paint job looks really nice, I am impressed and tempted to try it on my tank.

[cboling]

That was going to be my question. Did you spray right up against the house? Not back drop. Hope your landlord or parents don't kill you.

Otherwise, like I said before. AWWWWWEEEEESSSSSSSOOOOMMMMME! I love that color green. My absolute most favorite color in the world. If I had been able to find that specific color in a rattle can I would have done that instead of Red. Now that I have done the red, I may change the color and go with professional paints using green.

One other question. Does that paint resist gas splatters better than rattle can. Mine does not.

Cool.

[bassmechanicsz]

So all you used was a primer and a topcoat?  Where did you buy the topcoat and urethane activator from?  I have been thinking of painting my bike but just have been lazy and reading through this thread has motivated me to actually do it agian. 

The green looks awesome.

[DoD#i]

Looks like:

http://www.summitracing.com/search/Department/Paints-Finishing/

[jamez667]

Hey, off topic question but what exhaust can is that? it looks to me like you didn't need an adapter to slip it on

[noiseguy]

  You should *never* paint urethane with no mask, even outside. That stuff will make you sick sick sick. Urethane's a really hot paint; even with acrylic enamels outside I wear a mask. It's a $25 investment in your continued good health.

You can get the bugs and crud out with a color sand and buff out after the paint has dried. On an enamal, 2000 grit sandpaper and a polishing compound on a lambswool wheel will work wonders. Check the paint application manual with your paint for what they recommend; as I recall urethanes need to sit 1 week if you don't do them immediately after flash-over. As an added benefit it will make the paint look deeper.

[Roguesuzuki]

Got to admit, turned out looking pretty good! 

[gs500Ant]

good job mate,

dont suppose your 'helper' came in a can to?? if so which paint shop was that!

[redhenracing2]

noiseguy: thanks for the advice, I was planning on doing that this weekend. after riding it for a while, the defects really pop out at you. and as far as a respirator, I wish I had used one because I was coughing up green stuff for a couple of days. that wasnt the most fun.

gs500ant: no, I caught her when she fell from heaven 

jamez667: it is an RS Type muffler that was meant for my cousin's Civic. Easy installation, the hardest part was finding pipes that could weld together to get the right angle. How it sat before--


bassmechanicsz: I bought them directly from the Summit store. I was there picking up some Hookers for the Super Bee and it was kind of spontaneous. But that link to the Summit website should show the same thing

mister/dohabee/cboling: that back side of the garage is the only thing that hadn't been repainted yet. The house and the other sides of the garage were already painted. Look closely and you can see the caulk lines between the boards. Itll get painted some time next week.

Thanks everyone for the positive feedback! 

Pic from last night as I was leaving work--

[yooblonder]

Yeah, nice job.  Even your wheels look great in that last photo!

[gregvhen]

Hey nice job, but its actually best not to sand down to the metal because new paint sticks better to old paint than to bare sanded metal.  you still have to sand, just not all the way to metal.

[cyberdork]

I was debating painting my bike with a monster theme but can't bring myself to it unless I can do a professional job and have the paint be durable. Can anyone explain the process including sanding? Oh and great job on the bike and house 

[kyle_99_gtp]

looks great man, the prep work you did made the paint job! that holds true for any painting, the prep work makes the paint job. I've seen maaco paint jobs that look better and were better than paint with $1,000's into them, just because the person prepped the car themselves before taking it in for paint.