I'm tired of the way my bike looks, and I want to paint the whole damned thing.  I've done the fender-be-gone, the short stalk turn signals (aftermarket) and I've got the LED tail-lights on the way.  I'm thinking of painting the remaining bodywork.  I assume with the side panels I can just sand them down and paint them.  Same goes with the front fender, I assume.  How about the tank?  Should I drain it/remove it, sand the hell out of it, and paint it, or should I bring it to a body shop?  What's the best method?  FWIW, the bike's red now, and I'm thinking either blue, or black.  If I go black, should I just paint over the red with primer, and then blue or black, or should I sand first, then prime?  Never done anything like this before, so it should be interesting!

it depends on the quality you're after. You could shoot the whole thing with spray cans (can be pretty good if you have patience and follow these directions: http://www.thegsresources.com/garage/gs_repaint.htm )

But for professional quality go to a professional. shouldn't cost you more than say $500 (I think that's what everyone agreed was the going rate from a post long ago but you should have it quoted) and they can bake it on so will be MUCH better than a home job.

I suggest black. Look at Piper's bike, 2001 model painted black, no graphics. Love it.

I just recently gave my GS a new paint job.  I fortunately have a spray-gun to blast the paint on using compressed air.  Works great!  But for the tank I took the tank off, emptied it, then sand-blasted (or just sand it) down to bare metal.  Then spray a good primer down on the bare metal.  Then you will need to wet-sand it (use fine grit sand paper and water) to make the surface super smooth.  Then you are ready for you paint.  I have two coats on mine.  I bought paint with a clear coat built in.  Shines and looks great!!!  Good luck -Ryan

i used duplicolor import car paint aztec red for the bodywork and black for the frame because it was in pretty bad shape from the last time i painted it. it came out great ! pablo, what type of spray can clear should i use. i only want to do this once. taken the parts to someone to do is not an option because of money. thanks   Diaz

Prata,

Regardless of the paint, you need to get the clearcoat rough before applying any primer.  Before even sanding, you need to fill in any dents with putty and scratches with nitro-stain.  I'm currently painting my GS.  I had laid down the bike, so I had some pretty good damage.  After filling most of the dents in the tank and fenders with putty, I filled the scratches with nitro-stain, a putty-primer type substance.  Once dry, I wet sanded with 320 grit until most of the nitro-stain was gone, minus the nitro-stain filling the scratches.  Prior to primering, I went over all the pieces with 600 grit to get the dents and scratches super smooth, and to rough up the clearcoat abit.  I applied the primer, epoxy based to help stick to plastic, with a spray gun and compressor.  I am currently waiting for the gloss coat to be mixed.  Once ready, I'll put a few coats, 1 or 2 depending, then apply the clear coat.  Lot of work, but a lot cheaper if you have the tools, plus, it's a hell of a good time.  Nice to see something come together.  Best of luck!

Quote from: averagepablo, what type of spray can clear should i use. i only want to do this once. taken the parts to someone to do is not an option because of money. thanks   Diaz

Use all the same brand for primer, color and clear. Whatever brand you use they will also have a clear. make sure to at least use an automotive paint (or motorcycle paint from www.color-rite.com) instead of your usual rustoleum. Try Dupli-color, plastiKote or Tower paint.