Why do people take a perfectly good bike and rattle can paint it?

i'll withhold my comments for now.
just a question.

In my case, because someone else dropped it, scraped it up, and rattlecanned it, and my rattlecan job is better.

I think it's fairly unusual (though not unheard of) for people to rattlecan a "perfectly good" factory paintjob, but once the paint is scraped up, the math changes.

What do you mean by "perfectly good" bike?  If you mean a good paint job and no dents/rust etc then I guess it may come down to money or just hating the paint job and needing something temporary.  I know there is one guy on the forum that rattle canned a paint job that looked like a discotheque threw up all over it...it had all kinds of weird colors and stripes.  He rattled it and I think it's two colors with the fairing and it looks much better even though it is only meant to be temporary.

I've been thinking about it as a temporary for my bike.  There are some scratches on the plastic and some chips in the tank so I was thinking of doing it as a stop gap measure until I could have it done "right".  As for looks I could care less, I may even just do the tank and front plastics since thats the main problem areas and let the rest go until early winter/spring when I'll have it done correctly.

What I don't understand is the people that put tons of time into doing a pretty good rattle can job.  I guess it comes down to funds but I would rather work the hours needed to pay for a pro job and have it done right.  I'm not knocking the ones that are talented or patient or just have the time to do it, but I prefer to let someone who is much better at it do the work.  I know that if I did it with proper prep, and wet sanding, and hours of work...it would still look like a pretty crappy paint job.  But then I've seen some that looked really well, especially the flat colors.  I also wonder how they hold up to spills and gas etc as compared to a "real" paint job.

Ultimately though it comes down to personal choice and what it is you want.  If someone puts a couple of grand into performance mods and then $40 into paint, I may question it but it's his bike.  Maybe he cares no less about the look of the bike and only wants utility or performance.  Either way it's his bike and up to him.

I had a tank on an old GS400 that was a little rusty, so I decided to rattle can it. I used a clearcoat and everything. It looked really good, until I filled it up with gas. What a disaster. I'll never rattlecan ANYTHING that comes with 15 feet of gasoline

1.  Some of the rattlecan jobs I've seen on this site look great.  

2.  Variety is the spice of life.  You may not want your bike rattle canned, but the world is more interesting because not everyone is like you.

3.  Necessity.  If a plastic section breaks on my '89, I'm buying a used one of a different color for cheap and painting it for cheap.  I'll put the time in to prep it because thats what brings me satisfaction, but I'm not dropping much money into my $800 bike.

Is that where the saying "Different strokes...(of the paint brush!!)..for different folks " came from?

My bike was cheap because it had been written off at 3,500km. The guy selling it had got it roadworthy and registered but it had no tacho and there's a big dent in the top of the tank where the bars hit it. I got a tacho on eBay and am living with the dent. I brush painted where there was bare metal to stop it rusting and I really don't mind too much how it looks, as long as it goes, its how I get to work. One day I might have spare time and get motivated to fix it, in the meantime I'm considering a cheap custom paint job....brush painting a big pink band-aid over the damage!

I painted my bike from a ghey ass yellow to red. I aint riding no taxi or school bus so why paint a bike yellow. I did my primer and base coat with a rattlecan and the clear with my gun( didnt want to keep cleaning the gun so I got spray cans) I have spilled gas on the tank more than once and its fine never really clean the gas just used my glove.

well mine was not perfect but i did mine to clean it up a little . I dont mind doing it myself because it kinda makes it my own . Every little thing i do to it makes it more and more me . And less like every other gs out there .

But i think my attitude comes from owning and wheeling a jeep . The more things i can build on it myself, even if there not the best looking in the world, the better

Im cheap and it matches my helmet.  Also, did it myself.   I love it.

Quote from: werase643 on August 18, 2008, 07:58:29 AM
Why do people take a perfectly good bike and rattle can paint it?

i'll withhold my comments for now.
just a question.

The same reason I powdercoat the frame ... it annoys the crap out of you ... 
Cool.
Buddha.

Quote from: werase643 on August 18, 2008, 07:58:29 AM
Why do people take a perfectly good bike and rattle can paint it?

i'll withhold my comments for now.
just a question.

It is just like using a hammer to service carbs.

D,
don't give away Bud-duh's secret

Whaaaa ... bwaaa bwaaa ... my secrets are out ... 
OK OK new secret ... from now on I'll powdercoat carbs ... tee heee that's what I'll do ... 
Cool.
Buddha.

I did my own respray, and I think it looks better. See the link at the bottom of my post. It's been a few months now and it's holding up really well. I used a petrol-resistant coating which does the job perfectly well.

My bike is ten years old. It cost very little. I wasn't about to pay a huge whack of money to improve it when it seems I could do it very well myself for a fraction of the cost. Also, there's the satisfaction of doing it yourself, EXACTLY the way you want it.

Quote from: dgyver on August 18, 2008, 07:15:45 PM

Quote from: werase643 on August 18, 2008, 07:58:29 AM
Why do people take a perfectly good bike and rattle can paint it?

i'll withhold my comments for now.
just a question.

It is just like using a hammer to service carbs.

Exactly. I resprayed my own bike, however we do all sorts of bikes cars, bits of equipment and have a proper setup for it, temporary booth, with fan ventilation and use a high quality wolf compressor and top of the range paint gun. These days you paint mostly in 2pac. However for special jobs different paint has to be used for different applications, such as gel coat or what have you.

I couldn't ever paint from a rattlecan. 1.) I don't do half arsed paint jobs, i.e. paint ontop of unprepared paintwork or whatever. 2.) if i go to all the effort of wetsanding and entire panel, moving to finer and finer grades to get the perfect surface to paint. I maintain a clean environment for the whole time and spend hours. I don't then want to pull out a fricking rattle can where the paint gets blocked in the nozzel (trust me guys it does regardless of what you believe) you can an uneven finish prone to orange peal. Why not just do it properly, you go to the effort finish it off right. You would be better picking up a cheap compressor and paint gun and teaching yourself. Atleast you've learned a new skill. Also lots of people who do rattle can jobs never use a clear coat afterwards, or sand back the paint. You should always sand back everytime with fine grade wet and dry to get the pefect surface for the next coat of paint, and then for the clear coat. Also you need to make sure you have a RESISTANT clear coat, and resistant paint to things like gas because otherwise you spill it and instantly it starts desolving the paint and smearing it and discolouring it (even from fumes).

If your going to do a job do it properly is my motto. However i guess im fortunate enough to have the equipment to do it.

I can do better paint jobs with a can than some with a gun its all about prep. like I said I did my bike red with a can I sanded down the factory yellow, shot a few coat of primer filler(can) let it sit then sanded until smooth ass a babies ass shot the color( rustolium pro spray can) did another 3-4 coats wetsanded shot the clear using my Sata HVLP gun (the clear was duplicolor paint shop) did the clear 2-3 coats the wet sanded again and buffed then waxed. didnt spend too much time cleaning my gun after each use. the can I used never clogged once you get a few tips keep them in acetone while spraying with one once you get done with a few panels change the tip. I never once had any issues with cans or guns I prefer both but it all depends on where I am, If I was at work in my booth than a gun would have been used cause I have a gun cleaner but in my garage or outside a can works good.

Oh yea ... as long as you paint it and drop it off on the next guy its all good.
Have you checked how long it looks good before turning into powder, ir getting scratched up with a tank bag, or get other crap.
The factories did a lot of crap to save a freaking penny here or a nickel there ... literally, 25 cents worth of nickel in the steel they spec and buy, will make sure the damn steel never ever ever ever rusts (not sure if its 25cents, but a few Oz in a bike and a pound or so in a car is what I have heard).
Paint however they cannot be matched. they are first off working with clean new new new metal. Stuff we can only dream about. Then they have large paint booths, forced air, heat and humidity controlled holding areas ... they stamp it, weld it, clean it, dry it with heat, spray it, and cure it in such a clean and controlled environment ... you'd be hard pressed to find anything even close.
They also have 100% recovery systems, they can use paint that is so caustic it will give you emphesyma in minutes, and has lead or other prohibited substances in it cos it was done before lead free paints came into force.
They wanted the bike to let us down after warranty was done, not for it to look ugly on the floor. Look pretty, be full of internal problems ...
Cool.
Buddha.