I'm considering painting my old GS (1995). The old paint is scratched and some rust i showing along the edges of the tank.

I've seen a lot of people here have spray painted their bikes using rattle cans and got a decent result.  I'm absolutly sure I can make it look nice, but I'm a bit worried if it will last or is it just a temporary fix?

I have a compressor and paintgun, but I've never used it. How hard is it?

So what do you think? Should I go with rattlecans or the paintgun?

It's not so much the application method as the paint.

And what you should have, though some of our daredevils are evidently still posting after "cowboying" this aspect, is a supplied fresh air resipirator - at which point you might just as well make use of your spraygun, since you have it. One of the paint threads did turn up a source for two-part catalyzed paint in spray cans, but it's still deadly poison that a mere respirator without supplied air won't stop - and it's more expensive than buying paint to put through a gun.

That said, my "moderately good" (you have to see the before pictures of the paint that was on when I bought the bike to appreciate it) paint job with normal one-part rattlecan paint is holding up fine so far. That's going on two years, and a net investment of $15 or so - not too bad on $/time.

I have not painted my bike yet but have done alot of research into painting my bike and what i have gathered as far as longevity is that the most important part to a paint job lasting is good prep.  Everything seems to come down to the prep.  

I am planning on using a compressor and spray gun when i do mine and i just used it for the first time 2 weekends ago to paint an aluminum rowboat that was in desperate need of painting and once you get the paint gun dialed in it was real easy to use.  Took maybe 5 minutes of playing with the knobs to get it dialed in.

Spray paint isn't very wear resistant. To be fair, I used the automotive Duplicolor stuff and it says you should use the clear coat for a more durable finish. I didn't bother to go that far because the stuff is incredibly thin and hard to get a nice coat without dust or drips and sags in it.

What ever you decide dont paint over the rust!

You can do some amazing things with rattle cans. Here's a walkthrough from the master...

How to paint a motorcycle without a compressor & spray gun

Quote from: burning1 on July 08, 2010, 02:27:14 PM
You can do some amazing things with rattle cans. Here's a walkthrough from the master...

How to paint a motorcycle without a compressor & spray gun

Awesome!

Thanks for the link.

What supplies would I need if I wanted a matte finish though? just a few coats of one paint? Do u guys have any idea as to how much that would cost if i did it myself? preferably still spray paint and not a spray gun.

$5 if you're cheap, $10 if you're not, $15 if you are a big spender, Perhaps another $5-20 depending on how much prep work (bondo, sandpaper, etc) you need to do. Matte finish usually means you're looking for that $5 job, though we occasionally see one that's nicer than that.

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

...and there's a reason the part that gets repeated gets repeated....

Applies to painting anything, with exception of the parts specific to the tank.

Quote from: djkdjk07 on July 08, 2010, 09:28:05 PM
What supplies would I need if I wanted a matte finish though? just a few coats of one paint? Do u guys have any idea as to how much that would cost if i did it myself? preferably still spray paint and not a spray gun.

I didnt do this myself, I had a local body shop do mine. So I have no idea the cost to do it yourself. To get a really good finish on the matte black you will need to mix a clear coat and matte black I think it was 1/4 black and 3/4 clear. Not really sure. a good black primer coat, 2 coats flat black, and 1 coat of the clear mixture will give you the best results. hope this helps!

good luck, and post finished pics!

Quote from: Nber1LouFan on July 09, 2010, 07:04:28 AM

Quote from: djkdjk07 on July 08, 2010, 09:28:05 PM
What supplies would I need if I wanted a matte finish though? just a few coats of one paint? Do u guys have any idea as to how much that would cost if i did it myself? preferably still spray paint and not a spray gun.

I didnt do this myself, I had a local body shop do mine. So I have no idea the cost to do it yourself. To get a really good finish on the matte black you will need to mix a clear coat and matte black I think it was 1/4 black and 3/4 clear. Not really sure. a good black primer coat, 2 coats flat black, and 1 coat of the clear mixture will give you the best results. hope this helps!

good luck, and post finished pics!

Oh shaZam!. Is that your bike?!? that thing is SEXY. I have the naked GS so basically I just want to paint the tank and rear fairings. Want a low-cost method that still looks good pretty much.

DoD#1 thanks for the advice man. It will only cost me like 30 bucks?!?!?!? I have like no painting experience but I bet I could pull this off. Would painting the rear fairings be the same method as painting the tank? Sand, primer, sand but not too much, color of my choice, clear coat?

Thanks! And yeah deffinitly sand! get all rust off. I spent $650 on the whole paint job. took everything apart, striped the frame of everything but the engine, taped off the engine and all. Sent it to the shop in pieces. took about 30 man hours. If your is nakid it will be easy! Make sure you get the right mixture of matte black and clear coat. will give it that stealthy look that everyone loves!

Thanks for your replies and for the links.
I have thought it through and I think I will do a real paint job with 2 component paint and the paint gun. I'm gonna need some practice first.
The prep work is going to take a long time, so why not do it properly? I would hate to see the rattlecan paint dissolve if I spill a drop of gas on the tank.

What are the steps for a proper paint job? I'm thinking:
1. sand of the paint
2. Apply primer
3. apply filler
4. sand (600 grid?)
5. Apply first layer of paint
6. dry. Then second layer
7. Clear coating. 2-3 layers?
8. Wax

Those are the steps I took when I did my bike.

Remember the resperator whilst painting (and even sanding tbh), its important!

Also remember to CLEAN the surfaces, and keep them clean. It will make your paint job last much longer as the paint is sticking to the bike, not some random bits of dust/dirt.

If you are adding any details, stripes or shapes etc, use tape that isn't paper based, otherwise the paint will bleed and ruin the effect you were going for (I learn't that from experience) Use painters detailing tape if you need to.

Remember to let each layer dry out correclty, read the instructions on your paint to know how long to wait.

I used the Spray can method and purchased some petrol resistant clear coat, works great, I'm not the greatests at not spilling things and its held up for a year so far with my abuse.

Conoral11

do a good wet sanding after the initial sanding. 600g

Quote from: burning1 on July 08, 2010, 02:27:14 PM
You can do some amazing things with rattle cans. Here's a walkthrough from the master...

How to paint a motorcycle without a compressor & spray gun

Back from the dead but it is a flippin awesome write up.

Preparation and application are always the key to a decent paint job.

Search 'acrylic urethane' and my paint thread should be at the tippy top. Shows how little it takes to do it right.

All rattle can with rattled matte clear coat.

You have to be careful when gassing up or you would have to sand and clear again.

I'm surprised nobody pointed it out, but the clear coat is extremely important. I've always gone with 2k Clear - it's a 2 part rattle can system and works great. Only bad part is that once you mix the 2 parts, you have to use the entire can in 24 hours.