I just had a crazy idea.  Has anyone tried to paint their bike with retroreflective paint?  I was thinking it'd be pretty cool to buy motorcycle paint, mix in those retroreflective glass beads, then spray it on the bike and clear coat it.

Any thoughts?

Red reflective flame-job on a pearl black bike.

With white rims. :mrgreen:

Quote from: xtalmanI just had a crazy idea.  Has anyone tried to paint their bike with retroreflective paint?  I was thinking it'd be pretty cool to buy motorcycle paint, mix in those retroreflective glass beads, then spray it on the bike and clear coat it.

Any thoughts?

Done right it would be very subtle in the daylight and VERY hard to miss at night.  I like the idea - if you follow-up let us know what it costs.

i can get the glass beads for nothing, DOT approved at that. nut unless your spraying with a sifter, it aint gonna happen.

BlueKnyt, can you explain a little more?  I'm not familiar with a sifter.  What does it do?  Would it be better to paint the parts, then "sprinkle" the glass beads on it while the paint is still wet instead of mixing the paint and beads together?  Also, where can you get the glass beads?

I'm thinking of testing this idea out before talking to a paint shop, see if I like the results first.

Quote from: xtalmanI just had a crazy idea.  Has anyone tried to paint their bike with retroreflective paint?  I was thinking it'd be pretty cool to buy motorcycle paint, mix in those retroreflective glass beads, then spray it on the bike and clear coat it.

Any thoughts?

The negative side to it will be that you will not be able to get a smooth finish.  the glass bead is very small but still tends to make for a rough surface.  

In the end you will be able to make the bike look cool from ten or twenty feet away but as you get close the finish will not be a smooth as regular paint.  The glass bead that I have seen is designed for function and not for finish so it tends to be have that fire hydrant road sign look.

It would look cool at night

<preamble>i know nothing</preamble>

couldn't you just paint over  the paint/bead job with something clear? (lacquerish?). that should smooth it out

Quotecouldn't you just paint over the paint/bead job with something clear? (lacquerish?). that should smooth it out

also known as clear coat

Quote from: luke1645

Quotecouldn't you just paint over the paint/bead job with something clear? (lacquerish?). that should smooth it out

also known as clear coat

hehe..I even put that in my first post!  Well, it still seems like a cool idea to me.  This is something I'm going to keep thinking about for a while.

Still not sure what I'd do, though.  Maybe a Tron-inspired light cycle?

a sifter is a device used to sperate granuals, grains,sand, dirt from rocks, "sift flour" or powered suger onto cakes

Quote from: xtalman

Still not sure what I'd do, though.  Maybe a Tron-inspired light cycle?

hell yeah, that would be sweet

i love that movie