First Time Paint Job

[Scottinaz]

Lookin good. I just laid primer on mine this morning. Should be where you are at in about a week or three

[Pokegama]

Great write up...thanks for all the great information.

[sunnbobb]

Thanks for the story. It is rewarding when it works out isn't it? I enjoy the Zen of painting, once the Hell of prepping is done! lol

[Cakey]

Yeh your not wrong Sunnbobb. Its a bit painful doing it but when you are bolting the panels on the bike its a great feeling.

Wasn't to much of my time though

1 day paint stripping and rubbing back panels
1/2 day prep, primer painting
1/2 day rubbing back and re doing areas
1/2 day paint back panels
1/2 day paint top of panels

Very Zen and I was on holidays so it's always good not to have to think about work.

[Track T 2411]

Great write-up! And even greater results! Your bike looks AWESOME!

Good wrenchin'
Todd

[sunnbobb]

Shows why having someone paint is so expensive. Call it 24 hrs of work at $35 per hour and add in paint that is typically around $90 a quart...

[Whiskerfish]

Gonna move this over to the How too forum but leave a link here

[Fred Camper]

I agree on all the great detail above. When sanding, depending on what you are looking for going up to 2000 is not a bad idea. For me that really helped it after doing 1500 and 1800. Made it look like a clear coat almost.

[Scratcher09]

Great job. Your bike looks good. I didn't see you mention tack cloths. It's a good idea to wipe everything down with a tack cloth right before each stage of painting to get rid of dirt particles. In my opinion, a 2K primer (catalyzed) should be used because it is more durable. Also, for any beginners out there, it is important to get the right kind of gun. It's not about pressure--that is misleading. It's all about volume which is measured in CFM. Unless you have a monster compressor like body shops you need to find a gun that requires a smaller amount of CFM's. Good professional guns can cost between $300-$800! But there are decent guns in the $100-$150 range that will yields great results. I've used $600 guns and I can get almost the same results with my $140 Concours from Eastwood. I also have a Finish Line which is a good low cost gun. The prep work will make or break a paint job and whether your goal is to save some cash or just for the personal satisfaction, it's awesome when all your hard work has payed off.

[Cakey]

Good input Scratcher09. I don't have enough experience to comment on that stuff but understand where you are coming from. I have not heard of scratch cloths before, maybe not a term they use here or possibly my lack of knowledge.

I ended up giving a light rub with 1500 wet and dry to remove a small amount of orange peel and after that I have cut and polished with Farecla G6 rapid. It's come up like glass and I'm really happy.

Hopefully I can post some pics when decals are on. Or maybe some extra pics of putting the decals on.

[Fred Camper]

I was certainly surprised how well orange peel can be corrected if the prep was perfect and one works the grit up during sanding to the 2000 grit area. A tack cloth is like a piece of medical cloth that has a light stickiness. When you wipe a surface, dust is attracted to the tack cloth and not pushed aside. Bet you have them downunder perhaps with a different name.

[Scratcher09]

I agree about working through the grits. I use 1500, 2000, then 2500. I put a tiny drop of shampoo in a spray bottle with water for wet sanding. The shampoo acts as lube. The higher you go, the easier it will be to cut and polish. To try and reduce orange peel, try increasing your pressure. You may find you get better results going a bit higher than the recommended pressure. Again, this actually has to do more with volume (CFM) than pressure.

[Scratcher09]

I hang pieces using wire from clothes hangers. If you use string or thin wire the pieces tend to spin while you are spraying but the thick wire won't twist on you.