sac98281
Registered
Here are two pics of what the bike did look like:
Preperation
Tools and equipment
ABS pipe glue
Bondo
Fiberglass repair kit
Several pieces of 320 & 600 grit Wet sandpaper. Wood sandpaper will disintegrate.
Wire wheel for hand-drill or Air tool sander wheel (if planning to take the gas tank down to metal).
Step 1: Removing decals
I tried Acetone, WD-40 and a hair dryer. For the decals that did come off, the hair dryer seemed to work best.
Step 2: Removing rubber washers
Remove anything that you don’t want to get paint on such as all grommets/rubber washers etc
I should have covered the lock mechanism for the trunk; it won’t move as good now. I also should have removed the gas cap on the tank for better paint flow.
Step 3: Sanding (before repairing)
Wet sand with 320 down to the surface that you plan on putting primer on. There is no point in filling scratches with bondo if you sand right through them. I did not take my sanding to bare plastic. I sanded down to the factory base coat and farther for the bad areas.
Step 4: Repairing
I filled in scratches with bondo, sanded (with 320) and then repeated several times. For the broken tab, I used ABS glue (commonly used for joining pipes because it chemically bonds/melts the plastics together). It worked out very well; sanded off the extra glue. For the hole, I fiber glassed the back side of the panel and filled in the front side with more of that ABS glue.
Step 5: Sanding and Cleaning
Wet sand with 600 grit. You can add a drop of dish soap to your water bucket or container to allow the sandpaper to slide easier. Warm water seemed to go faster. Also, you should let the sandpaper soak in water for a few minutes before starting, especially when you get up into the higher grits later on. This is to prevent you from making deep sanding scratches; which happens when using dry sandpaper. I used rubbing alcohol on a rag before each painting session to remove dust and grease.
Painting
Tools and equipment
Painter’s plastic
Staple gun
Fan
$10 heater
Pieces of wire to hang parts
Rubbing alcohol
Rags, lots of rags
Disposable automotive towels
I used old tires to prop pieces up; great for the gas tank.
A work bench
Respirator (is a must)
Paint suit or hat (I didn’t use one)
Disposable latex gloves (wished I used them)
At least two halogen work-lights (doubles as a heat source)
Step 0: Paint booth
I put up plastic on all six sides and on the work bench with the staple gun.
Step 1: Primer
I will go into the advantages and disadvantages of using aerosol and HVLP later. These next steps are all using aerosol AKA “the rattle canâ€
Clean your work-piece with rubbing alcohol. Best thing to do is hang the work-piece about shoulder level; if that’s not possible, improvise. Make sure the temperature is correct for painting. Begin. I usually did the edges first and then overlapped my paint spray by 50% and worked my way down. Release the nozzle/trigger for every back & forth. You want to try to get a wet look but without runs. A good light source will help you see where you are lingering. A light coat is the best first coat and then put it on thick. I think I did three to four coats of primer. On some of the pieces, I sanded the primer down and then hit it again. The gas tank was really bad, the result of the grinder and taking it to metal. I primed the tank four times.
Step 2: Sanding (taking note of primer drying times)
I hit the primer with 600 grit and then 1000. With the 1000 grit you don’t have to sand deep. It is more of a feel thing. When the paper moves more easily, then you are done. All you have to do with this high grit stuff is knock down the bumps and ridges left by the 600 grit paper; it doesn’t take much.
Step 3: Base coat (color coat)
Clean with alcohol. Do the same process as above. The more coats you put on the less you have to worry about sanding through the base coat to the primer. I would say a minimum of 3 coats but 5 would be best (noting that the thickness of HVLP coats is much greater than aerosol).
You have a chance to save money here and use it on buying lots of clear coat. In my opinion clear coat thickness is much more important.
Step 4: Sanding (if you can put a finger nail into it, then its not dry enough) I started with warm water, drop of dish soap, and soaked the sandpaper a few minutes. I proceeded with 1000 grit, and don’t remember but might have moved up to 1500 grit. 1000 is smooth enough. The clear coat is where you can go hay-wire with 2 and 3000 grit. If you start with a gloss base coat, then the clear will bring the sanded surface back to life; so don’t worry.
Step 5: Decals
Clean with Alcohol. Apply any decals you have bought. I used black chrome vinyl decals and windex to move them into position. Note: do not place decals in windex until you remove the backing. What a nightmare, the backing dissolves and sticks to the decal glue. BTW do not sand the decals, duh.
Step 6: Clear coat
Clean with alcohol. Do same process as above. Do three coats of clear, sand with 1500, 2000, and 3000 (noting that 1000 grit is fine finish and 3000 grit is borderline transparency). You don’t need to do the high grit sanding. Apply, several more coats. If I was to do this project again, I would put on a minimum of 8 coats which gives you some sanding depth later on if you accidentally scratch your bike with your riding gear. Plus if you do it right, 8 coats will give considerable depth of reflection. I was rushed at the end and wanted the bike back on the road. Otherwise, I would have kept adding more clear. Do not sand your last coat of clear.
Paint
I chose acrylic enamel as my paint. It is not the best paint; it is an old paint and I chose acrylic enamel because of how well my Dad’s 67’ Ford paint job has lasted. That is what, 42 years? and it wasn’t even clear coated. The paint was probably better quality back then.
My primer, base, and clear were all acrylic enamels.
Other options:
Polyurethanes
Lacquers (old school)
Aerosol vs HVLP[/U][/B]
Aerosol:
The good:
A motorcycle is about as big a project as you would want to do with aerosol.
Aerosol has a fine touch and fine finish as long as you don’t let the overspray that has dried in the air, fall onto the painted surface.
Had a finer spray mist than the HVLP and didn’t leave a wavy surface effect as the HVLP did (different from orange peel).
No mixing required; just shake and go.
Very portable, and no air hoses to get in the way.
To clean just turn can upside down and clear nozzle.
10 minute dry time between coats
Easier/simpler
The bad:
Overspray dries in the air and falls on surface
Thin coats means you need to put more of them on. I would say one coat of HVLP gun is same as three coats of aerosol.
You can't hold can at extreme angles but neither can the HVLP
Must wait five days before it can be sanded.
HVLP
The good:
Thick coats
More depth and mirror like
More paint for your money
Same day drying, can be sanded the next day.
Get done in half the time; covers bigger surface area
The bad:
Lobs it on (rolling surface)
Have to deal with water in hose and compressor (major problem)
Higher start up cost
Hose gets in the way; can't hold at extreme angles
15 minutes dry time between coats
After all is said and done, I would use the HVLP gun if I could find a way to stop the water pitting. I had about $300 invested in this along with five and half months because I was lazy. If you could get someone to do it professionally for $500 go for it. I enjoyed the experience of doing it myself and would do it again.
Preperation
Tools and equipment
ABS pipe glue
Bondo
Fiberglass repair kit
Several pieces of 320 & 600 grit Wet sandpaper. Wood sandpaper will disintegrate.
Wire wheel for hand-drill or Air tool sander wheel (if planning to take the gas tank down to metal).
Step 1: Removing decals
I tried Acetone, WD-40 and a hair dryer. For the decals that did come off, the hair dryer seemed to work best.
Step 2: Removing rubber washers
Remove anything that you don’t want to get paint on such as all grommets/rubber washers etc
I should have covered the lock mechanism for the trunk; it won’t move as good now. I also should have removed the gas cap on the tank for better paint flow.
Step 3: Sanding (before repairing)
Wet sand with 320 down to the surface that you plan on putting primer on. There is no point in filling scratches with bondo if you sand right through them. I did not take my sanding to bare plastic. I sanded down to the factory base coat and farther for the bad areas.
Step 4: Repairing
I filled in scratches with bondo, sanded (with 320) and then repeated several times. For the broken tab, I used ABS glue (commonly used for joining pipes because it chemically bonds/melts the plastics together). It worked out very well; sanded off the extra glue. For the hole, I fiber glassed the back side of the panel and filled in the front side with more of that ABS glue.
Step 5: Sanding and Cleaning
Wet sand with 600 grit. You can add a drop of dish soap to your water bucket or container to allow the sandpaper to slide easier. Warm water seemed to go faster. Also, you should let the sandpaper soak in water for a few minutes before starting, especially when you get up into the higher grits later on. This is to prevent you from making deep sanding scratches; which happens when using dry sandpaper. I used rubbing alcohol on a rag before each painting session to remove dust and grease.
Painting
Tools and equipment
Painter’s plastic
Staple gun
Fan
$10 heater
Pieces of wire to hang parts
Rubbing alcohol
Rags, lots of rags
Disposable automotive towels
I used old tires to prop pieces up; great for the gas tank.
A work bench
Respirator (is a must)
Paint suit or hat (I didn’t use one)
Disposable latex gloves (wished I used them)
At least two halogen work-lights (doubles as a heat source)
Step 0: Paint booth
I put up plastic on all six sides and on the work bench with the staple gun.
Step 1: Primer
I will go into the advantages and disadvantages of using aerosol and HVLP later. These next steps are all using aerosol AKA “the rattle canâ€
Clean your work-piece with rubbing alcohol. Best thing to do is hang the work-piece about shoulder level; if that’s not possible, improvise. Make sure the temperature is correct for painting. Begin. I usually did the edges first and then overlapped my paint spray by 50% and worked my way down. Release the nozzle/trigger for every back & forth. You want to try to get a wet look but without runs. A good light source will help you see where you are lingering. A light coat is the best first coat and then put it on thick. I think I did three to four coats of primer. On some of the pieces, I sanded the primer down and then hit it again. The gas tank was really bad, the result of the grinder and taking it to metal. I primed the tank four times.
Step 2: Sanding (taking note of primer drying times)
I hit the primer with 600 grit and then 1000. With the 1000 grit you don’t have to sand deep. It is more of a feel thing. When the paper moves more easily, then you are done. All you have to do with this high grit stuff is knock down the bumps and ridges left by the 600 grit paper; it doesn’t take much.
Step 3: Base coat (color coat)
Clean with alcohol. Do the same process as above. The more coats you put on the less you have to worry about sanding through the base coat to the primer. I would say a minimum of 3 coats but 5 would be best (noting that the thickness of HVLP coats is much greater than aerosol).
You have a chance to save money here and use it on buying lots of clear coat. In my opinion clear coat thickness is much more important.
Step 4: Sanding (if you can put a finger nail into it, then its not dry enough) I started with warm water, drop of dish soap, and soaked the sandpaper a few minutes. I proceeded with 1000 grit, and don’t remember but might have moved up to 1500 grit. 1000 is smooth enough. The clear coat is where you can go hay-wire with 2 and 3000 grit. If you start with a gloss base coat, then the clear will bring the sanded surface back to life; so don’t worry.
Step 5: Decals
Clean with Alcohol. Apply any decals you have bought. I used black chrome vinyl decals and windex to move them into position. Note: do not place decals in windex until you remove the backing. What a nightmare, the backing dissolves and sticks to the decal glue. BTW do not sand the decals, duh.
Step 6: Clear coat
Clean with alcohol. Do same process as above. Do three coats of clear, sand with 1500, 2000, and 3000 (noting that 1000 grit is fine finish and 3000 grit is borderline transparency). You don’t need to do the high grit sanding. Apply, several more coats. If I was to do this project again, I would put on a minimum of 8 coats which gives you some sanding depth later on if you accidentally scratch your bike with your riding gear. Plus if you do it right, 8 coats will give considerable depth of reflection. I was rushed at the end and wanted the bike back on the road. Otherwise, I would have kept adding more clear. Do not sand your last coat of clear.
Paint
I chose acrylic enamel as my paint. It is not the best paint; it is an old paint and I chose acrylic enamel because of how well my Dad’s 67’ Ford paint job has lasted. That is what, 42 years? and it wasn’t even clear coated. The paint was probably better quality back then.
My primer, base, and clear were all acrylic enamels.
Other options:
Polyurethanes
Lacquers (old school)
Aerosol vs HVLP[/U][/B]
Aerosol:
The good:
A motorcycle is about as big a project as you would want to do with aerosol.
Aerosol has a fine touch and fine finish as long as you don’t let the overspray that has dried in the air, fall onto the painted surface.
Had a finer spray mist than the HVLP and didn’t leave a wavy surface effect as the HVLP did (different from orange peel).
No mixing required; just shake and go.
Very portable, and no air hoses to get in the way.
To clean just turn can upside down and clear nozzle.
10 minute dry time between coats
Easier/simpler
The bad:
Overspray dries in the air and falls on surface
Thin coats means you need to put more of them on. I would say one coat of HVLP gun is same as three coats of aerosol.
You can't hold can at extreme angles but neither can the HVLP
Must wait five days before it can be sanded.
HVLP
The good:
Thick coats
More depth and mirror like
More paint for your money
Same day drying, can be sanded the next day.
Get done in half the time; covers bigger surface area
The bad:
Lobs it on (rolling surface)
Have to deal with water in hose and compressor (major problem)
Higher start up cost
Hose gets in the way; can't hold at extreme angles
15 minutes dry time between coats
After all is said and done, I would use the HVLP gun if I could find a way to stop the water pitting. I had about $300 invested in this along with five and half months because I was lazy. If you could get someone to do it professionally for $500 go for it. I enjoyed the experience of doing it myself and would do it again.
