paint....

[jamesnismo]

ok so i'm thinking about painting my busa. i have a friend who has a body shop and will spray it for me. i am thinking of going flat black. first off, how much paint will i need? i'm assuming i will need a flex agent as well (for the fairings). any recommendations on paint? do i clearcoat on top of paint? can i clearcoat without getting the "shine"? and last but not least..... prep. i obviously will remove all stickers and crud, but what about actual surface prep on plastic and the tank?sorry for all the questions but i want to have all my ducks in a row before jumping in..... thanks james

 

[ralnsplder]

ok so i'm thinking about painting my busa. i have a friend who has a body shop and will spray it for me. i am thinking of going flat black. first off, how much paint will i need? i'm assuming i will need a flex agent as well (for the fairings). any recommendations on paint? do i clearcoat on top of paint? can i clearcoat without getting the "shine"? and last but not least..... prep. i obviously will remove all stickers and crud, but what about actual surface prep on plastic and the tank?sorry for all the questions but i want to have all my ducks in a row before jumping in..... thanks james

Ok actually there are alot of things to do here. you should only need a quart at the most due to adding reducer will make about 2 qts. Aslo is you want a flat color then no you do not put a clear on it, you would use a single stage paint. Clear will make it shinny. For the prep, you will have to do some sanding, you will have to knock off the paint lines from the factory, I would use like 150 to start or even 220. you don't want to take to much off and get into the plastic if you don't have too. after you get it all smooth, move up with sanding to higher grits and eventuall to like 600 800 or even 1000 wetsanding, the more you sand the better the end product will be. if your friend has a booth, he should know this and be able to tell you exactly what to do when preping, Most painters like to do their own pre work so they know it is done right (since they are the ones fixing it out of pocket if it is jacked up) You can add a flex additive, or I hear there is another product that will cause the paint to stick to the plastic better. I have always used the additive.

anyway hope that helps out some. I haven't paintet in awhile,but im sure the process hasen't changed that much. Keep in mind, flat paint is harder to keep clean