Topic: Home painting jobs... any pics?

[Toddbrown]

I am debating if I should have my tank painted by a pro or do it myself with good quality spray paint and clear coat.

[78_SaltLick]

buy a bike with a good paint job! shake cans suck

I tried painting one of my sidecovers a week back. Bought a rattle can of automotive paint that matched, i sanded it, and primerd it, then spray painted it.......the problem with rattle cans are you do not get a consistant spray, you wind up getting drips no matter how much you shake the can. One drip and your screwed, whole thing has to be scraped off and reprimered/painted again. I must have tried about 6 times before giving up. Maybe it was just the can i had, i dont know. It was impossible to not get drips of paint on it. If your going to do a whole bike, for gods sake at least get a good spray gun for the paint.

[Geeto67]

The secret to a good rattle can job is to lay on very light dust coats before you go into a heavier coat so you don't get runs. Typically the frist three coats out of a rattle can for me won't even cover the whole part. After I have enough coverage I usually sand and polish. 90% of the paint work is in the prep, and I have seen some amazing paint jobs out of a can. Unfortunatly the most amazing spray can job was only as good as the better than average out of a gun, a spray gun and high quality automotive paint can mke good bodywork outstanding. If you are looking to shoot that 70's metal flake like the factory used or any kind of candy a spray gun is what you need.

I have a 750 body set that someone else painted for a project, it is a home paint job and not too bad. Once on the bike nobody notices that it is not perfect and it shines harder than my spray can kawi green racebike.

[heffay]

saltlick~
are you spraying from above or from a horizontal angle... if it is the latter, i would say you bought some cheap crap.  granted... most rattle cans are cheap (inexpensive) but, there are some that outperform. 
also, keep your finger from getting in the way of the spray... this is the number one cause for drips out of a rattle can... was the tip of your finger painted too? 

[eldar]

What style of paint gun would be better? Compressed air or electric? This is also dependent on the type of paint used.

What is best for a gas tank?  ALso since my tank got hammered by hail a couple years ago, what works best for fixing dents that cannot be hammered out?

[Gordon]

I did the paint job myself on my 400F tank after pricing good-condition used tanks, and calling around for estimates on a professional job.  I spent about $250 on a HVLP spray gun and paint supplies (already had a compressor).  I think it turned out really nice, but it took a lot of work!  90% of that work is in the prep.  If you don't have a good surface to start with, it will never look good. 

Here's a picture.  This tank was stripped chemically and mechanically, smoothed and dents filled with body filler, two coats of primer, four coats of color, and three coats of clear.

[Bob Wessner]

Gordon,

Looks great! Do you have a paint booth set up at home, etc?

[Uncle Ernie]

Krylon makes a real good can. Takes practice, though too.  You also need to figure out if you're doing a resto or glam job. It's not like you could comb your hair in the factory paint.  Personally- I've done it both ways and I've finally found a really good painter who does a good job. I'm sticking with him.

[kghost]

You can get a god result withou spending $$$

A small pint size sprayer will work, no need for a quart size, or HVLP set up. (thought their great)

A reasonably priced gun works ok for small jobs once and a while.

you will need a compressor though. Oil less are best for paint. Fit it with a dryer

This was painted in my shop, no booth....

[Bob Wessner]

A small pint size sprayer will work, no need for a quart size, or HVLP set up.

Can you provide an example?

[cd811]

tanks are rattle can high temp chevolet orange with high temp clear on top.
I've seen much better paint jobs(pro), but this was cheap.
dents and scratchs are cheap to fix.
good enough for me.
it's your personal call!!

[heffay]

cd... that is one suhweet bike you have there    tell me, is the orange inside the exhaust still there?  that seat looks quite uncomfortable though.  where does the passenger put her legs?  do you not have any brakes? 

[Gordon]

Gordon,

Looks great! Do you have a paint booth set up at home, etc?

No paint booth.  I just put a drop cloth over anything I didn't want covered with a fine dusting of red, and a box fan in the window for ventilation.  I also wore a ventilator mask to save the last few brain cells I still have. 

[cd811]

thanks heffay
the orange in the pipe was just for #$%* and giggles but it still there, just darker...lol
yea <I got rear brakes...the front end came with some 6 piston cailipers but I got to figure out how to mount some rotors(later on my priority list) right now we share foot pegs. gonna mount some more pegs forward...soon

[pmpski_1]

Geeto is correct. Light coats, gradually getting thicker. Be patient and keep it even.

The only thing that I don't like about a can job is that you can't add any flex agent unless you get it custom mixed. There are spray cans out there that are for plastic, but it'll crack eventually, like when you remove the side covers. I painted a nice custom tiger stripe job on my nephews kart, but after a few races it looks like crap.

If you're going to do it more than once you should look for a compressor\gun setup. It'll end up being cheaper in the long run, especially if you get it slightly used somewhere. There are people out there with cans of Krylon that'll shame professional painters, but as a beginner it'll probably be easier and look nicer with a gun.

[ProTeal55]

I have done a few home paint jobs , and in the end , after all the time spent , I should of went with a bodyshop.

It is all in the prep , no doubt about that.

The tank going on the CB project is getting Rhino Lined , so prep isnt that big of a concern.

[Teach]

I used rattle cans on a project a few months back with outstanding results.  It's the fairing in the pics below.  I appologize that it's not on a SOHC4, but you'll be able to see how well it turned out regardless.  I recommend taking your time and being patient, and give it a few weeks to flash before doing the final sand and buff.  If you sand and buff and put it back on the bike too soon you'll be cussing because you'll have to take it all back off again in a couple of weeks cause it'll be orange-peely again.  Like other people have said...most of the work is in the prep, so take you time and it'll look good, no matter how the paint gets on there.

Here's some links to my rattle can project:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v312/scrcteach/harley/100_1273.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v312/scrcteach/harley/100_1270.jpg

[Patrick]

And although a couple of folks have touched on the subject of final sanding, more specifically get acquainted with the subject of wet sanding. Use extremely fine grain sandpaper - I've found 2000 frit works best - and after the top coat is thoroughly dry you wet it with water and sand it down to that smooth finish you see coming out of professional shops. Keep dipping the sandpaper in water to wash the paint off the grit. Sanding makes drips irrelevant because you are going to sand them out. For best results, sand after priming to get a very smooth base, then sand after you put on two or three coats of color and then sand again after putting on three or four coats of clear. It makes an astonishing difference. Back in my misspent youth I was, for a time, a painter. I don't care how good you are with a spray can or a very expensive equipment you are not going to get the results you want without sanding. Lacquer can usually be sanded within an hour or two of application. For enamel I would let it set up at least 24 hours. For absolute best results, let it dry for a couple of months until it is very hard and then sand it. Use a light, but firm touch so you don't end up sanding back through the paint again.

[Lumbee]

...Todd, if you have the time I say go for it!  the worse that can happen is that u'r out $20, and if you don't like it then take it to the body shop and drop the big $$$.  And even then u'll have learned, or at least know more about paint work...heres my rattle can job...

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/marklocklear/album?.dir=42ee&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos

[KB02]

You'll never get a finish like the one in the photo with a shake can 

That sounds like a challange!!! 

 
Not one that I'm gouing to take up, but a challange none the less. 

[eldar]

What type of paint would be best suited for a tank?  How about an ABS fairing such as a windjamer? 
Will an electric gun work too?

[daninzurich]

You mentioned nothing about money?  If that is the case, don't waste your time with spray cans.  Do it right with an air gun and good quality paints.  You don't need an HVLP and a compressor.  Harbor Frieght sells some great HVLP guns for around $60.  Just be sure that your compressor and setup has several filters installed.  You don't need a paint booth.  I have painted three cars in a garage with no booth.  Just clean the surroundings very well.  You can install plastic as a booth.  The plastic can get charged and attract dust away from your work.  Dampen the floors to also keep the dust down.  The airborne paint WILL get on everything in the room.
If you do it the pro-way, you will need the matching primers/sealers and paints.
To fix your hail damage, just do a skim coat with a lighter weight body filler.  It could probably take less than two hours to to completely get your tank straight and true.

Go to the gallery.  I have posted pictures of the aerosol paint job that I did.  I could not justify the cost of materials for such a small job.  The key to nice looking aerosol work is to color sand and buff.  That removes all of the hazing and orange peel that you get with the aerosol.  The paint is NOT as durable and the color is certainly not as deep.

gallery-->  number #1127  1976 Honda CB550k

[eldar]

Ok now how about paint for metal and for plastic. If I repaint my tank, I would like to do my fairing to match since they match now but I can do without the old dark maroon color.

[Lumbee]

...someone correct me if I'm wrong...etching primer can be used on metal or plasic, so once the primer is on, it doesn't matter whats underneath...

[Wammied]

Here is a '73 500 I did with HOK root beer candy. The stripes and panel on the tank are painted.
6 coats of candy over silver metallic and 3 coats of clear color sanded.

[Chris Liston]

is that spray can or spray gun?  Looks really nice

[Kelvin8]

If you're going to use spray cans, 2 options: 1) use a water based paint, they take longer to dry and level out better than solvent base spray, giving a REALLY nice gloss to the finish, or 2) warm the paint up. Place the cans in hot tap water and let them sit for 5 minutes, you'll get a better, finer spray.

Ideally, an HVLP sprayer would be the best choice with an automotive paint.

As with any body work, PATIENCE is the key.

[Wammied]

That was done with a cheapie Astro HVLP gun in my homebrew spraybooth.
Mostly it takes patience and elbow grease to get the factory/show type finish.
Patrick is spot on with the color sanding.
Here is my booth and a couple more: