Painting a bike
Discussion
OK, so I want one of the new satin black bikes that seem to be the rage at the moment (unless I go for a red ducati)
Been looking at several, and the new Aprilia RSV does come in this colour...most of the 04/05 models are red and/or silver. What is involved in changing the colour? There is not THAT much paint on them, is there?...front fairing, seat section and tank it seems.
Is it a stupid thing to even think about taking the bits off and having them painted? Or painting them myself. I did paint a whole car with spray cans when I was 18, but that car was worthless and I had all the time on the world...
I'm talking an original colour scheme for the bike, not a fancy 'candy apple' OCC paint job, or pictures of naked ladies...
Been looking at several, and the new Aprilia RSV does come in this colour...most of the 04/05 models are red and/or silver. What is involved in changing the colour? There is not THAT much paint on them, is there?...front fairing, seat section and tank it seems.
Is it a stupid thing to even think about taking the bits off and having them painted? Or painting them myself. I did paint a whole car with spray cans when I was 18, but that car was worthless and I had all the time on the world...
I'm talking an original colour scheme for the bike, not a fancy 'candy apple' OCC paint job, or pictures of naked ladies...
I've painted old bikes with cans myself and have resprayed whole cars etc. properly. No painter by trade, just someone who knows how to. I do know a pro-painter though so have learned some interesting stuff. Basically, don't do it yourself. I did a CBX750F for my Brother-in-Law. I bought the best acrylic paint they could put in cans from a local auto-paint factor, a year later he spilled petrol on the tank and it damaged the paint 
To do it right you need to use decent 2-pack paint and that just isn't an option for home use - it's highly toxic (cyanide). You could use 2-pack without the hardener (that's the toxic bit) but then it takes ages to dry, hours and even days (yes, I've done that too on an NC30 I had).No reason you couldn't prep it all up yourself then get the panels painted by a decent bodyshop though.
To do it right you need to use decent 2-pack paint and that just isn't an option for home use - it's highly toxic (cyanide). You could use 2-pack without the hardener (that's the toxic bit) but then it takes ages to dry, hours and even days (yes, I've done that too on an NC30 I had).No reason you couldn't prep it all up yourself then get the panels painted by a decent bodyshop though.
Edited by yellowvette on Monday 19th February 17:46
yellowvette said:
I've painted old bikes with cans myself and have resprayed whole cars etc. properly. No painter by trade, just someone who knows how to. I do know a pro-painter though so have learned some interesting stuff. Basically, don't do it yourself. I did a CBX750F for my Brother-in-Law. I bought the best acrylic paint they could put in cans from a local auto-paint factor, a year later he spilled petrol on the tank and it damaged the paint
To do it right you need to use decent 2-pack paint and that just isn't an option for home use - it's highly toxic (cyanide). You could use 2-pack without the hardener (that's the toxic bit) but then it takes ages to dry, hours and even days (yes, I've done that too on an NC30 I had).No reason you couldn't prep it all up yourself then get the panels painted by a decent bodyshop though.
Most modern 2 pack is water based, but does need to be low baked at around70-80 degrees C though... To do it right you need to use decent 2-pack paint and that just isn't an option for home use - it's highly toxic (cyanide). You could use 2-pack without the hardener (that's the toxic bit) but then it takes ages to dry, hours and even days (yes, I've done that too on an NC30 I had).No reason you couldn't prep it all up yourself then get the panels painted by a decent bodyshop though.
Edited by yellowvette on Monday 19th February 17:46
I did my bike myself (see poor photo in profile), although had the availability of a low bake oven where I was doing the spraying.
Most of the work is in the preparation. The spraying part isn't difficult, you just need to keep the gun moving in broad strokes and try and keep the nozzle the same distance from the surface whatever angle the panel is....
fergus said:
Most modern 2 pack is water based, but does need to be low baked at around70-80 degrees C though...
I did my bike myself (see poor photo in profile), although had the availability of a low bake oven where I was doing the spraying.
Most of the work is in the preparation. The spraying part isn't difficult, you just need to keep the gun moving in broad strokes and try and keep the nozzle the same distance from the surface whatever angle the panel is....
I did my bike myself (see poor photo in profile), although had the availability of a low bake oven where I was doing the spraying.
Most of the work is in the preparation. The spraying part isn't difficult, you just need to keep the gun moving in broad strokes and try and keep the nozzle the same distance from the surface whatever angle the panel is....
I'd agree with that Fergus. I haven't used water-based stuff myself, but many people have said it's not as easy to use as solvent based paint.
As for the art of spraying, again I agree, but would caution that it's not something everyone seems able to do. I've seen some truly horrendous spraying, so too the OP - if you haven't done it before, get plenty of practice. AFAIK, Satin and Matt colours can't be flatted and polished (which can hide mistakes) - unless someone knows different ?
yellowvette said:
julianb said:
it's the laquer that needs to be up to the job of resisting petrol etc. Not neccessarily the paint.
True, but you wouldn't use lacquer on a satin black paint though, because that would make it gloss.
I'm not sure. Clear coats can be matt as well as gloss.
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