VR Paint Job.

[Condor]

i shot the front end of the '93 with spray cans, and it turned out pretty nice..... I think. Nothin' fancy, just matalic charcoal. I painted over the stripping so I'd have a reference when laying down another color. The parts have about 3 coats of paint and 3 coats of clear. Got waylaid and haven't gotten to the saddles and trunk yet.

[SilvrT]

Mortch says that spray cans are bad and you contradict with a blanket statement that Spray Cans are the same that Body Shops use and I beg to disagree.

 

Dick

 

OK, you are entitled to that. Maybe there's some mis-understanding here... I dunno... I apologize if I caused it but you (and anyone else) is entitled to disagree.

 

I did not say that "spray cans are the same as body shops use"..what I did say is "the paint is the same paint as that used in spray gun applications on any vehicle".

 

Mortch said "Do not use a spray can". I then asked "and why not?" and went on to explain further what exactly it was that I used. I still haven't gotten a clear answer to that.

 

Mortch did not say using spray cans is bad but he did imply that if you use them, you're really not serious.

 

You then disagreed with me and stated that "paint cans are either lacquer or enamel". Now, from my perspective here, I'm wondering who's giving the "blanket statements"?

 

What I do know is that I used a spray bomb. It was filled (they come pre-charged and there are machines for filling them with whatever kind of paint you want)... it was filled with automotive "base coat" color used in 2 stage paint...exactly the same paint used in auto paint shops. I stood there and watched as they mixed it and filled the spray cans. They used the exact same mixing formula from the exact same mixing machine they use to mix all the automotive colors that they distribute to the paint shops. Base color requires no special hardeners added to it just prior to spraying and that's why it can be put into a spray bomb otherwise, it would turn to gell and eventually harden inside the can. What more can I say???

 

As far as disagreeing with anyone or thing, I would have to say that I disagree with both Mortch and your statements about not using "spray cans" and neither of you have offered up any solid reason why not. I am interested in knowing "why not" though and am not opposed to changing my mind about it if anyone cares to convince me "why not".

 

A few of the members have actually seen my bike since I painted it and were quite impressed and could not believe that I used "spray bombs". Now, either their comments were genuine or they are hypocrits and were just saying those things to appease me. I prefer to believe that they were genuine.

[SilvrT]

i shot the front end of the '93 with spray cans, and it turned out pretty nice..... I think. Nothin' fancy, just matalic charcoal. I painted over the stripping so I'd have a reference when laying down another color. The parts have about 3 coats of paint and 3 coats of clear. Got waylaid and haven't gotten to the saddles and trunk yet.

 

And once you polish them out, they will look as good as any "professional" job. I have polished out most of my parts and the finish is glass smooth and produces a mirror image. I might also mention that I did not get any runs or dust particles either.

 

The only downfall to using "spray cans", IMHO, is that the area being sprayed cannot be too large. Further, you have to be quite quick and your spray stroke has to be considerably more accurate to get an even coat that properly overlaps on each spray stroke due to the quite small spray pattern of a spray bomb. The size of some of the components on our bikes I would say, is borderline on being too large for using spray bombs. Many spray bombs nowadays have a much better spray nozzle than years ago. These new style nozzles give a much better and wider spray pattern.

[matt73ander]

I've seen a couple of guys say to be ready to repair mounting tabs and I plan on trying to strip my bike down this winter and repaint and i know i have sevrals broken tabs but whats the best way to fix them

[SilvrT]

I've seen a couple of guys say to be ready to repair mounting tabs and I plan on trying to strip my bike down this winter and repaint and i know i have sevrals broken tabs but whats the best way to fix them

There are several posts on this topic, here's one I found for ya...

 

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=10781&highlight=tabs

 

I did a search for "tabs".

 

Plastex (plastic weld) seems to be the preferred repair material. Whatever you use, make sure it's for ABS plastic.

[Gearhead]

JB Weld with thin sheet metal reinforcement on the back side.

 

Jeremy

[rhncue]

SilvrT[/left];114861]OK, you are entitled to that. Maybe there's some

mis-understanding

here... I dunno... I apologize if I caused it but you (and anyone else) is entitled to disagree.

 

I did not say that "spray cans are the same as body shops use"..what I did say is "the paint is the same paint as that used in spray gun applications on any vehicle".

 

Mortch

said "Do not use a spray can". I then asked "and why not?" and went on to explain further what exactly it was that I used. I still haven't gotten a clear answer to that.

 

Mortch

did not say using spray cans is bad but he did imply that if you use them, you're really not serious.

 

You then disagreed with me and stated that "paint cans are either lacquer or enamel". Now, from my perspective here, I'm wondering who's giving the "blanket statements"?

 

What I do know is that I used a spray bomb. It was filled (they come

pre-charged

and there are machines for filling them with whatever kind of paint you want)... it was filled with automotive "base coat" color used in 2 stage paint...exactly the same paint used in auto paint shops. I stood there and watched as they mixed it and filled the spray cans. They used the exact same mixing formula from the exact same mixing machine they use to mix all the automotive colors that they distribute to the paint shops. Base color requires no special hardeners added to it just prior to spraying and that's why it can be put into a spray bomb otherwise, it would turn to

gell

and eventually harden inside the can. What more can I say???

 

As far as disagreeing with anyone or thing, I would have to say that I disagree with both

Mortch

and your statements about not using "spray cans" and neither of you have offered up any solid reason why not. I am interested in knowing "why not" though and am not opposed to changing my mind about it if anyone cares to convince me "why not".

 

A few of the members have actually seen my bike since I painted it and were quite impressed and could not believe that I used "spray bombs". Now, either their comments were genuine or they are

hypocrits

and were just saying those things to appease me. I prefer to believe that they were genuine.

 

You commented that there is nothing wrong with using spray "canned" paint and I disagreed. You further go into some detail about the paint that you used was mixed at a body shop or paint store and then put into one of your refillable "bombs". I believe these refillable bombs filled with automotive paint, although in a can, are highly different than what most people would consider as a commercial, over the counter paint spray "can". Apparently you do also or you probably would have used them instead of the trouble and expense of using your bombs. What you actually used was a automotive finish but with a portable air supply instead of a

compressor

. Over the years I have attempted to use a number of different brands of "canned" spray paint with

dismal

results in every case. It usually looked good but the least little bit of gas or sap or dirt for that matter and the finish either peeled or scratched from being entirely to soft.

 

I spray clear coat daily and have never found a canned spray clear coat even remotely hard enough. I've never tried the brand that you said that you used but I have tried at least a dozen or dozen and a half and quit looking. Now, if I need to spray a very small area, like 4 square inches, I mix a batch of 3 part urethane, spray for five seconds or so, throw away the remainder and clean the gun. That means about 7.00 of material and 45 minutes for a little squirt but it is worth it in the long run as little affects this finish.

 

Dick

[Condor]

I spray clear coat daily and have never found a canned spray clear coat even remotely hard enough. I've never tried the brand that you said that you used but I have tried at least a dozen or dozen and a half and quit looking. Now, if I need to spray a very small area, like 4 square inches, I mix a batch of 3 part urethane, spray for five seconds or so, throw away the remainder and clean the gun. That means about 7.00 of material and 45 minutes for a little squirt but it is worth it in the long run as little affects this finish.

 

Dick

 

At the risk of throwing more fuel on the discussion... and I agree with you Dick.... But I ran into this stuff, quite by accident, when I had an outboard motor to dress up a bit to resell. Tempo makes colors to match the major outboard manufacturers colors produced over the years. Pretty tough stuff. Has to be to put up with the constant exposure to sun, saltwater, and fuels. Granted the color choices aren't the greatest, but if you're willing to take something that's not quite what you were looking for, it'll do. The first time I used it I couldn't believe the results.... Looks like the original finish. I used it on the '93VR and it's respectable.... and it sure beats the cost of having a pro do it.... -jack

[SilvrT]

I believe these refillable bombs filled with automotive paint, although in a can, are highly different than what most people would consider as a commercial, over the counter paint spray "can". Apparently you do also or you probably would have used them instead of the trouble and expense of using your bombs. What you actually used was a automotive finish but with a portable air supply instead of a

compressor

 

 

Correct-o-mundo! We are in agreement! I think we're getting close to resolving this "misunderstanding".

 

 

. Over the years I have attempted to use a number of different brands of "canned" spray paint with

dismal

results in every case. It usually looked good but the least little bit of gas or sap or dirt for that matter and the finish either peeled or scratched from being entirely to soft.

 

Lacquers and Urethanes (in spray cans) are without a doubt better than enamels (or whatever else there is out there). The quality of the end result of the commercially available "spray cans" varies from one brand to the other. Years ago I painted one of my bikes (Honda 500/4) using lacquer spray cans. It was multi-colored with some graphics and flames. I clear coated that with clear lacquer and polished it out. Never had any problems with spilled gas or anything else.

 

 

I spray clear coat daily and have never found a canned spray clear coat even remotely hard enough. I've never tried the brand that you said that you used but I have tried at least a dozen or dozen and a half and quit looking.

 

That product is quite good but as I stated, it does require curing time. I have spilled a bit of gas on it and there's no evidence of paint damage.

 

Now, if I need to spray a very small area, like 4 square inches, I mix a batch of 3 part urethane, spray for five seconds or so, throw away the remainder and clean the gun. That means about 7.00 of material and 45 minutes for a little squirt but it is worth it in the long run as little affects this finish.

 

Dick

 

I tell you, if I had a compressor and a gun, I most definately would not have used spray cans simply because a) a gun can cover a much larger area since it has a larger spray pattern, b) a gun is much more "controllable" as to size of spray pattern, amount of paint, air pressure, etc, c) a gun would have been much better for the clear because I would have been able to use a 3 part urethane clear and I could have shot it at whatever consistency I wanted. That kind of clear would have produced the same end result I achieved after wet sanding and rubbing out the spray can clear without having to do that.

 

There are a number of factors which dictate whether a person uses a compressor/spray gun -OR- spray bombs -OR- take to a paint shop.

 

Let's rule out paint shop due to cost and irrelevancy of the topic.

To go with a compressor/gun, first you have to have that equipment. Second, you need to know how to use it. Third, you need a relatively decent place (shop) plus proper protective gear. Fourth, the fumes can't be an imposition on your neighbors, especially if they live in the basement suite of your house and your shop is an attached garage.

 

First ... don't have the equipment and could not justify the investment in it at this time (for 1 paint job).

 

Second is no problem for me. I had a body shop/paint shop years ago and I've done lots of paint work.

 

Third...well, that "could" have been "rigged up" to work.

 

Fourth...totally eliminated using my own garage.

 

So, it was either spend $700 (or more) which according to others isn't that much, and take all the parts to a shop, or use spray bombs. I spent a lot of time and some testing determining what would work best. I tried a number of different commercially available spray can's as well as a few different clear coats. I settled on the products I mentioned because they were the only things that actually did the job according to my personal criteria.

 

I am proud of the results I've achieved and sharing all this with others is a means of demonstrating that using "spray cans" will work. It was not my intention to imply that "any old spray can paint" will suffice. I thought my explanations of what I used were fairly clear. I will add to all that I've said for the benefit of others who choose to try doing it themselves....I have a LOT of experience with automotive painting and the end results that I achieved could not necessarilly have been possible without at least some of that knowledge. Producing a quality finish such as that on autos, bikes, etc is not for those who don't have a natural "knack" for it and/or have little knowledge about it.

[SilvrT]

wet sanding and rubbing out the spray can clear

 

I should mention that it does produce a very good shine but it is prone to minor "orange peel" appearance if you hold the spray can too far away or if your spray "pass" is too quick, etc, etc. The "orange peel" is minimal and not in all areas...again, depending on how good you are at spraying it. I found (for my personal preference) that some wet sanding and rubbing out produced the quality of the end result that I was looking for (glass smooth with a mirror image shine).

 

I haven't done that to all of the bike mainly because some of the areas are quite close to that already so am still debating if I will or won't rub those areas out...maybe during the winter when I got nothing else to do....