Rattle can paint

[Owen]

So not long after first getting the venture, I managed to let it roll forward of the kick stand while parked, and it scratched up the front left part of the fairing. I decided I would try paint from colorrite.com and see what I could come up with.

 

Started out by sanding the area down to the plastic. Then a couple coats of primer. We wet sanded with 800 grit paper between each coat. Next the base coat on the affected area. Then we scuffed the rest of the the red on the fairing and one last wet sanding with 1000 grit paper. Last thing was 3 coats of clear. We wet sanded between each coat with the 1000 grit.

 

All in all, I'm very pleased with the results. The color is as close as anything you can get. I can not tell any difference. The metal flake is the same size and density. After a few more hours of rubbing compound use, the mirror like finish will look even better than it does now.

 

Bottom line is... Don't be afraid of using the rattle cans as long as you are willing to spend the time on prep and finish.

Edited June 6, 2010 by Owen

[Kregerdoodle]

that looks really good Owen!! Nice job!!

 

 

K

[Yammer Dan]

Looks Great!!

[1sttenor]

How do I get to you place? I've got a nick on the tour pak!

[Owen]

Well a few more hours of buffing with a good rubbing compound will improve the finish. Still have a little clear coat left if I need it. The results are perfectly acceptable.

[Vance]

Very impressive, Owen. You did a good job.

[660grizz]

Nice job Owen. Apparently, you are the man I need to talk to. My Midnight edition's trunk is a different color than the rest of the bike. It is a dark color but not black. Kinda like the 2008 color. I have ordered the colorite Yamaha black and some clear coat.

Can I get away with scuffing up the paint and apply the black to that? If so, with 800 grit? Paint should be here tomorrow and I really want to get this fixed. It is a beautiful bike and some folks don't notice the trunk until I point it out. Now, it just bugs me.

 

Thanks for any advice.

[SilvrT]

Nice job Owen. Apparently, you are the man I need to talk to. My Midnight edition's trunk is a different color than the rest of the bike. It is a dark color but not black. Kinda like the 2008 color. I have ordered the colorite Yamaha black and some clear coat.

Can I get away with scuffing up the paint and apply the black to that? If so, with 800 grit? Paint should be here tomorrow and I really want to get this fixed. It is a beautiful bike and some folks don't notice the trunk until I point it out. Now, it just bugs me.

 

Thanks for any advice.

 

Although I'm not Owen, I have had a lot of experience with "rattle can paint". 800 wet or dry sandpaper (done with slightly soapy water) will probably suffice, Make sure you keep the sandpaper flushed with water lots and don't press too hard. When you think you've sanded enough, sand a bit more and then wipe it clean and let dry so you can tell where you need to sand more.

 

Apply 2-3 color coats

 

After the color coat has dried, sand it the same way using 1200 grit or higher before applying the clear.

[660grizz]

Thank you sir.

I thought you should sand between color coats too. However, this FAQ on Color Rite's site has me confused.

 

Q. Can I sand between color coats?

A. NO! Do not sand between color coats. The result will be disastrous at best. The paint actually bonds with the clearcoat when it is drying. This bond is what makes the paint cure. If sanding is done between coats, the clearcoat will not bond correctly and the paintjob will be effectively ruined.

 

What does sanding between color coats have to do with clear coats?

[SilvrT]

Thank you sir.

I thought you should sand between color coats too. However, this FAQ on Color Rite's site has me confused.

 

Q. Can I sand between color coats?

A. NO! Do not sand between color coats. The result will be disastrous at best. The paint actually bonds with the clearcoat when it is drying. This bond is what makes the paint cure. If sanding is done between coats, the clearcoat will not bond correctly and the paintjob will be effectively ruined.

 

What does sanding between color coats have to do with clear coats?

 

There is a thing called "flash-off time" ... it's usually around 5 - 15 minutes that you wait until applying the next coat. If you allow the coats to dry (ie maybe 3 or 4 hours or more), then another coat will not adhere properly so you have to "scuff up" the surface (sanding). I recommend applying all the color coats at once, allowing only enuf "flash-off time" between the coats. Let that dry thoroughly and then sand as I suggested before the clear coat. The sanding process before the clear will "scuff" the surface of the color coat so that the clear can bond to it.

 

The reason I suggest that is because while you are applying the color coats, you are also "building up" the roughness of the surface. Letting the color coats dry and then wet sanding smooth will produce a better, smoother clear coat.

[660grizz]

Awesome! Thanks for the quick responses.

[V7Goose]

I'm siting on a park bench in Georgia right now, so I don't feel like finding the references and posting them for you, but do a search on my post about Colorrite paint. You may have problems in a year. Short story - on my 05 Silver bike, the initial results were excellent, but hte clear coat began to yellow in a year, and it is getting VERY VERY bad FAST! I would NEVER use their paint again.

 

If your color is one of the darker ones, it may not be so bad. Good luck.

Goose

[SilvrT]

Regarding Goose's post, check this out ... maybe you can find this product where you live.

 

Clear #1- UV Resistant Clear Coat

http://www.u-pol.com/countries/en/navigate.htm

 

I used it and it does a good job but it's not cheap ... almost $30 a large spray can here.

 

[660grizz]

Thanks.

I have the paint and clear coat from color rite so, I'll give it a shot. Worse case scenario, I take it to a professional if this doesn't work out.

 

Oh, and welcome to GA V7Goose.

[Cougar]

my clear-coat on light color is over a year old

and looks fine. my under color is from color-rite (lite color)

and the top coat is what ever Steve Use's on his grills.

no change so far. just my FYI

Jeff

[LilBeaver]

Thanks.

I have the paint and clear coat from color rite so, I'll give it a shot. Worse case scenario, I take it to a professional if this doesn't work out.

 

Keep in mind that as soon as you put this spray stuff on if you take it to a body shop they will actually have to strip off what you put on there in order to do it properly which means more time/labor and more money... The reason that it has to be stripped is simply because when the shop would prep your part for paint, they would sand the paint that is on there for the adhesion of the new paint. Out of the several hundreds of cars that I have painted everyone that had some sort of spray paint out of a rattle can (even the stuff that claims it is automotive paint) it melts while you sand it, gums up the paper, and if you just paint over it anyways you get a horrible finish.

Bottom line, it will likely cost you much more to have it fixed/painted after you put this rattle can stuff on it than it would if you took it to them now.

 

Now, sometimes the rattle can stuff works fine and realistically as long as you keep a good healthy coat of wax over top of a high quality canned spray stuff it is likely that you will not have a problem with it fading right away. Goose said his did it within a year. I have seen cars come in the shop that I worked at with spray stuff on it that was horrid within a week and some that until we started sanding some parts of the vehicle we did not realize that it was touched up with it long after it was done (this we found common among people that bought a used car from a used car dealer and then wanted to change the color).

 

Personally, I would never use a rattle can paint on any of my vehicles but that is just me (I also have the equipment to do it with a regular paint gun though...). Like I have said already some people do and it looks fine and some people do and it does not.

 

From the pictures I see here the bike looks great!!!! Keep it waxed to protect that finish though

[SilvrT]

hey Rick (lilbeaver) ... did you happen to take a good look at my '87 when you were up here (the Black one) and we all did that ride to Manning Park? (MurrayD was riding it and owned it at that time). I repainted that with "rattle can" paint; however, the paint was mixed and "bottled" at an auto paint supply shop. It was actual automotive base coat, not 2K. The clear was professional grade clear applied with compressor and gun.

[LilBeaver]

Rick (SilverT) I had glanced at it while talking with MurrayD and you at some point. From what I saw, It looked good and had a nice finish on it too . I meant to take a closer look at it because it was towards the end of the conversation that I found out that you had repainted it but we ended up saddling up and taking off.

The main thing that made it work out for you would have been the 'real' base coat followed by a properly applied clear. Both of which of course was of an appropriate grade for the application.

 

From what I read on a post that you had a while back explaining your preparation work before the actual painting, everything that you described was done appropriately. Without proper prep work, it doesn't matter what kind of paint anyone uses it will either not look good (cloudy, textured, etc) or the paint will not stick (either immediately or will peel) or numerous other problems that I will not get into right now...

 

When a paint shop bottles the paint like that it is a different mixture (paint, hardener, reducer, etc) than what you would get if you were to just pick one up off of the shelf. When done the way you had it done, the only difference between shooting it out of the can and shooting it out of a spray gun is the propellant (and of course certain tuning you can do with the gun that you cannot do with a hand-held spray can). If you would have applied the base coat with a spray gun you would have taken near the exact mix (depending on temperature and other enviromental factors that you would account for when doing the final mix before you pour it in the gun) that one would if they were going to pour the paint in the gun's cup and spray it on that way. The other major thing that you did right was apply a 'real' (again for lack of a better word) clear coat after your base. The clear (as you know) is what gives the depth, clarity, and gloss/'the wet look' to the paint job (as well as color longevity protection from the elements). So if one uses a clear that is not of an appropriate grade it will not maintain the look nearly as long and in some cases it will get 'mucky' or yellow (as goose described) and likely peel.

 

So, by waxing after one applies the paint (after you give the paint a few weeks to fully harden/cure) you are essentially giving yourself an extra layer of protection from the elements, scratching and most importantly the sun.

[SilvrT]

Lilbeaver... thanks for the comments. I was, at one time, a bodyman/painter and had my own shop (like about 27 years ago) so I had a good knowledge of what I was doing. Unfortunately, I just didn't have the right place/equipment at the time when I painted my '87, thus, the use of the spray cans. I did use a good quality 2K clear "spray can" supplied by the same paint supplier initially but I wasn't 100% happy with the end result so I went out and bought a compressor and a gun and pretty much re-did the whole thing again LOL. Still tho, I was working under much less than ideal shop conditions.

 

Speaking of MurrayD... I haven't heard much of him since that ride. I should drop him a line.

[LilBeaver]

Cool cool. With the shape that many paint booths are in they are not anywhere close to having ideal shop conditions either :-P.

 

I actually saw him (literally, drove bye) last time I was up here... I was out for a drive along nw marine drive (I think that was the road) along the water front by UBC and he was going the other direction... Traffic was ridiculous that day...

 

I suppose we have nearly successfully hijacked the thread now... Sorry

[Patrick46]

WOW Owen...that's a great repair job!...especially with rattle cans!

 

of course, a person could always try my route with rattle cans..............FLAT BLACK!!!!

 

http://c2.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/97/m_b6e076470d9d783044fc0ce00f6e62cd.jpg

[660grizz]

Update: I am no Owen or anyone else that has good results with rattle can paint. It looked like crap. Waited 5 days and tried to sand the milky out. Still wasn't dry. Just too much humidity down here right now. (That's my story anyway.)

Just going to let a professional do it. I am too picky for me to do it.