Paint questions body guys help

[tntviper1]

So my baby is showing major wear on the paint.

Do i just sand the hell out of it or get it repainted?

Pictures show 320 grit then 1500 wet

 

[Condor]

Looks like it might have been a repaint to begin with. I'd remove it and strip it down to the shell and repaint it using a good automotive paint. The repaint might have been an El Cheepo...??

[SilvrT]

Looks like it might have been a repaint to begin with. I'd remove it and strip it down to the shell and repaint it using a good automotive paint. The repaint might have been an El Cheepo...??

 

 

[CaseyJ955]

I'm a complete body noob as well. When I wanted to paint my Vmax a unique color I asked for help and was asking the most basic questions imaginable to other vmax guys that have painted. I got some good answers and my Vmax paint/clear coat looks fantastic!

 

A couple things to remember is be ready to spend some time prepping and use quality paint/clear coat, specifically a two part clear coat if you want durability and longevity. Luckily you can buy two part in one spray can, just pop the nub on the bottom and it mixes giving you something like 24 hours to use it. I used a local body shop and the guy there was really very cool and answered some noob questions about how to get a good finish. I choose my color from their book and he put it in spray cans for me, gave me a quality primer and quality two-part (in one can with a nub you hit to mix it internally, really slick) clear coat. It's not the cheapest way to go but even a noob like me got excellent results.

 

Here is the thread on the Vmax board of poeple giving my guidance and the project. It's diluted with a bit of chit chat but the info is there with some pics of the products I used. All done with quality rattle cans. Spring for the quality paints/ and clear coat from a body shop. I used 400-600-100-1500-2000 grits in the process. Be careful and gentle while sanding edges, it's easy to go through the base coat or clear coat layer your working. Patience, good light. I'm sure there are pros that can add to or correct the way I did it and I welcome that but this is how I got from knowing very little to a damn near OEM quality paint job using a color of my choosing. I used primer but I think I hit my load up of pics for one thread. The pics dont do it justice, I'm amazed at how well it came out and how it pops under the sun in a way that the camera just doesn't capture. I'm feeling cocky about the results and may do something to make my Venture a unique color also, but the paint thats on it is in great shape so I may wait.

 

http://vmaxforum.net/showthread.php?t=40231&highlight=paint+prep

[snyper316]

Now thats a nice job on that V-Max

[SilvrT]

two part in one spray can, just pop the nub on the bottom and it mixes giving you something like 24 hours to use it.

 

I've never heard of this before and I've done quite a bit of "rattle can" paint jobs as well as professional jobs when I had a body shop years ago. I do know about fillable aerosol paint available at various auto paint suppliers and have used them but have not yet seen or heard of a "2 part clear" such as you describe.

 

Do you have any links to where I can get more info?

[CaseyJ955]

I've never heard of this before and I've done quite a bit of "rattle can" paint jobs as well as professional jobs when I had a body shop years ago. I do know about fillable aerosol paint available at various auto paint suppliers and have used them but have not yet seen or heard of a "2 part clear" such as you describe.

 

Do you have any links to where I can get more info?

 

It was news to me also, but that was to be expected. The explanation I got was that professional clear coat jobs are a two part system, something like epoxy. The standard clear coat in a can wont last under the elements but the two part should come closer to an OEM clear coat quality finish that may last for years. This was the explanation anyway. It's been a year on my bike outside all spring, summer and fall and it looks like it did the day after I painted it. I'm more than sold on this clear coat and glad I spent the extra scratch. Here is a pic of the product with numbers and all.

 

The way the clear coat works is the can has a stem recessed into the bottom of the can, you remove a cog from the cap and slip it over the stem on the bottom and give it a sharp whack with your hand and it ruptures a bladdar inside the can, mixing the two parts together. From that point on you have something like 12 or 24 hours to use it before it's no good. They say shake it well after the rupture. They mean it.

 

One more thing I should have done that I forgot to mention is to use tack cloth before spraying anything. I got lots of little buggers in the paint from not doing so, luckily I was able to wet sand them out to be completely invisible but it was still more work than had I just used tack cloth between paint and clear coat coats.

[Flyinfool]

Here is one of the 2K rattle cans.

http://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-s-2k-aerospray-high-gloss-clear.html?fee=7&fep=26897&SRCCODE=PLA00020&product_id=14148Z&adpos=1o2&creative=83580265620&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=CIqhtaf24tECFRi4wAodRRMD8Q

There are other brands and the price varies greatly depending on where you buy from, so do your home work.

Because this is a true 2K clear coat, you must use the proper respirator, even outdoors. ALL 2K paints are really bad news for your lungs.

 

Every time I try to paint something outdoors, it never fails, a bug will land in the wet paint and walk across the surface making a mess of tracks, and then die and become part of the final finish.

[bongobobny]

Getting back to post 1, it looks like your clear coat is no longer clear! Those two brighter areas are where you have sanded right through the clear coat, which probably just peeled due to age!

 

Myself I would just use a good primer/sealer after sanding smooth, and repaint whatever color you fancy and whatever pattern you choose! If you have never painted before, find some junk you can practice on first, and watch some good videos on painting techniques, it is not really all that hard. You do not need elaborate equipment, just a good 20+ gallon compressor, a good regulator, a moisture trap, and a gun. You are painting smaller areas as opposed to painting a car, so chances are you will not have any major flaws. I like a gravity feed sprayer myself, inexpensive and easy to clean.

 

When you price how much a professional painter will want for the job, it may very well justify the cost of buying the equipment for yourself and then have a good compressor for other jobs as well!

 

EDIT: As FF pointed out above, yes use a respirator or at least a mask!! And yes, as he mentioned, outside painting can and will involve insects and other foreign matter!! Best time to paint is on a calm sunny day later in the morning. Yup, remember a friend painting racing stripes on his 442 later in the day, and then we both watched a big moth do a dance on his fresh wet white paint job!!!

[CaseyJ955]

Now thats a nice job on that V-Max

 

Thank you, The one pic is just after I bought it and the other after some alterations. I love the Vmax, really a fantastic cruiser that stands out nicely in the sea of HDs.

 

 

The only reason I went with the spray cans is because I dont have a compressor here and didnt really want to incur the expense. On the other hand I would never rattle can a car. It works better than I expected on a bike with smaller areas but for anything bigger I would not even try it. I did some research and found out about the 2k or Eastwood clearcoats that do a damn remarkable job on smaller areas so decided to go the spray can route. These spray cans should not be confused with hardware store off the shelf spray cans, they really do a very nice job of laying down uniform color.

 

And yes, respirator is a must for the 2k, it is very nasty stuff if you get a lung full, I probably should have mentioned that.

[SilvrT]

This is the product I used when I re-painted my '87

 

http://www.u-pol.com/us/en/product/premium-aerosols/aerosols/premium-aerosols/clear1-high-gloss-clearcoat

 

It did a very good job and held up well for a couple years. I sold the bike so no idea how it was after that. I used to have some pics here of it but no idea where they got to.

 

Here's a few from my local PC....

 

 

[SilvrT]

@CaseyJ955

 

BTW, that is a really cool color you chose!

[ChurchBuilder]

Both bikes look great! I got a price of $700 to do a paint job on my Venture. Two tine candy maroon with me doing all the prep work.

I don't think the bike is worth it so I may try this myself.

Has anyone tried Killer Cans? $39.99 premixed candy paint

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[SilvrT]

Has anyone tried Killer Cans? $39.99 premixed candy paint

 

 

 

I've done some painting with a product from Canadian Tire that was labelled "Candy Apple Red" but it sure wasn't "candy".

 

Also tried some other products in rattle cans that were real candy color and it worked out well but the paint itself is quite thick so it was difficult to get a smooth coat without getting runs. Small areas OK but I wouldn't use that for the larger parts on a bike.

 

Here's a couple pics of when I was experimenting....

 

 

[CaseyJ955]

This is the product I used when I re-painted my '87

 

http://www.u-pol.com/us/en/product/premium-aerosols/aerosols/premium-aerosols/clear1-high-gloss-clearcoat

 

It did a very good job and held up well for a couple years. I sold the bike so no idea how it was after that. I used to have some pics here of it but no idea where they got to.

 

Here's a few from my local PC....

 

 

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=108210http://www.venturerider.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=108211http://www.venturerider.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=108212

 

That metal flake just looks awesome, what a shine too. I may be inspired to do mine next after I have the vmax conversion all done. That metal flake look is really something.

[SilvrT]

That metal flake just looks awesome, what a shine too. I may be inspired to do mine next after I have the vmax conversion all done. That metal flake look is really something.

 

FYI... that was a Chrysler color ... can't recall from what year but I picked it out of the chip books at the auto paint store.