How to paint a bike without a compressor or gun **Not Considered A Rattle Can Job**
Materials and Costs
- Adhesion Promoter.....1 cans. $24.24. Bulldog. (KLE ETP0123B) - Acid Etch Primer......1 cans. $15.65. U-Pol #8 Acid Etch Primer. (UPO 741) - High Build Primer...2-3 cans. $15.44. U-Pol #5 High Build Primer. (UPO 763) - Guide Coat............1 cans. .$8.53. U-Pol Guide Coat(UPO 2043) - Base Coat...........3-4 cans. .$5.04. U-Pol Power Can - Gloss Black (UPO 803) - Clear Coat..........4-6 cans. $15.15. U-Pol #1 Clear Coat (UPO 796) Total: $205.80 + $30.19 shipping to CA + $15.95 tax. Total: $251.94 * Calculation of total used highest number of cans (3 high build primer, 4 basecoat, 6 clear coat). Prices as of 3/1/2009. Prices and product codes are from http://www.tcpglobal.com. (open thread) Introduction This is NOT a "how to paint with rattle cans" article. Instead it deals with how to get truly professional results WITHOUT having a compressor, or spray gun, and the $350 in accessories IN ADDITION to the compressor and spray gun,.....read and enjoy Background I have been painting motorcycles, cars, bicycles and just about anything that will hold still long enough for something like 35+ years now. I started off like most, with rattle cans in the garage or driveway, but I got bitten bad by the kustom kraze in the early seventies, and wanted to airbrush and pinstripe, just like Ed 'big daddy' Roth, so I went out and got brushes, paints and a paasche VL (good ol airbrush) and just completely screwed up perfectly good looking motorcycles, cars and bikes for a couple of years or so (all my own, thank god), but eventually I learned the rattle can way, the hard way, the easy way, the fast way, the super uber quality way, and just about everyway in between…. I spent so much money on paint and airbrushes, and compressors and supplies I had to start my own restoration-custom paint business, and did just that for many years. Being an avid biker since I can remember I would get MANY requests to paint motorcycles, and more questions ABOUT painting motorcycles than any other, the ONE question that kept coming up over and over was “can I paint my motorcycle with rattle can paints and get good results, that LAST?” Since most of you can probably (or already have) figured out the hard way, and the “it looked good for a week” way, in this article I’ll detail how to paint a motorcycle using nothing but rattle can, or “spray bomb” paints, and get truly professional LONG lasting results. (7+ years looking perfect is not at ALL uncommon) it’ll cost a bit more than your typical spray bomb job, and the toughest thing will probably be convincing people that it really IS a rattle can job. Preparation
Public nuisance, practice panel, safety stuff, and paint quality were covered. Let's get started. Methodology
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Painting can be one of the most frustrating, tedious, complicated tasks, and at the same time one of the most rewarding. You’ll probably spend a few hundred painting your bike with these types of paint, but you get nearly professional results, and at less than half the cost of having it shot at a paint shop It’s really empowering to know this stuff (makes getting deals and slightly blemed bikes a SNAP for you) and it’s also nice to know you took part in more than just the selection of components and assembly of your steed. When you mention that you used rattle cans for the entire project, most people either won’t believe you, or think you’re a Mozart prodigy with a spray can. To quote one of my favorite painters (Craig Fraser): “PEACE, LOVE & ISOCYANATES”. Ride safe out there. (thanks again to mike for the awesome reformatting: it really makes this info easier to follow, and refer back to while working on the project) __________________ Joe Loewinsohn Plastics Fabricator - 15+years MOTORCYCLE SPECIFIC experience: fiberglass, carbon fiber, composites, plastic welding, race fabrication, vintage reproduction emblems & badges, etc,... 408-483-0161 for estimates and turn times http://bayarearidersforum.com/forums...ilies/ride.gif |
2 Attachment(s)
Attachment 54162
OR THIS: Attachment 54163 these were BOTH painted with this method and type of paint, the yellow KZ has the aeromax clear, and the montessa has the U-Pol clercoat. the yellow KZ pic is 5 YEARS after painting, and paul just LOVES that POS so he puts about 25K a year on it IN THE CITY, riding it nearly everyday. |
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Thank you, Z!! This is a _wonderful_ how-to, and exactly what I'm looking for.
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Great write up. I learned a few things and have been painting my own bikes/cars for a few years now.
I do have 2 questions... Do you have any tips for surfaces that when spraying, you cant hit 1 part at better than a 20 degree angle while hitting another at a 90. Things like vents or weird shapes. You end up saturating 1 part, while getting lucky to even get a light coat on the other. Also, you never sand with anything higher than 600? I generally go up to around 1000 because it felt smoother but is it not necessary? |
I do have 2 questions... Do you have any tips for surfaces that when spraying, you cant hit 1 part at better than a 20 degree angle while hitting another at a 90. Things like vents or weird shapes. You end up saturating 1 part, while getting lucky to even get a light coat on the other. Also, you never sand with anything higher than 600? I generally go up to around 1000 because it felt smoother but is it not necessary? With painting different surfaces. You really need to keep the gun and an angle that will hit both as you pass over. Tiping the gun to get into areas will usually result in poor coverage. With a vent, you can spray through the backside of the fairing first to make sure you get everything, but the top coat should be as even as possible with your other strokes. You can tip the gun slightly as you pass, but the same distance and speed needs to be consistant. Solid colors its not as bad, but metallics and pearls are extremely important to keep everything as uniform as possible. As long as you have enough flow of paint, everything should be covered just fine. But spray cans may not have the flow of paint to accomplish it as well. you just have to keep you overlap closer with cans versus a spray gun. for example, my gun I use has a 14" wide pattern. I overlap about 2 inches. where as a can will only have about a 5-6 inch pattern. you still have to overlap about 2 inches as well. Nice write up though. But if you have the compressor and gun, the material cost is actually less. If you plan on doing more than one bike, investing in a compressor and gun will save money over time. |
i love painting and this was a great refresher and also learned few new things, good job on this post Z
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Now tell us how to do this on a campershell and suggest some cheaper paints to use :)
Just wanting to go black on it.. but with these prices I would spend 1000 bucks on material.. may as well get a new shell for that. |
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