How to paint my front fairing?
 

Ok, I purchased an aftermarket front fairing for my f4...but it came in the wrong color yellow. Thus, I will be painting it (buying paint from a local store that carries Honda Sunrise yellow). I have access to a gun and compressor but would like some advice on the prep and paint process.

1. Sanding.....I have heard a number of different grits I should use. would say 400 then 1000 and then wetsand 1000 work? Do I just have to basically take off the clearcoat or do I have to go deeper?

2. painting...how many coats of color do I put on? Anything I should be paying special attention to? What is the hottest and coldest temp I can paint in? (I have a garage but it is un-insulated and I am in the wonderful cold of Canadian winter). I could do it in my basement if I really had to...but my wife may get upset.

3. Clearcoat...again, how many coats, and does it matter what kind I use?

Thanks for any tips you guys may have!

Your wife would get pissed unless the basement is extremely well ventilated. I paint when the temp is about 60F. I have a heated garage though. All you should have to do is "rough" the paint up that is on there, don't go too deep and create extra work for yourself. I put 3-4 coats of paint on my tank but it depends really. Put enough on to where it covers everything and looks even. I put I think 4 coats of clear on and the paint really looks deep and has a nice shine.

Okay take notes, I paint often.

1. use a red scotch bright of 220 grit sand paper, to just scuff the upper.

2. you need to prime it next, and or fill in any imperfections with some bodo or whatever. Use like a walmart high build rattle can primer, that what i usually use.

3. after you prime, use a 220 grit paper and scuff the primer, don't sand anything, just go over it to scuff it up.

4. paint, your not supposed to paint in anything below 70 degrees (usually) don't worry about the dust, if you are going to color sand(whole different set of steps). That doesn't mean paint in a complete **** house either.


Make sure that whatever tip is on your gun is the right size for whatever your painting, usually for a base you want a 1.3-1.4 tip size. If your using a primer you would want a 1.6-1.7 ish. Umm clear 1.2-1.3. that should be about it. have fun.


EDIT:: Do 2 coats at least of base, or untill you get a good covering of paint.

Clear, do 2 to 3 coats 3 to 4 minutes apart.

Thanks for the advice guys. I bought my paint yesterday....the guy I got it from told me to do 3 coats color and 3 clear (all 20 minutes apart, except 30 min between paint and clear). Can you go to clear so soon after the color stage? I may have to wait until it gets a bit warmer if I want to do this in my garage. (The basement is tempting....it is drywalled but we have not painted down there yet, next week, so overspray is no big deal).

Also...after the final clear coat....do I wet-sand 1500 grit? I have heard of this before.

You need to wait at least until the base flashes, did he not give you a p-sheet? It should tell you all the wait times. Also that seems really long to go between clear. You usually just wait till it flashes (2-5min) and then hit it again. But like I said depending on what paint you go I can't tell you... but he should have printed a p-sheet out for you.

Also, why did you go a 2-stage process? That's expensive and not necessary for what you are doing. If you use a single stage paint then all you do is mix your base with the hardner and reducer, spray 2 coats, and then mix the clear into the base 50-50 and then spray it and your done. It's a lot easier.

Wet sanding the final coat of clear, if you have a lot of orange peel then yeah use 1500 (you probably will if you havent ever done this before) but if it's minimal go straight to 2000.

What you want to do is use the 1500 grit and lightly sand all the orange peel (the bumpy surface of the paint that looks like an orange skin) and once you get that off the with 1500 switch over to the 2000 to make it smoother, then buff with a rubbing compound or whatever of the appropriate number.

Make sure you don't go through all the clear or you will be sorry and have to either touch up that spot or do it again.

One more thing, clearing your upper isn't really necessary the only peice on the bike that is, is the tank. There again I don't know what paint you are using or what type so idk.

I'm painting all the plastics on my 600rr today actually, Ill post up some pics once everything sets.

I didn't completely read everyone's responses, so someone may have mentioned this already.. As far as prepping the fairing goes.. It really depends on what kind of condition the paint that's already on the fairing is. Is it a bad paint job, or just the wrong color? If it's smooth and looks good, other than the wrong color, then just get you a gray "scuff pad".. It's like one of those green things used to wash dishes with, just not so rough. Take the gray scuff pad, and dull the clear coated surface. EVERYWHERE. You dont want any shiny surface. Make sure you get all the little cracks and hard to reach spots.
You DO NOT NEED TO PRIME the fairing. It's already been primed and sealed by whoever painted it the wrong color yellow. Priming would be a waste of time, money, and energy.
I do automotive painting for a living.
Where did you buy your paint? What brand? And what type of clear? Did you get the reducer for the paint, and the hardener for the clear?
If you want the paint job to come out decent, just follow a few simple steps.

MAKE SURE THE SURFACE IS CLEAN...CLEAN...CLEAN!!! Wipe it down with a lint free shop cloth with some paint prep or rubbing alcohol to remove any grease or oil that could have come from simple touching the fairing with your bare finger. USE BLUE LATEX GLOVES TO HANDLE THE FAIRING. (The kind without powder) Once you have cleaned the fairing, wipe it down with a tack cloth to get any little fibers or anything left behind.

DO NOT OVER COAT. When painting, start with lightly coating all the hard to get areas and edges. If you try to get those hard to spray areas while your coating the rest of the fairing, you will end up over coating those areas and getting sags or runs in the paint. Once you're certain you have covered all the hard to get areas, go ahead and start spraying the rest of the fairing.. The first coat should be one medium-light coat. Dont worry about completely covering the "wrong yellow" underneath on the first coat. Let the first coat dry for about 5-10 minutes. The second coat should be a medium coat, and should completely cover the old yellow color. And the third coat should be a light pass over, paying close attention to make sure you dont have any dark or light spots anywhere.

As for the clear coating process..You do NOT need 3 coats of clear. One Medium coat should be just fine. When you start to clear coat, do the same thing you did when you first started painting. Start with all the hard to get areas. Clear is 1000x more likely to "run" or "sag" if you over coat. Once your finished getting all the hard to get areas, start spraying at a smooth, steady pace. Start spraying before you are "over" the fairing, and continue to spray once you are "past" the fairing.
I gotta run, but if you need any more advice, feel free to email me. Shane_tweezy@hotmail.com

Oh, as for wet sanding. If your finished fairing has little dust speckles in it , or little pieces of trash, then yes you can wet sand, but i suggest using 2000.. Not 1500.. 1500 will is a lot more work to buff out than 2000 grit.

If you don't prime it, the paint will just chip right off after time.

Wow, great info guys, I would love to see how your plastics turn out bradseabridge.

I actually did not prime...as I thought as CBR slim T said....its primed underneath. The old yellow paint (which was a good and recent paint job just the wrong color). I will probably paint next week when I find a decent size compressor to borrow. I will post pics when I am done.

haha, I'll post up pictures whenever I get to paint them. I was supposed to do it wed, But the heater broke and I was supposed to do it tonight, but the guy that owns the booth had to work late.... I'm so bummed tomorrow and Sunday are supposed to be so nice.