so. i am considering a paint job...

[BravoCharlie]

good evening!

as the topic title says, i have been pondering the idea of a paint job, be it on my 125, or on my next bike when i pass my restricted test.

i am considering giving it a go on my own, i mean how hard can it be?

...nah seriously, whats the best way to approach painting your own bike? am i right in saying i need to 'petrol proof' the paint, and also, i would have to contact the DVLA?

sorry for the silly questions, but i would appreciate any help!
____________________
Current: Kawasaki ZL600 Eliminator
Past: Suzuki GZ125, Kawasaki GT550, Kawasaki GPX600R, Honda vrx400,Kawasaki Zephyr 750, Suzuki SV650 K5
Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today.

[flumpy7]

[BravoCharlie]

[nisp]

If you do paint with a rattle can, do it with car plan colour match, it's petrol proof and imho every other rattle can is inferior because of that.

2 pack lacquer is the way to go as the petrol the resistant stuff, is just another wording for. it will come off, and you can't do anything about it!

a silly bit now but it depends on how presentable you want the job to turn out. for small jobs a can is a great help but large canvasses like a tank, not so good. I rattled my bike and to be fair it was alright (black is very hard) but people could just tell I did it

Costs:

cheap compressor £60
some bling to go with the commpressor £30
paint (depending where you are and who you know) £20-30 for lacq and paint (2K)

up side doing it this way is you will get a better result than the cans
down side is it cost's a bit more

cans: £30-40 all in

results may very though

get some one else to do it: couple of hundred

but will/should look top notch and you wont need to do a whole lot.

if you do do it your self, take you time. i know people say it all the time but it's true, LAYERS!!


good luck
____________________
Suzuki TS 50 1999 Honda CB 125 t2 1981 Yamaha XJ 600 s Diversion Honda cx 500 MZ ETZ 250 1985 Yamaha FZR 400 1981 Suzuki TS 185 1984 Triumph bonneville 790 2001 MZ TS250 1979 Suzuki sv 650 1999 KTM exc RFS 450 2007 Hercules mx 125 1976

[Rogerborg]

Halfraud's petrol resistant lacquer is OK, but you must give it sufficient time to cure. I'd look elsewhere for the non-petrol resistant lacquer though, their normal stuff runs like a French soldier.

This is a rattle-can job:
https://img196.imageshack.us/img196/8788/paintedbike.jpg

Not pro, and after a couple of years the plastic on the side panels started reacting very slightly, so a different primer might have been in order. From my notes:

4 light coats of Plasti-Kote white primer, 36 hours drying time, a light sand, 4 coats of Plasti-Kote 4400 metallic bronze (it's got pronounced silver sparkles in it), 36 hours drying, another gentle sand, a further 2 very light coats of bronze, 24 hours drying, and then 3 coats of Halfords clear gloss lacquer on the mudguard and side panels and Halfords petrol resistant lacquer on the tank.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[hazza]

Yup Halfords laquer is very runny. I used Halfords paint when i did mine and it came out pretty well. I used a very fine grade of sandpaper with lots of water to sand the clear coat so that it was dull but smooth, then used my dual action polisher to get it like this:

https://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff501/harrybarfield/IMG_1728.jpg

Turned out great!
____________________
3 Honda NC50's(Sold)-->'72 Puch Maxi S (Sold, want it back!)--> '90 Yamaha RXS 100 (Stolen)--> '87 Honda Cub 90(Sold) --> '95 Kawasaki Eliminator (Sold) --> '98 Bandit 600 (Sold) -->'07 SV650S (Current)

[janner_10]

That looks very good, (the black bike not the gold - sorry whoever owned the gold!) professional looking.
____________________
Yamaha FZS600 (Now gone to heaven) > CBR600F4i (SOLD) > '99 YZF-R1

[MarJay]

How to reduce the value of your bike in one easy step.

1.) Get a paintjob, preferably for best value reducing results a home made rattle can job.
____________________
British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F; Cheap project: CBR900RR FireBlade
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[hazza]

Very true marjay. I wouldnt recommend respraying unless there is something wrong with your current paintjob. I had no choice as the paithad came off around the filler cap and the side panel was lost with the only replacment available in black (originally a blue bike)

Resprays scream a bike that has been down the road, although this one actually hadn't.
____________________
3 Honda NC50's(Sold)-->'72 Puch Maxi S (Sold, want it back!)--> '90 Yamaha RXS 100 (Stolen)--> '87 Honda Cub 90(Sold) --> '95 Kawasaki Eliminator (Sold) --> '98 Bandit 600 (Sold) -->'07 SV650S (Current)

[Rogerborg]

[stevo as b4]

Personally i'd get friendly with a decent car bodyshop/local spray painter, and talk to them about you prepping, sanding and primer coating the tank and panels. If they are happy for you do do this and you can do it to a decent enough standard, which the only cost to you is time and effort really, then i'd ask them to hit it with the gun the next time they have a colour to spray near to what you wanted.

It would be no hassle for them to shoot it with some black, white or many other solid colours next time they have a part of or a whole car to do. If your after a special finish or a specific shade then your a bit more stuck, but id rather have a decent job done out of a gun, and just be flexible with the colour choice for cost effectivness?

Also im pretty sure that it's not a legal requirement to let the DVLA know if you re-spray the vehicle another colour, and i'd only even think about telling them if and when you want to sell it, as i don't think it's worth the hassle really.

[numpty2]

I think you really do have to tell the DVLA. If you ever get stopped by the Police, it could be a long discussion trying to explain why your bike is the wrong colour according to the computer in the patrol car.

[xrtwo]

I am a professional car painter for a prestige brand.
I would say go to a small independent bodyshop and ask what they will charge to paint the bits if you strip them from the bike and let them prep and paint them and polish them for the best job.
An alternative is to prep and aerosol prime yourself and give it to them but you wouldn't save much.
Alternatively diy, you can aerosol them with basecoat for the colour and then lacquer but you would need to polish them to get the best result.
Try an old panel or something you can paint and get a single can of basecoat colour and lacquer and see how it looks. Don't prepare it just do something the size of an A4 piece of paper and see how it looks and would you be happy with that.
In my opinion get it painted properly it will look better and last longer.
Alternatively get your own compressor as has been suggested and practice first.
If you do have any questions regarding prep etc just ask.

[_matt]

I've painted a few bikes with spray-cans now and the chap above is spot on. As far as i can tell, a good primer/base is the key to a "pro" finish.

What i do:

Metal Bits:
Sand with power-sander and 80 gsm sandpaper (thick gritty stuff)
Re-sand by hand with fine sandpaper to even it out
Cover everything that isnt to be painted with either plastic sheet or newspaper
Wipe the metal with a damp cloth then dry it to remove bits.
Spray on a base or primer, usually Hammerite Straight To Rust matt black (repeat above steps if you mess up)
Spray on 2-3 top coats of paint, whatever colour you need
WHEN IT'S DRY (important) cover the top coat with 2-3 coats of Laquer.
Polish as required

Plastic Bits:
Clean the plastic bits first
Cover them with Halfords Grey Plastic Primer spray
Spray with colour as required
Lacquer as required

RESULT!

that work-flow does it for me anyway, i know everyone has their own and i'm by no means a pro, but plenty of trial and error and be prepared to throw at least £50 away on paint if you screw it up
____________________
1990 Yamaha XV 535 (Alive Again!) / 2007 Jinlun Texan 125-11 (formerly 2k3, wrong details, now going rusty in the back garden )

[BravoCharlie]

thanks guys for all the information!

i aint doing it to increase value, since its been stolen and recovered i doubt my bike is worth more than £400! i'm doing it to feel better about the bike

i had to get a replacement panel which was purple (my bike is blue!) (also got a black self made job battery cover which would look better sprayed)

i figure i'm just going to get it silver or red, i gather silver would be easier but a shiny red seems attractive! removing the plastics is easy enough, but should i take the fuel tank off the bike to paint it?

cheers!

BC
____________________
Current: Kawasaki ZL600 Eliminator
Past: Suzuki GZ125, Kawasaki GT550, Kawasaki GPX600R, Honda vrx400,Kawasaki Zephyr 750, Suzuki SV650 K5
Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today.

[hazza]

[Rogerborg]

Mmm, plan on having the bike off the road for a week, and you'll want to spray in a warm, well ventilated but draught and dust / bug free environment.

TBH, it really is a complete ball ache to get even half-way right, I likely wouldn't bother again. My GPZ came with plenty of abuse marks, and I just roughly filled and sprayed over some of the worst of them, but in a completely half arsed way with plenty of cracks, runs and orange peel left on because I'd rather be riding it than rubbing it.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike