Paint Newbie

[Matt-]

I am a bit of a paint newbie being honest and i thought i would ask my fellow BCF'er's if i could have some advice,

Right i have some plastic panels on my bike, they have like a layer of black paint over them, which is flaking off,

Below is a picture of what the flaking looks like:

https://i49.tinypic.com/xe1lpv.jpg

Basically what i want to do is paint my panels but i have no idea where to start if you have any suggestions on what i should get, how i rub them down and what i would use to get paint off.

Thanks Guys Big help
____________________
RIP jack (wheelie king), you will never be forgotten.
Current Bike's - Road Legal TZR 125 Pitbike, Aprilia SR50R 2010

[thomp1983]

if it's plastic then the paint flaking will be because the panel hasn't been primed properly. get a scouring pad (foam ones with green on the back) or some proper scotchbrite from either ebay or a proper paint supplies place and use this to get as much of the flaking paint off as possible and the shine off the rest of the paint that stays on the panel. after that do any repairs to the panel that are required (filling/ scratch repairs etc.) after that prime it in several thin layers of plastic primer giving an even layer, rub this back with something like 800 grit wet and dry, then spray a light color guide coat over this, rub it down again, any guide coat still remaining are low spots in the panel whihc need to be filled. fill them, re sand, re guide coat etc. till you have an even smooth primered panel, then repeat the same process with your base coat, then repeat with laquer.

painting isn't an especially difficult job, it's just decent prep work is laborious and boring as hell but is the key to a decent finish, chucking the paint at the panel is the easy bit.

chris

[_Iain_]

Pack of sandpaper - or get 3x rolls of the stuff from interwebs for same price.

Fine, medium & coarse.

Use the coarse to get rid of ALL the black paint. It's just going to flake if you put new paint on top. Get all that gone.

Then give it a go over with the medium. Then the fine.

Then boggo grey primer from internet again (cause it's cheap as fook) Fancy anti rust stuff will cost more, but there's no point cause plastic doesnt rust. Keep adding coats of primer till it's all one texture, no scratches or anything showing through.

Then get a can of touch up paint colour matched from wherever, and spray 3-4 LIGHT coats of paint on it. More if the primer still shows through.

Then laquer if your brave. I always fuck up at that point though, be warned that laquer runs REALY easily. Gives a better finish if you get it right though.

HTH
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Please be aware that the above post may be full of complete nonsense.
Riding: '07 KTM Duke II, Baotian BT49QT-20 Driving: '88 Volvo 340

[andym]

Surely it would be better to get some plastic primer would it not?

[ruck bodgers2]

celluloise is no fun . its very easy to use you just cut with thinners . depending on the consistency you require . last time i used cellusloise i hit it with roughly 3- 1 paint . using a gravity gun .
i prefer 2k paint over anything especially the primer filler . great stuff if you have been doing repairs to your fairings . whatever you end up using make sure . and this is important . make sure the primer is keyed in well .
painting is all in the prep work . the better your prep the better the end product will be . what you should aim for in the preperation is a perfectly smooth raw material .
when you buy your sand paper dont skimp on having less
you will save more time by stepping up through the grades
rather than jump straight from a 300 to a 1000 grade paper .
wet and dry goes a long way as long as you use it wet .
when your done preparing your piece clean it off with white spirit
.
you can spray overother paint as long as your using the same sort and all the gloss is off and it is smooth to the rest on the piece in your case none of that applies . you will need to remove it all for best results .

if you are using cans i recommend u suspend the piece you are painting and wear rubber gloves . you will get a better finnish if u can hold the piece from underneath and rotate it to the angles combined with the movement of the can . the only tricky part with can is the laquer . there is a fine line between when it is good and when it is not . if you want to do it so you have no need to wet sand afterwards you need to spray just enough so that it is wet sheen without running . the best way to do this is to be able to move the piece whilst painting .

and remember if your clear coating or laquering you need scratch resistent . i use oil n fuel resistent on all parts myself


if your using a gun i reccomend 2k paint . its a hazard and potentially deadly . so you need a good respirator .

heres a paint job i just did last week with 2k

https://imageshack.us/a/img801/4286/dscf4810h.jpg
https://imageshack.us/a/img22/5038/dscf4789z.jpg
here is one i did with cans . despite what anyone tells you . you can get a good finnish with cans with a lil trying .
heres a tip for u . should you get a run whilst doing your final coat rotate the piece in the opposite direction to the flow then counter rotate slowly after a few seconds the paint will start to go stiffer and the run will have been corrected and unoticeable as the final coat will make the pigment of the paint run . this ones done with cans https://imageshack.us/a/img59/1286/dscf4449pm.jpg
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throw it up the wall

[ruck bodgers2]

[Matt-]

Thank's guy's
____________________
RIP jack (wheelie king), you will never be forgotten.
Current Bike's - Road Legal TZR 125 Pitbike, Aprilia SR50R 2010

[caferacer]

Bare in mind a flexible piece of plastic always needs a flexible paint but if it's fairly rigid you'll be fine with most sprays.

Make sure you lightly sand between coats, especially between the primer and topcoat. Semi-gloss usually gives a better finish than a full gloss as imperfections are less visible.

If you're impatient halfords will sell you tins for about £6 each but usually you're better off shopping around.

Good luck, painting is usually a pretty rewarding aspect of bike maintenance. Don't be afraid to make up some stencils and have a go - chicks dig custom bikes lol

[Matt-]

Hopefully getting a compressor soon so will have a mess around on some practice bits !!

Cheers guys !

Matt
____________________
RIP jack (wheelie king), you will never be forgotten.
Current Bike's - Road Legal TZR 125 Pitbike, Aprilia SR50R 2010

[ruck bodgers2]

use it with a gravity feeded gun . not a suction cup or / syphon gun as they require more pressure . gravity feeded guns are easier to clean easier to use and require less pressure . so for smaller compressors they are a better ideal for novices and pros alike
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throw it up the wall

[Matt-]

Thanks for all the tips & tricks,

Going to go for a 2HP,25L, Wolf compressor with a 5 PC kit, its got some sort of paint sprayer included.

Going to do some practice on some small plastic pannels .

Matt
____________________
RIP jack (wheelie king), you will never be forgotten.
Current Bike's - Road Legal TZR 125 Pitbike, Aprilia SR50R 2010