Would like to spray my motorbike matt black - advice needed

[Colinzor]

Hi guys.

I would like to spray my motorbike matt black, is this something i could do myself as a project?

I think it was crashed before i got it so whoever had it has resprayed it a flip paint green and purple, its actually not bad looking but i would like to respray it to give it a different look if possible, if so how long would this take and is it hard? i use the bike daily for my commutes.

Its a Honda CBR 125

any advice would be great thanks

[Rogerborg]

Yes you can do it.

It's an exercise in degreasing, sanding, cleaning, shaking and waiting. The actual spraying is almost incidental.

This is a rattle-can job.

https://img196.imageshack.us/img196/8788/paintedbike.jpg

That's 4 layers of primer (white covering black, you'll need fewer), 3 layers of colour, and a lacquer layer.

It took almost a week to complete (mostly drying time) and the lacquer took another couple of weeks to fully cure.

So, yes, it's possible, but I'd hesitate to do it again.

Or you could just buy the biggest cheapest tins of matt or satin black that you can find and keep spraying over that lovely distinctive flip paintwork until you're happy, or bored, or reduced to remorseful tears. That works too.
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[Carvel]

[BTTD]

Yep, spraying is diy'able, but getting a great finish that you can stand back and admire can be an absolute ball ache. Also, for the petrol tank you need a petrol proof lacquer.

If it was me.... hmm, in my younger days I would have charged in and had a go, but nowadays I'd say fuck that, just enjoy it for what it is until it's time to get rid of it and move on.
That is largely driven by the fact that I lack the time. If you've got plenty of time and really fancy a go - crack on.

[Rogerborg]

[Llama-Farmer]

Preparation is key to paint spraying.

Particularly for DIY jobs. I mean its equally important for pro jobs, but they know what they're doing and they're being paid to do a good job. But for DIY jobs the preparation can be extremely boring and tedious... and it doesn't feel like progress.

I've had a tendency to think "how important can it be" or something like "fuck it I can't be bothered anymore" and start spraying.

All I will say is DON'T say "fuck it". It'll be a shit job if you don't prep properly. I ended up having the paint peel within days. TBH it was the lower grille of my car, so it gets stone chipped anyway, so I just give it a blow over with satin black spray every few months... it's not a good quality job but it's low to the ground so it's hard to see the bad finish and it gets damaged anyway.

A bike on the other hand, you'll notice very much if the tank starts peeling.



So if you're gonna do it yourself... do it well, do it properly.
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[Teflon-Mike]

To do a 'decent' job; you are looking at probably the best part of £250's worth of rattle cans; want to lift it from being an obvious 'blow-over' job in single colour; then start adding paint and more tedium masking, and or expensive, as in between £50 & £150, replica decals.

Then spend the best part of a month, sanding, prepping, cleaning, fixing, prepping, priming, and LOTS and LOTS of waiting for stuff to dry or cure. And not a lot of it seeing stuff change colour.

And it will STILL look like a crashed bike, some-one's tried 'tarting up on the cheap'.... esp in matt black, which doesn't cover all sins, but high-lights them... and has tendency to grab grime and is a pig to clean.

And besides, the 'steath' look is Sooooo last decade. But it be your bike & your money.

It's do-able.. I do about one a year or so... but I don't tend to try doing the bike I have to ride every day, and I oughtn't have any-one moan at me for what I do in my own home, like leaving side-panels to cure near radiators, or drying tanks in front of the oven... especially since SHE built her bludy bike behind my settee! But don't stop them!

If you share living space, this MAY be worth thinking about... Mum's are great, but tend to get a bit ruffled when they bring the towels in off the line and find black lines on them, where you hung your fairings off it to spray them! Or go to do the washing up and have hundred of tears of wet and dry on the drainer... or the hoover is clogged with sanding dust!

'Projects' can inject some discord into home harmony.
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[Az]

Did my mates wheels with him using £2 rattle cans from the local pound shop

We simply cleaned, primed and sprayed. (he may of sanded the wheels down before I started helping him spray them, but I can't remember).

1- Cleaned the wheels until they were immaculate.
2- Sprayed one layer of white primer over the wheels.
3- Sprayed three layers of gloss red paint over the wheels.

It cost no more than £10 to do both wheels and they came out surprisingly good (considering we used cheap paint). This was like 5/6months ago, the wheels are still looking okay with no cracks or chips in.

[djrikki]

[djrikki]

[Az]

[clancy]

As usual tef is talking shit. £250 on rattle cans ? Is your bike the size of a house ?

It's all in the prep work, sanding and working your way through the grades to get a nice smooth finish everywhere. Probably cost £5 in sand paper

Then 2 or 3 layers of primer 3 or 4 paint and a clear coat. Buy simoniz paint off eBay, it's cheap and very good. Spread very well

On second thoughts you said matt black so ignore the clear coat

I'm refurbing some bbs split rims at the minute, which is far far more prep work and most likely more paint. It has cost about £40

It's all about prep work, take your time and get it perfect it will look spot on after. I've done lots of wheels and no one can tell the difference. We also sprayed my mates whole car with rattle cans a few weeks back and again it looks like a pro job, we just spent ages sanding it perfectly and sanding at any paint stage where the finish looked off
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KLX 300r

[stinkwheel]

A few options.

You can do it properly. In which case I'd go for the primer, normal black rubbed down between coats then a matt/satin laquer to finish.

You can do it just matt black in a ratbike style in which case I'd recommend plastikote BBQ paint.

There is also vinyl wrap. You can either buy 3M stuff which goes on like a dream or pay 1/4 as much for some cheap stuff which is more difficult to use. Buy a bit of cheap stuff to practice with anyway.

This is a professional, matt black paintjob which cost £350 for the front fairings and tank:
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/VFR/1CIMG1607_zps029b660f.jpg

This is 3M vinyl wrap. Got enough to do the whole bike for about £65. You DO need to practice first though, there are lots of youtube videos:
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/CIMG0760halved.jpg
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[Doovy]

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[stinkwheel]

[trevor saxe-coburg-gotha]

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[Doovy]

[Atomic Punk]

When I was despatching, I sprayed a Camo Z550 matt black in between jobs, no rubbing down etc, it's what matt black was made for.
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I may have lost my way but I'm way ahead of schedule.

[Rogerborg]

[treeno]

Do you guys not recommend any paint stripping/sandblasting first? Or can you just get away with hand sanding all over first?
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Current ride: Ninja 500R

[stirlinggaz]

[Teflon-Mike]

[clancy]

You pay waaaaay too much for paint.
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KLX 300r