spraying your bike

[NY_Sniper]

im thinking of spraying my ZXR400 in kawak green but id like some tips on things like prep and atual spraying

any advice will be a gr8 help
____________________
That Dot On The Horizon .... Its Me

> Kawasaki ZX7R (Betty Jnr) <> Suzuki GS500e in pieces (Bitch) <> Suzuki GS500e (Martha) <>

[Kaben]

Sand back the surfaces you wish to spray (removed from bike) to a smooth surface with something like 800 wet 'n' dry paper. No need to remove all of the previous color, just to a point where it definitely wont be able to flake off.
Clean the surface with alcohol or white spirit to remove any grease/dirt.
Spray with minimum of two coats of primer. Allow to dry and give a gentle rub back with the finest sand paper you can get your hands on (1000ish), this will give it some key. (no need to go mad here, just a gentle rub)
Another clean with white spirits wouldnt go amiss here, just to make sure you dont get patchy paint from oily marks

Spray the top coat on with the can held approx 12 inches from the surface at about a 45 degree angle.
Start spraying before you hit the leading edge of the surface and stop after leaving the trailing edge (this keeps the edges of the fairing painted as well as the main surface). Move down half an inch and spray back in the opposite direction, keeping it smooth and watching out for drips.
I would recommend at least 4 coats of your top colour.
After your final top coat,again gently rub with very fine sandpaper and clean with white spirits.
Spray on a laquer in the same way, but the more coats you can afford to put on, the fuller and deeper your paint job will look.


Hope this helps matey
____________________
Its Not a Melon, Its Clearly a Lime!!
Yamaha Fazer 600Now dead, MZ 125 SM
My Deviant Art homepage https://robabloke.deviantart.com/

[ZRX61]

[quote="Kaben]Hope this helps matey[/quote]
It would possibly could have done if it didn't contain so many common mistakes...
#1: 800 is NOT the garde he wants, use 400

#2: Clean the surface with wax & grease remover

#3: If he didn't sand thru to the substrate there is NO NEED for ANY primer

Ya had a few other glaring cockups listed, I can't be arsed to list the rest..

[feef]

[Ric]

[feef]

[Kaben]

By previous layer of paint i mean the existing top coat.
You will not want to sand back all teh way with 800 for that will take ages, but finish the surface off with 800 to remove any fine scratches or nicks. The paint will enhance these scratches and make it look shoddy. You could indeed just use paint stripper and then sand to smooth and key, but i personally hate paint stripper, and will only use it on areas that are nigh on impossible to sand effectively.
I would strongly suggest that you ignore ZRX61's comment about not having to use primer. The use of primer prevents the paint layers from "sliding" off the surface of the item your painting and provides a constant surface preventing slight blemishes where the paint becomes in contact with different substrates. (especially if when sanding, some parts have been taken back to the base substrate,whilst others have remnants of paint upon them)

There is no need to be particularly pedantic to what you use to remove the oil/greasy marks. alcohol/spirits based cleaners work sufficiently well, but make sure you A: do not scrub with it, B: do not leave it on too long, as this will cause the paint to strip or smudge slightly.

I do not believe that there are "glaring mistakes" with this method,just pedantic issues that ZRX61 has. I have used this method to paint many machines, some of which have spent over 4 months in winter weather and still look pristine.......cant be going that wrong can i? I have not written an exact guide, but with a little common sense it should be useful to you,respraying is very simple as long as you prepare properly.

I look forward to your alternative guide ZRX61, so that i can make needless abusive comments and pick needless holes
____________________
Its Not a Melon, Its Clearly a Lime!!
Yamaha Fazer 600Now dead, MZ 125 SM
My Deviant Art homepage https://robabloke.deviantart.com/

[ZRX61]

[ZRX61]

[Kaben]

cheers,just looked on their website,may look into getting some of those for future projects

Currently been using sand paper attached to a piece of dowling, so it could be used like a file for tight spots, so i can smooth off the surface after stripping.
____________________
Its Not a Melon, Its Clearly a Lime!!
Yamaha Fazer 600Now dead, MZ 125 SM
My Deviant Art homepage https://robabloke.deviantart.com/

[Kaben]

Im sorry but i have been taught to respray vehicles by someone that does it for a living, so i cant be doing it wrong or else he would be out of business,or at least have a very unhappy customer base. I also help out at his workshop when he has a high workload on the go.
Fair enough his work is commonly baked and not of an identical process but he taught me for the use of spray cans and air curing as well.

Of the site you linked yourself he uses primer + hardener. I dont understand why you would be lazy enough to not use it? Priming a surface makes it fresh and primers are made for optimum paint adhesion.They are ALWAYS used in the shop and i always use them on any work i do. Miraculous that your paintjobs have stayed so pristine.
He also says on that very site that no two people spray paint in the same way and i would probably have to agree with this, as this thread and many others i have posted in show.

Im glad you feel so very confident in your respray style,but please dont poo-poo my advice list which listed useful tips for a beginner painter.

Im done with this thread now, for i cant be arsed to argue over pedantic niggles.

I hope this thread has provided some small help anyway NY_sniper, good luck with the spray and post some pictures when its done.

Oh and make sure you do it somewhere where there is no wind (causes spattering), and if inside well ventilated! dont want to get too high on the fumes! If doing it in a garage, throw some water on the floor before you start to stop any dust from kicking up and sticking to your stick new paint job.

good luck matey
____________________
Its Not a Melon, Its Clearly a Lime!!
Yamaha Fazer 600Now dead, MZ 125 SM
My Deviant Art homepage https://robabloke.deviantart.com/

[Grubby]

I would add that seeing as you're obviously doing this at home use filler primer. It takes out all the pinpricks that marr an otherwise good, home done respray.

[ZRX61]

[ZRX61]