Hey guys just thought id put a little thread up regarding spraypainting and different ways to get good results at a low price for your project bikes, I`ve dabbled in spray painting for years now mostly as a hobby, when i started (on mopeds) using aerosols, I was getting ok results, and everytime I sprayed something else I was getting better results, I worked for about 2 or 3 months in a body shop and i`ve also purchased Dvds off ebay to learn more techniques! in my opinion failing to prepare is preparing to fail!
Honestly if you have the best spray booth in the world with the best paint and paint gun and fail to prep your panels right, your paint job will be shite, however even if you only have a shed (clean) and some aerosols and put alot of effort into preparing your panels you could end up with fantastic results! heres what i do, if I forget anythin I`ll post it up later!(by the way im not claiming to know everything
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-clean panels before sanding (any dirt can be dragged across the surface n create deep scratches)
-sand your panels down with a medium grit sand block/disc, and avoid heavy sanding on corners,
-when your happy that the panel is evenly sanded clean them down, and then clean them down again with panel prep degreaser (12euro a gallon approx)
-make sure the primer you are using is compatable with the paint you`ve chosen.
-I tend to apply about 3-4 light coats to avoid drip marks!
-If you dont have a heated room for the primer to set give it at least 1 day to dry!
-when you are happy the primer is dry, you can start wet sanding, this is what can potentially give you that perfect reflective shiny paint job finish!
-wet your panel down aswell as a sheet of 1200 grit sand paper and lightly sand over the panel, dont press down too hard
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-afterward just for comparisson rub your hand over the panel you`ve just sanded, then over one you haven`t, the difference is huge!
-after you`ve wet sanded all your panels, give thema really good clean, water 1st, dry, then degreaser panel prep!
- I tend to repeat this process after every 2 coats of paint! the smoother the panel, the more glossy and reflective the finish!
- now your panels are ready for paint!
- If you are using a gun and compressor make sure the paint mixture is right with the hardner and thinners, it makes all the difference + whichever store is supplying the paint should give you a few mixing cups free
-Id probably advise practising your spray technique on an old board or something to get the right distance and stroke speed, and try not to spray too much on your panel, it will only lead to drips!
-spray on at least 3-4 coats of paint giving enough time for each coat to be thoroughly dry, I`d also wet sand after 2 or 3 coats depending on how many coats you plan on spraying!
Repeat this process if you are using lacquer ( you will be using lacquer unless you are using 2-pac paint) id usually spray 2 coats!
-afterwards if your still not satisfied with the finish, when the panels are completely dry, wet them down with water get some rub in compound on a wet cloth and vigorously rub it into the panel, you`ll need plenty of elbow grease for this!
if your workin hard enough you`ll see an instant result!
-you will be left with a much smoother paint surface which will be like a mirror finish but it will have some swirl lines in it from rubbing, use some scratch remover/paint restorer polish!
-this will remove all swirl marks and make your paint look brighter!
again im not a professional but i have used these techniques time and time again with great success and its saved me a fortune, its also very gratifying to be able to say you did it when people are checkin out your slick paint scheme!
if you`ve no idea when it comes to spraying techniques just check youtube, there`s loads of vids!
I plan on using all these techniques in the next few weeks as i plan on completely respraying my RVF 400! ill take pics n notes and upload them as soon as they`re done! so if your in any way interested to see if this actually works or wanna see if I was just talkin shit keep an eye out!
hopefully someone can take something from this!
i`ll also post the pics on my diary blog
