Beginners Guide to Painting Bodywork. From a beginner to a Beginner

This is from my own personal experiance. I am not a professional, so ths technique i used may or may not be what a professional painter does, so please all you experts keep that in mind.

I have done 2 sets of bodywork. The first came out horrible and the second was almost to beautiful to take to the track! i learned a lot bewtween my first time and my second time.

First and foremost.....THe way for me to a good paint job is GOOD PREP WORK!!!! I can't stress that enough. get all that grease and grime off. I used 3m adhesive, grease and wax remover. even if it looks like theres nothing on it (like new direct from the manufactuere) still clean it good.

I next went over the set with a green scotchbrite pad to slightly scuff it up. I than used Plasti-Kote sandablegray primer (ALL paint used was Plasti-Kote Truck and SUV paint I got from PEP Boys for $4.99 a can). Even if it is pre-primed, prime it again cause some paints are only compatable with same company primer.

I than hung the bodywork by a bent wire hanger from hooks in the celing of my garage. don't paint it on the floor of the garage it gets everywhere and you end up not getting paint in a ll the crevises.

Next i sparayed 3-4 coats of whatever color you wish. don't get too close or you'll get heavy runs which look like shit. You don't ave to cover the bodywork 100% on the first coat. Keep the can about 8 or so inches away and keep a nice steady side to side stroke. Oh, i used Laquer paint, it seems to dry alot faster and is more forgivable if you make a mistake (sandable) I waited about 10 minutes between coats.

after the last coat, I sanded with 2000 grit wet sandpaper. this took off all the "dust" that the overspey left everywhere. the can says 400 grit but that, in my opinion, takes way to much paint off and actually leaves fine scrathes in the fresh paint. the 200 grit leaves a silky smooth finish! I than used the hose and washed all the reisdue off and dried it real good.

next i put 2-3 coats of clear coat on in the same manner i did the color. only differance is that i didn't sand when i was done.

If you choose to sand the clear coat. wait a week or so to make sure it is FULLY cured and dried. as i found out if you sand the clearcoar too early it turns a dull opaque color and looks like crap. It took almost 2 hours to buff and polich it back to a nice smooth shiney color. (used novus plastic 3 step polish to do and than maquires cleaner/wax).

I actually did not clear coat my all Black tail section yet cause it was too perfect and smooth with just the black spray paint (no dust or anything) so I'm gpoing to wait to see how it holds up without it.

1 mistake i made on my first attempt was mixing laquer and enamal.DO NOT mix laquer and enamal paint. it cuases and reaction that makes the paint scale and peel. enamal is very hard to sand so if you make a mistake with enamal, your sorta stuck with it.
the other was i assumed the sharkskinz section was clean and the primer they used was good. wrong!!!!!!!

the whole process takes a while. the tailsection took me like 6 hours to do.

if anyone sees any mistakes with this process, post it up. But the above worked VERY WELL for ME!!! all in all i spent about $60 in supplies (paint, sandpaper, primer) used about 5 cans of paint and 3 cans of clear coat.

 

some photos of the new paint job. Minus the yellow number plates.

 

#2

 

last one (kinda dark )

 

Very cool. Thanks for posting all that. I've tried different methods, usually with Krylon, and it always comes out shitty. I always seem to get that orange peal look. I'll give your way a try.

 

Was the bodywork already painted before you did your prep work? If it is, what do you recommend for removing the old paint and prepping (sp?) the bodywork?

Do you think you could get good results with other brands of paint such as Krylon?

I thought about doing this, but I may wait until the winter time. The price is definately right. Thanks for the advice.

 

I'm not sure how to do it if it's got a coat of paint already on it. I beleive all you would have to do is sand with some 400 or 320 sandpaer real good and put a new coat of primer on.

I didnot like the krylon paint, that's what i used the first time with disasterous results. for $1 or so more a can, i think the automotive paints are definately the way to go.

 

what kind of spray gun did you use? how much paint did you have to buy? I have a compressor and was thinking about doing the same thing. So how much was all the material?

 

this was a rattle can job, no spray gun.

 

I think using any kind of solvent to get rid of old paint is risky. You may damage the bodywork. I'd call the manufacturer to make sure before going that route.

I think sanding is the way to go.

 

Pugsly, in your 7th paragraph you mention useing 200 instead of the 400 ... but I think you meant 2000 ?? not that big of a deal .. but 200 will wipe out everything . btw ... great lookin job and a good post !!

 

yeah i meant 2000 i can't edit it now because it'spast the 30 minute alotted time frame.

 

I had to strip the paint off my lowers after an accident with the enamel and laquer acrylic paints (ouch). I used Klean Strip Fiberglass Paint Stripper and it worked great. Brushed it on and hosed it off.

 

Prep

I've painted a few panels in the past, using a spray gun and base coat clear coat. They were not track bikes though.

I found that for some reason even after using prepsol to clean everything off, the paint was still reacting to something on the panel. Long story short, I had to use Isopropyl ( rubbing ) alcohol to clean the part. I'd have never got that one on my own.
A friend of mines dad was a mold maker and turned me on to that trick. Something about the release agent they use on the part at manufacturing. Dunno..... but the alcohol worked for what ever that's worth to anyone.

Matt.

 

Thanks Pugs, my first rattle-can job has turned out pretty good so far. It's curing for the sand/polishing last step. Thanks for the post. It helped a lot.

 

:up:

 

As a painter, I would say stay away from Laquer paints. They may dry quicker and be easier for the novice painter, but they dry HARDER. When the paint is hard, it will chip very easy. Since our bodywork is usually very flexible, the paint will spider web crack also. Urethane paints are the most flexible and durable.

PPG DX330 is what I use and a prep cleaner.

 

just wanted to thank you for the tips, I'm in the middle of painting my bodywork and this came in really handy. Just finished the last color coat and going to let it sit until the weekend before I get to the final sand / polish

 

when you sanded your clear coat, what grit did you use? Was it a wet sand?

 

clear coat

Depending on how bad the orange peel is that your trying to get rid of, you might want to start with 1500 but you will always want to finish with 2000 grit. Yes, wet sand. You will then have to buff it to get rid of all the sanding marks.