Din
05-08-2005, 01:36 PM
taken from thead on gixxer.com
Are you thinking of painting your own bike?
here is a step by step guide using my latest paint scheme as an example.
step 1 preparation
Any repairs to be done should be done first. Cracks in the panels can be repaired with one of the plastic repair products available from motorcycle accessory shops. Damage to your petrol tank must be filled with body filler, available from car accessory shops, then sanded down first with p80 grade paper then finished off with p180 paper, this may take more than one layer of filler. Once this is done then all the panels need to be rubbed down with p240 dry or 600 grade wet or dry paper used wet. When the panels are rubbed down you should not be able to feel any raised areas or scratches and stone chips. The panels must be nice and smooth.
You should now be ready to prime the panels. First though is the question of which primer to use. You can use cellulose primer although this does not have much build I prefer two pack high build primer which has excellent build but should be used with a air fed mask as all two pack hardeners contain isocyanides.
Apply the first coat fairly light allowing to dry until the primer loses its shine the apply two heavy coats letting the paint dry between coats. Once this is done it is best, unless you have a spray oven, to let the paint dry over night.
Now your primer should be fully dry and ready to flat down using p800 wet or dry paper. First it is best to apply a guide coat this is done using a black aerosol. Spray the aerosol lightly over the panels keeping the tin about 12 inches away applying a very light coat. This will help you to find any scratches or chips left in the panel. Flat the primer wet there should not be any guide coat left on the panel once you have finished flatting the primer down.
step 2 Base colour
First you must apply the base or main colour, in my case this would be black with blue pearl basecoat. Before you start spraying you must clean the panels using pre-clean this removes any possible silicone that may be on your panel surface, then remove any dust from the panel by wiping over with a tack rag then you are ready to start painting.
Apply the basecoat with even coats this will take about 3 coats, depending on the make and colour of the paint, allow the basecoat to flash off for about 5 minutes between coats. When the panel is fully covered then allow to flash off for about 10 minutes then apply 2 coats of two pack clearcoat, this will take about 10 to 15 minutes to flash off between coats, once this is done allow to dry out for 2 to 3 days.
step 3 second colour & masking
First you must flat the clearcoat with p1200 wet or dry being very careful not to rub through the clearcoat, be extra careful on prominent parts of the panel and the edges. All you want is the bits of dirt in the paint flattened and the whole panel keyed ready for the next colour. Once the panels are prepared it is time to mask the design in my case I am going to airbrush bubbles in purple pearl all over the panels. To do this or something similar you will need some masking film, I use Frisk film which can be obtained from a art shop such as Wards Graphics.
Bubbles are a easy design and are effective, all you do is cut squares of film about 1 inch larger than the bubbles then using a compass with a blade cut out the circles of the required size. Now apply the film, being careful not to crease it. When you have applied all the film you need for your design then you will need to mask up any gaps left between the film, do this with ordinary masking tape.
Now it is time to paint the design onto the panels. With my design this is quite simple. Using a circular motion with the airbrush start at the outside of the circle move in towards the center stop before you reach the center. The idea being to have the paint fading towards the middle, it would be a good idea to practice this before you attempt this on your bike. Once the design has been applied then allow to dry for approx 30 minutes to an our then carefully remove the masking.
Now it is time to it coat it with clear again to seal in the design.
step 4 Lettering or graphics
I you are going to apply laser cut graphics then it will probably be best to cover them with clear.
Simply flat the panels with p1200 wet or dry as before apply your graphics then apply 3 coats of clear over the top.
step 5 polishing
You may wish to flat and polish any dirt in your paint to do this use fine wet or dry, being sure to use clean water with a little soap in it, carefully flat the dirt until it is smooth when this is done the panel can be polished up again with rubbing compound this is best done with a machine polisher as it is hard work by hand.
Are you thinking of painting your own bike?
here is a step by step guide using my latest paint scheme as an example.
step 1 preparation
Any repairs to be done should be done first. Cracks in the panels can be repaired with one of the plastic repair products available from motorcycle accessory shops. Damage to your petrol tank must be filled with body filler, available from car accessory shops, then sanded down first with p80 grade paper then finished off with p180 paper, this may take more than one layer of filler. Once this is done then all the panels need to be rubbed down with p240 dry or 600 grade wet or dry paper used wet. When the panels are rubbed down you should not be able to feel any raised areas or scratches and stone chips. The panels must be nice and smooth.
You should now be ready to prime the panels. First though is the question of which primer to use. You can use cellulose primer although this does not have much build I prefer two pack high build primer which has excellent build but should be used with a air fed mask as all two pack hardeners contain isocyanides.
Apply the first coat fairly light allowing to dry until the primer loses its shine the apply two heavy coats letting the paint dry between coats. Once this is done it is best, unless you have a spray oven, to let the paint dry over night.
Now your primer should be fully dry and ready to flat down using p800 wet or dry paper. First it is best to apply a guide coat this is done using a black aerosol. Spray the aerosol lightly over the panels keeping the tin about 12 inches away applying a very light coat. This will help you to find any scratches or chips left in the panel. Flat the primer wet there should not be any guide coat left on the panel once you have finished flatting the primer down.
step 2 Base colour
First you must apply the base or main colour, in my case this would be black with blue pearl basecoat. Before you start spraying you must clean the panels using pre-clean this removes any possible silicone that may be on your panel surface, then remove any dust from the panel by wiping over with a tack rag then you are ready to start painting.
Apply the basecoat with even coats this will take about 3 coats, depending on the make and colour of the paint, allow the basecoat to flash off for about 5 minutes between coats. When the panel is fully covered then allow to flash off for about 10 minutes then apply 2 coats of two pack clearcoat, this will take about 10 to 15 minutes to flash off between coats, once this is done allow to dry out for 2 to 3 days.
step 3 second colour & masking
First you must flat the clearcoat with p1200 wet or dry being very careful not to rub through the clearcoat, be extra careful on prominent parts of the panel and the edges. All you want is the bits of dirt in the paint flattened and the whole panel keyed ready for the next colour. Once the panels are prepared it is time to mask the design in my case I am going to airbrush bubbles in purple pearl all over the panels. To do this or something similar you will need some masking film, I use Frisk film which can be obtained from a art shop such as Wards Graphics.
Bubbles are a easy design and are effective, all you do is cut squares of film about 1 inch larger than the bubbles then using a compass with a blade cut out the circles of the required size. Now apply the film, being careful not to crease it. When you have applied all the film you need for your design then you will need to mask up any gaps left between the film, do this with ordinary masking tape.
Now it is time to paint the design onto the panels. With my design this is quite simple. Using a circular motion with the airbrush start at the outside of the circle move in towards the center stop before you reach the center. The idea being to have the paint fading towards the middle, it would be a good idea to practice this before you attempt this on your bike. Once the design has been applied then allow to dry for approx 30 minutes to an our then carefully remove the masking.
Now it is time to it coat it with clear again to seal in the design.
step 4 Lettering or graphics
I you are going to apply laser cut graphics then it will probably be best to cover them with clear.
Simply flat the panels with p1200 wet or dry as before apply your graphics then apply 3 coats of clear over the top.
step 5 polishing
You may wish to flat and polish any dirt in your paint to do this use fine wet or dry, being sure to use clean water with a little soap in it, carefully flat the dirt until it is smooth when this is done the panel can be polished up again with rubbing compound this is best done with a machine polisher as it is hard work by hand.