DIY Painting Procedure

brewsky · Post by **brewsky** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 6:28 am

Dr. Frankenstein wrote:Davemoto, that's a good idea; there IS a car paint place in Charlottesville that sells 2-part paint and finishes; I used something called UPOL on a tank I did for one of my other bikes; it's essentially a 2-part automotive clear in a spray can for, like, $20...they have it in pints, qts, etc, but I just needed a spray can...a little tricky to use, but it sets up just like a car clear-finish; not too shabby...but are you sure about just a pint? I'm going to try to get at least 2, possibly 3 coats of clear on it. Can you recommend a name-brand clear/top coat? Something that doesn't yellow would be good, since I'm shooting the bike in white...

Brewski, actually, with a good application of aircraft remover and a sharp metal scraper and stiff wire brush, it takes about the same time as a blaster would (possibly shorter), as I've discovered...I plan to just scuff up the inside of the fenders/frame and hit it with primer/sealer, but I'm taking it down to bare metal on the outside..and I must say, when you do that and hit it with etcher, sand with 1000 grit and then hit it with sealer, it comes out looking pretty good! A lot of work, yes, but since I've been 'on the beach' job-wise for a while, I don't really have anything better to do; and if anybody out there is looking for a good radio producer, PM me and let me know! :)

I'll see what I can do about posting some pics; give me a while to figure out how to do it...[/img]

The easiest way to attach pics.....after putting them on your desktop or wherever on your PC, just hit the browse button, locate them from your files and double click, then click "add attachment" button. Forget about that "IMG" and "URL" stuff at the top.

Dr. Frankenstein · Post by **Dr. Frankenstein** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 10:31 pm

Brewski, Hell yeah, man, that looks awesome! I hope mine comes out as good....

And thanks for the tips on attaching pics..the instructions are just the way I like them: short and easily understood!

FWIW I got the frame etched today; I plan to give it a few days to set up before I shoot it with primer/sealer, but I'm really looking forward to hitting it with white. I still have to do the forks anyway, so that'll give me something to do...although I kind of wonder about laying primer here outside: 95 degrees At Least...(Saturday is supposed to be 100); and I'm not saying it's humid, but when you have to jump into the river to dry off....you got to love Virginia in the summertime...

So Davomoto, where can I get some of this Transtar spot-n-panel, and about how much is it? At a better automotive paint store near me, I assume...and you suggest I shoot it straight, without thinning it? At what pressure?

Does Sherwin Williams have anything in a clear worth mentioning? And has anybody had any experience with the Rustoleum gloss clear? Or something harder I can put over it?

-John

busaken · Post by **busaken** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 11:21 pm

i use nason brand automotive paint products. i use their base color followed by their clearcoat. 2 stage process. i painted my white 63 dream and my girlfriends black 65 ca95 benly with nason products. the results are far better than i expected. ive tried other brands ie omini brand auto paints= ok if you want a cheap fast job. shop line auto paint= better, nason auto paints= best. these paints are two stage process or you can get the single stage paints which the clear is part of the color paint. best to use a air spray gun or i my case a hvlp spray gun works the best i have heard of transstar paint products. but havent tried to spray with it so i dont know if it is good or not only what ive sprayed above

davomoto · Post by **davomoto** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 9:47 am

Automotve paint retailer should have it, or a similar product. I think around $60 for paint and activator. I use 20lbs of pressure, and a 2.0 tip.

Dr. Frankenstein · Post by **Dr. Frankenstein** » Wed Jul 28, 2010 9:00 pm

Davomoto - Yeah, I used a 1.5 tip and started at 30 lbs pressure, but somehow it crept up to 45 while I wasn't watching, and I found I have a lot more control over the spray at that pressure. It actually came out looking really good! I still need to post pics, I know, but haven't gotten around to it yet...I'm a slacker, I know..:)

I have one coat of white on, and am planning for two, but right now I'm currently looking at clears; the poisonous, need-a-paint-respirator-to-apply-it two-part stuff is $55 a quart, which for me in my current situation is rather pricey...but I'm also seriously considering Minwax polycrylic...I can't seem to find any Varathane Diamond Clear Gloss in quarts Anywhere, besides mail-order...I don't know if I want to go that route, though...opinions, ya'll...??

So, sanding between paint coats - I was going to sand it with 1000 and lay down another paint coat, sand that, then lay down at least 4 coats of clear, with whatever I decide to use...I've read good things about the Minwax polycrylic, especially that it doesn't yellow, which is important since the bike will be white. Ideas??

-John

Dr. Frankenstein · Post by **Dr. Frankenstein** » Sat Aug 07, 2010 6:42 pm

Hey, Brewsky, I hear what you're saying about enamel - I've laid down a good base of white enamel, but I have no idea when the Orange Peel monster crept in to the garage. It's not bad, *But*,

Definitely a 10-footer, but I'm cool with that....

...so I'm just going to touch it up and lightly sand it and lay my coat of clear...I'm thinking I'll go with lacquer next time, if there is one.

chrisnoel · Post by **chrisnoel** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 10:00 am

Looks like the dream pictured has orange peel and other members have described this as well. Once cured clear or other paints can all be wet sanded and polished. I should qualify the folowing advice as coming not from a painter but someone who has detailed lots of old paint jobs to avoid re-painting them. Considering how much it cost's to hire out quality paint work I've found spending more on original painted parts that can be detailed back to life a better option if they can be found.

I like to wet sand first with 1000 paper, generous amount of water, and once in a whil a bit of soap in the water. Move up to atleast 1500 to finish the sanding process then polish with a drill mounted 3" polishing pad and polishing compund. I avoid using rubing compound and go straight for the polish as I like to polish at low speeds to avoid polishing through the paint. This is surely the ameture aproach to polishing paint but if you are an ameture like me it's probably as far as you should go to avoid wrecking things and having to hire out for paint.