Update on DIY Painting Lacquer Vs. Enamel

[Dr. Frankenstein]

Hi All;

Just an update on my DIY painting procedure, in case anyone is interested - I have finally gotten the CA77 painted, but no, I haven't posted pics yet because, well, I just haven't...I know, I'm a slacker...life keeps getting in the way, etc. etc...but I swear, I will make an effort...

But! In case anybody is wondering about doing the same thing themselves and using Rustoleum vs Krylon, or enamel vs lacquer, here's my two cents: I used Rustoleum High Gloss White enamel applied with a spray can for the tank, swingarm and front forks, and a HVLP gun from Harbor Freight for the frame and front fender; they all came out great, and I absolutely will try to get off my seat and post pics; but I also overlooked the fork mounts inside the forks and the steering head flat plate, so I went back and did them with white lacquer to see what the difference was - and given the chance to do it again, I would definitely go with the lacquer - it dries faster, allowing a recoat in 20 mins or less, instead of 2 hours(more like a day, with sanding), and is much glossier at first application (and after it dries) than the regular Rustoleum enamel; and it also lessens the time bugs have to land on it and screw it up( I painted mine in the backyard...). Add the lacquer clear coat and boom! Instant Finish!

FWIW,I clear-coated the bike with Polycrylic Gloss, applied with the spray gun (water clean-up and no yellowing...nice!), and I'm satisfied with the way it turned out...I'm not restoring it to 'showroom condition', and I have no plans to 'show' it, so it works for me...

The lacquer, however, also comes in spray cans, and I top-coated the fork mount and plate with clear Rustoleum lacquer, and found I could probably get away with no sanding between coats, but as I said, these lacquered parts will be mostly hidden, but I wanted to see what the difference is; and *I* found the lacquer to be much quicker, although a little more 'liquid' than regular enamel, so if you go this route, you might want to do a few practice runs on something before you lay it on the bike to avoid any runs or drips...the lacquer is slightly cheaper, too! :)

As an added note, Preparation Is Everything; I took mine down to bare metal with Rustoleum Aircraft Remover, a scraper and Gumout Carb Cleaner, which does a nice job of dissolving any leftover basecoat/paint...messy, yes, but I don't have a sandblaster handy, so it worked for me...just try not to breathe it...a can of Auto-Prep helps, too, to remove any residual dust or sanded paint or top-coat...

I also used spray-can Rustoleum Etching Primer for the bare metal, then topcoated THAT with spray-can Rustoleum Primer-Sealer, gave that a light sanding, then hit it with two coats of paint, sanding in between coats with 1000 grit, then the Clear Gloss. After each coat, I let the primer and paint cure for at least a day before lightly sanding and recoating it with anything; I can't wait to put it all together again...:)

Just don't be in a rush, and let the primer/paint/clear coats cure for a few days before moving on to sanding and laying the next coat - and be sure to think 'Light Coats'; too heavy and you risk runs and drips...


Oh, and do you need to de-rust a tank?? I used a half-bottle of Naval Jelly mixed with water in a gallon plastic milk jug, added that to the gas tank and then filled the tank with water the rest of the way; put the tank cap on loosely and let it sit overnight.

The next day, drain a bit out (into a plastic bucket, of course), or leave enough room in there to add a big box of baking soda to neutralize the phosphoric acid solution - shake that around in there to make sure it's all neutralized, empty the tank, rinse with more water and baking soda, give it a final rinse with water and smile at the nice clean metal interior...I then sprayed it down inside with a liberal amount of WD-40 to help prevent flash-rust, and then used a shop-towel attached to a long flexible grabber to soak up the WD-40 (I even had to wait two days before I got back to it after I sprayed it with WD-40, and no flash rust ocurred...); add gasoline and there you go...worked for me, anyway...

Anyway; just FYI...

-John

[G-Man]

John

Great post. Thankyou for sharing. I've been painting bikes on and off for 30 years but it's always good to hear of other's experience. We cannot get Naval Jelly anymore in the UK but I have tried something similar.

I use lacquer most of the time, nowadays, with and HVLP gun of which I have several 'bike' sized ones. I find it 'amateur friendly' and you can get a good finish with care and effort..

I'll post some pics of my Dream when it's done.

G

PS The 'Aircraft Remover' sounds interesting - I wonder if the RAF have tried it? :-)