Paint thread?

Boomstick

Boomstick

New Member
#1
#1
Just got back into painting things. Most recently, I just did a motorized bicycle (China girl) tank. Wire-wheeled all of the nasty black oil paint which was bubbling & flaking) off, soldered the joint between the mounting bolts & the welded lock-nuts inside of the tank, muriatic acid dip (to get rid of all of the crap, and remove surface oxidization), a plunk in a basic solution of baking soda & water to neutralize the acid, and then rinsed in water. Later, it was cleaned with acetone, dried, two coats of primer, light sanding, and is now on it's second coat of Ford Blue enamel. Soon to be wet sanded and another coat applied.

Thinking about taping off a stripe down the middle (lengthwise), and hitting the rest with another coat of primer & arctic white for that 1965 Shelby GT350 feel. :wink:

Surface prep surface prep surface prep :grind:


Anyone else here have paint tips & tricks? Photos? :laugh:

I know some of you guys do an absolutely stellar job with paint & I LOVE seeing the work.



 
bigrob

bigrob

#2
#2
I am by no means a pro but I get by and have developed a few tricks

I buy a litre/ quart of clear coat and hardener , I use a small cheap spray gun and only mix a few ounces at a time
The can of clear will last me for a year or a lot of bikes
Then I get a custom made spray can of automotive base coat in whatever color I need
The reason for this is that the solvents or propelant used in the custom made spray cans are not compatible with the clear coat but work fine with the base color
Makes for a pro looking job
 
Stangrcr1

Stangrcr1

New Member
#5
#5
I recently started using automotive paints over spray cans and the finish is worth it. At first. I used PPG and DuPont paints as they were what my local supplier carries, but now I have started using SummitRacing urethane paints and they seem to be just as good of quality at around half the price.

The mower I am painting now would have cost $400 in PPG, but around $240 from Summit. And I will probably have enough left over to paint a bike or two.

I also buy their epoxy primer and urethane clear by the gallon, and it lasts a long time.

Oh and I use Harbor Freight spray guns.... They are plenty good for me. My build-off bikes were sprayed with them.

Surface prep is everything.

As far as your tank, looks good. But when spraying the white, skip the primer. Just scuff up the area where the white is to be sprayed. Too much paint and there will be a noticeable edge where the tape gets pulled off.
 
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ole4

ole4

#7
#7
I use kirker epoxy primer and kirker basecoat and matrix or matrix equivalent high solids clear. Just started trying the kirker intermediate basecoat clear mixed with pearl for a pearl paintjob before final clear.
 
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