Thanks for all of the advice. Cleanliness and paint runs are my two biggest worries. I know myself well enough that it leave a significant enough imperfection in the paint it is going to drive me nuts. I just worry about getting a lot of dust on it when it is wet. Garages being what they are, the are not the cleanest environment for painting. I will do some practicing to see how well I can do before I decide to try for real. Either way I will try to post pictures when it is done.
Thanks! MN Blue On Oct 26, 12:15 pm, yankfroggy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Aerosol cans are possible. The spray gun may not be necessary if the > largest thing to paint is your tank. Aerosol cans do a great job if > you do it right and there is less fuss and mess. > > On the metal parts like the tank, remove all the old paint with jasco > and use fine steel wool to help that process in any little crevices. > Use rubber gloves and goggles (jasco is potent stuff). On the plastic > parts, use very fine sand paper and bring the old paint down to at > least a smooth haze. > > Wash all parts throuroughly with lots of water and mild soap like > Dawn. Then rinse thoroughly. Use metal etch solution on the tank and > metal parts. DO NOT try to paint if the air temperature is below 65 or > if it's raining outside. When you are ready to paint, place the part > and the can of paint in a warm environment ( a household radiator is > good, or on top of lamp, or even bake in the oven at 100f). No-one in > their right mind would tell you to place a paint can in an oven, but > if you set at 100 and keep take it out after 5 minutes you are safe. > It;s best to paint parts when they are warm to the touch. Loosely wrap > low tack masking tape around your hand sticky side out and pass it all > around the part to remove dust and lint. > > Shake the aerosol can vigorously for at least 2 minutes. Start your > spray off the part and bring it in at a distance where you are leaving > a light mist on the part evenly and quickly. > > Repeat this light coat repeatedly while allowing thorough drying > between coats. This process may take days, but don't be tempted to > rush it or to apply too thick of a coat. After 3 or 4 coats you may > want to wet sand lightly with 000 very fine sand paper. Repeat > cleaning process and lint removal. Continue laying coats of paint > until you get that glossy wet look. Apply at least 6 coats. > > Finally bake the parts again and don't touch them for a week. The main > things to remember are PATIENCE, absolute cleanliness, light coats , > and thorough drying between coats. Never touch anything with your bare > fingers which carry oils. > > I have even painted larger parts with cans and the results are still > amazing years later. However i have one advantage: I live in > California and I worked during the summer. > > If you decide to go with the gun, keep the same principles in mind. > > Dennis > > On Oct 25, 3:47 pm, Minnesota Blue <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > So I am going to paint my 1983 650. The fun part about winter in MN > > and motorcycles is that when it is too cold to ride you have plenty of > > time for these "projects". If it was always warm I would never have > > time to do anything to a motorcycle. I am going to have a tank liner > > baked in first and the process can be hard on the paint. The tank > > clear coat is pretty shot and the rest of the paint is showing its > > age. It is currently blue and I am thinking of going yellow. My > > question is should I attempt to do this myself, or bite the bullet and > > pay to have it done right? This is never going to be a show bike and > > I have a decent spray gun. However, I have never painted plastic > > before (side covers and such) and have very limited experience > > painting anything. Part of me wants to give it a shot because I think > > it will be fun. The other part of me does not want a crappy paint > > job. Anyone try this at home? Any suggestions?- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
