How to paint your motorcycle or chopper

by DAN GIBSON

How to paint your motorcycle or chopper

A basic guide to painting your bike

MATERIALS Thinner Body Filler Finishing Putty Primer and hardeners Epoxy Sealer (Optional) Base color Paint Clear Coat 80,120,400,600,1500,2000 grit wet/dry sandpaper

IMPROVISED PAINT BOOTH

If you're like me, you don't have the luxury of a down-draft spray booth in your shop. Here's what I did. I cleaned out a storage area that's attached to the back of my shop. I lined the walls with white poly, and installed a variable speed fan in the window. I then went around with a roll of duct tape and sealed the edge of the fan to the surrounding poly on the walls. Now onto the lights. After the first time you attempt to paint anything, you'll quickly realize just how important a well lit paint area is. In fact when it comes to lighting, the brighter your paint area the better. A buddy gave me two four-tube florescent fixtures, which I hung on oposite sides of my new paintbooth. It also helps to have reflective walls. Lining the walls with white plastic not only saves your walls, but it's also very reflective.

SAFETY

Before I continue, I want to stress safety. It's a really bad I idea to paint in a room that's attached to your home. In fact, it may not be legal in some jurisdictions. furthermore, paint fumes are not only super toxic, they're highly flammable. Make sure your fixtures are wired correctly, and that your fixtures are fully encased with lens covers installed. Last but not least, be sure you have a good quality respirator with the correct filters for the kind of paint you're using.

PAINT EQUIPMENT

For tools you'll need at least two paint guns, a air regulator with a water trap, a compressor, and of course some air line. As aforementioned you'll need 2 paint guns... one for painting primer, and another for painting base and clear coats.

PREP FOR PAINT

Be certain your fuel and oil tanks are pressure tested and leak free before you start. Ideally, it's good to sandblast your steel parts, especially if they have old paint on them. If you choose not to sandblast, be sure to sand them really good and wipe them down with a non oil-based degreaser prior to beginning the job.

The next step is to apply filler to the low spots and any trouble spots. It's a matter of personal preference, but I prefer to spray a coat of epoxy primer prior to spraying on the base coat. This provides a nice base for the filler to adhere to. prepare your filler in small amounts (it hardens fast) and apply it smoothly and evenly onto your part.

Once the filler has stiffened, sand it smooth with 80 grit and look it over for any low spots or nicks, then fill and sand again. After the necessary rounds of filler and sanding are completed, it's time to spray on the primer.

Spray on a couple of coats of epoxy primer. After the primer is dry, grab a spray bomb of black paint and very lightly spray it over your part. This is your guide coat. The light black coat will show any waves, low spots or defects in your handy work. To fix the problem spots that the guide coat exposed, you'll want to use flowable putty rather than filler. Lay down the putty in thin even coats, then smooth it down with 80 grit sandpaper (wrapped around a foam sanding block). Once you get the high spots leveled down, smooth it off even further with 120 grit, then finishing it with 400 grit. You are now ready for the last coats of primer.

Once the primer has dried, sand it thoroughly with 400 grit to provide a toothy surface for the base coat to adhere to. I like to spray on a coat of epoxy sealer just prior to applying the base colour coat. In addition to providing a really nice surface for applying the base color, it also prevents any solvents from coming through and causing bubbles in the clear coat. Make sure to follow the paint manufacturers spec sheets with regards to mixing times, mixing ratios and painting temperature. Not following the guidelines will cause you much grief...believe me.

BASE COAT/CLEAR COAT

Time for the color coat. Lay down the colour coats as per your paint manufacturer's specification sheet. Now comes the clear. After the first round of clear has dried, wet sand it down with 600 grit. You should see rows of ridges appear in the clear as you sand. Continue until the clear is even and the ridges have disappeared. If you're painting graphics on, now is the time to put them on. After applying the graphics, spray them with another round of clear. It may take one or more rounds of clear to completely bury the graphics. Be sure to wet sand flat with 600 grit between coats of clear. After the final round of clear has been sprayed, sand it down flat with 600 grit as before. When it's nice and smooth, finish it off with 1500 grit. If you want to get it crazy smooth, go for a final round of 2000 grit.

POLISHING

Now for the gratifying part. The final step is to polish it to a mirror finish. You'll need a variable speed polisher, a buffing pad, and some buffing compound. There are lots of different kinds of buffing compound available. Your local automotive supply store will be able to recommend a good one.