bike painting

[JIBTEXHNKA]

has anyone painted their GZ?

i have no reason to other than to change the color... it's practically brand new and the paint is in perfect condition. however, baby blue just isn't doing it for me.

is this something that i could do relatively easily? it seems like could just remove the tank, fenders, and frame covers and not worry about getting paint all over the chrome, although i have no idea how easy it is to remove the front and back fenders.

[rayzuki]

front fender is easy. rear takes a little more work. Don't know how to tank the tank off yet.

[bigwonton]

Originally Posted by rayzuki

front fender is easy. rear takes a little more work. Don't know how to tank the tank off yet.

Taking off the tank is also really easy - take off front seat, undo the two bolts that hold the tank and front latch down. Take off gas and vacuum line. Lift tank up from rear and off the bike.

[jonathan180iq]

Painting brand new surfaces, if you do it yourself, will almost certianly result in a disappointing finish.
That is, of couse, assuming that you aren't a pro painter or something. But, if you were, I doubt you'd be asking us wanna-be GZ mechanics how to paint the bike.

I resprayed some side panels on a bike long ago and they were alright.

You'll want to sand off as much of the gloss finish as you can with a fine grit sand paper. They make them espeically for plastics and stuff so it shouldn't be hard to find. You don't want something so rought that it visibly eats down into the plastic. Just get the shine off. The sanding and prep is really the most important part.

Next, you'll want to properly prime the surface with a high quality primer. Follow the manufacturers guide lines to a "T".

Then comes the painting and clear cloating which can take a while because you want to do several light layers, allowing time to completely dry inbetween coats. Like with priming, follow all guide lines directly and don't cut corners or rush, if you want a good quality finish.

Using white under coats make whatever color you choose much more vibrant. You can even get white primers for this same purpose.

The only metal experience that I have comes from refinishing a 100 year old iron bed and I can't really say beyond a shadow of a doubt that the process would be the same.

If it were me, I'd see how much it would cost to buy all the materials, and my time, to get the bike done right by myself. Then, I'd get a few quotes from locals auto body paint places. It may save you time and disappointment to just have the bike resprayed by a pro shop.

Good luck, either way.
If you get it painted, make sure you get us some photos.

[jonathan180iq]

Originally Posted by JIBTEXHNKA

is this something that i could do relatively easily? it seems like could just remove the tank, fenders, and frame covers and not worry about getting paint all over the chrome, although i have no idea how easy it is to remove the front and back fenders.

Front fender just requires the removal of 4 bolts that attach to the forks.

The rear fender is a little more complicated. It attaches via the 4 rear frame bolts. (this is where saddlebag supports and sutff goes) Then, you'll have to disconnect the rectifier and I think the fuse box also bolts onto the fender, under the seat.

The side panels come off with a single bolt and the tank is just two bolts and two hoses.

[Dupo]

If you want to save yourself some money, spray the bike with Duplicolor paints. They've come a long way from your rattle can junk paint. They've redone their entire line and now offer some high quality paint that they stand by to paint damn near anything. Check out their website ... they even show off painting a motorcycle with their color changing paint.

Problem with Duplicolor or any rattle can paint, get gas on it and say goodbye to the paint. if you go the do-it-yourself route, atleast get it clear coated at a paint shop with 2 part clear. That way gas wont ruin your paintjob.

I've seen some excellent paint jobs done with Duplicolor on my Shadow forum .... amazing results.

[JIBTEXHNKA]

thanks for all the suggestions (and the step by step instructions, jonathan). i've got a friend with little bit of experience painting cars (little bit as in he repainted his bumper once, haha) and he agrees that a brown motorcycle would be pretty awesome and wants to help out.

yeah, i'm going to paint it brown.

anyway, thanks again and i'll definitely start doing a little more research now that nobody's scared me away from the idea yet. i'll let you know how things progress, though i'll warn you i don't have much spare time so this might not happen for a while so don't get too excited.

[Badbob]

I used to be a paint cars at a GM dealer until I decided it didn't pay enough and breathing paint wasn't to healthy either. Do some serious research and keep in mind that a lot of the stuff you are going to read is for a professional whose primary objective is to make money. I saw a nice paint job done on a car once with brush. I seen some good ones done with rattle can paint. I know someone who has a wall full of trophy's he won at car shows with cars he painted with lacquer, air brush, regulator and a tire in his driveway. It can be done well if you're careful, do your home work and understand what you are doing.

Remember surface preparation is everything. Do this badly and the paint will not last.

Practice on some thing until you get the finish quality you want. Don't even touch your tank until your sure. Its not reversible.

If your going for the rat bike look then just spray away.

[JIBTEXHNKA]

Originally Posted by Badbob

Practice on some thing until you get the finish quality you want. Don't even touch your tank until your sure. Its not reversible.

do you mean "something" that isn't part of the bike? or something that isn't the tank? i don't think you mean to say that the plastic parts ARE reversible if i screw up but i'm not sure exactly what you mean by this.

thanks for the help, though. i want it to look good.

[patrick_777]

Something other than your bike.