Paint A Wing the RATTLE CAN WAY

Hi Guys,

Straight off..... Don't dismiss this as a no go area. It can be done and the results can be very good indeed, in fact better than some "professional" jobs.

As a baseline I'll use the paint job i did on my '81 Vetter Interstate using MOTIP rattle can paint (Filler, Primer, Color coat and Clear coat). All will be accompanied by photo's I took during the painting of the various parts.

Hopefully this will help a few of you that don't have compressers, paint guns, legal issues concerning painting in your area or just the don't have the $$ (this paint job cost me about $ 200).

Over the next few days I'll continue to update this thread with text and photo's showing how i did it.

Just to get you interested......... This is the finished product.



Dave.

that is nice dave ....looking forward to the thread

Darn nice job! :rocks:

Okay, here we go.

Prepare your work piece (in this case the faux tank) by wet sanding with 600 grit. You want to get all the clear coat off and a nice flat finish in the color coat.



Wash the surface with a good detergant and follow up with lots of water, then dry (a hair dryer works well after you've wiped the water off).

You want an even "flat" look.

Now you can fill in any dings, nicks, scratches and the like with filler, but just enough...... you have to sand that back too.

Once it's all smooth and flat again, rewash and dry.

Some people will tell you to always use a sealant at this point. This is a good idea if you don't know what type of paint was on there in the first place. I used acrylic paint on the original Honda paint and there were no issues at all. You do what you think is best

Now we're ready for primer.



I have my work pieces on a revolving surface. Makes it easy to turn the thing round to get an even spray pattern.
You want to aim for about 3 coats at least coz the next step is sanding the primer smooth. Check for scratches and other lumps and bumps.... Now's the time to get rid of them.

The advantage with the faux tank is that it's not one piece, so you can color spray the two halves seperately and the lids after taping and masking.



I go for three good coats of color, 3-5 minutes between coats, then leave it for a couple of days to harden (I never said it was going to be a quick fix).

Okay, so now you have a part primed and color sprayed. Chances are it looks a bit wierd so on to the next step..... Color sanding

This is where i differ from many others that would have gone straight to clear coat wet on wet. Well I don't do that, sorry.

Using 1000-1200 grit wet with lots of water lightly start to sand the color coat. Try to get even pressure (remember the corners and edges.) so don't use a block. I managed it with my hands. When its washed off and dried there should be and even color without "darker" or "lighter" stripes. To get an idea how its going to look, splash a bit of water over the cleaned and dried surface.

At this point i put my pin-stripes on. If you do this (acrylic stick-ons) don't stretch them, just lightly tension them when placing them and don't make sharp corners.... )

If all goes well then you've got loads of bits that are now in the right color and ready for clear coating.




Watch this space for the next installment..............

Dave.

Where was I...........

Oh yeah, color is on and lightly sanded, washed and dried and hardened for a couple of days.

Clear -coat using (again) 3 good coats, 3-5 minutes between each coat. Watch out that it doesn't get put on too thick !!!!.

If you pin-striped then you have to be careful of paint build up along the edges. You want just enough to blend it in.

Then you leave it to dry for a couple of hours before putting it somewhere safe for about two days at 20 C to harden up for the next step........ Getting it to SHINE :clapping:

You're now ready to get out the 1200-1500 grit to wet sand the clear coat. If you look carefully at the paint you'll see lots of really small imperfections, it just isn't possible to get it completly flat without sanding. It's what all Custom Paint Shops do.

This is where the fine sanding comes in.... copious amounts of water and gentle pressure. Think of intimate moments with your partner..... Yup, that gentle. Anyone into "wierd stuff" STOP NOW :shock: :sensored:

You want to end up with a satin finish, slightly dulled. Wash, dry and set aside for a moment.

The last part will be the final finish.

Dave.

nice thread dave im realy paying attention to everything your saying :mrgreen:

Me TOO!!! :music: :yahoo:

Wow, Nice work Dave :clapping: :clapping: :clapping: Lookin good :salute:

Nice thread Dave.
Once it's done we'll make it a sticky. k:

Here we go then.......... The Grand Finale.

***A word of warning for anyone suffering from rheumatic fever, tennis elbow or a pitchers shoulder.... STOP. This next bit could put you out of action for a while***

You should now have a primed, painted and sanded (dulled) part ready for a final finish. If you look very carefully at the painted surface you may see something that looks like "orange-peel". It won't be the same as a bad paint job, just miniscule unsanded "dips". This is not a problem, that should all disappear when you're done.

Okay, for this next step I use a "scratch-remover". My product of choice is a paste called Commandant 3, but i'm sure there are other, equally good alternatives were you live.

Put some paste on i polishing cloth. I use a cloth made of recycled cotton, very soft.

Using some pressure start to polish the paste over the surface until it starts to leave the surface of it's own accord.

Check your work after wiping the piece down and see if it's up to standard. If it's nice and shiny put some "normal" polish on and have a beer. If it isn't let it cool down and try again.

It's best to begin with the smaller parts (rear fender, side panels, pannier lids) before doing the "big" stuff like fairings.

If it all came together and you didn't have too many beers (causing you to drop the bits on the floor, chipping paint and bringing forth a barrage of expletives that would make the Devil blush) then you should get something looking like this.......








Oh yeah, I did really repaint the logo's (with Revell enamel paint, then clear coated them. Hey, saved a couple of hundred bucks :grin: )

And thats about it, really. Just go for it. As with so many jobs, patience is key. Take your time and you'll have a finish like glass.

WITH A CAN, YOU CAN :grin:

Dave.

patience is deal here and with just about anything else that needs to be done .....it wont be long i hope and i will be neck deep in pytting a nice final touch to the project bikes ive got going on ....this thread will help me out im sure ....thanks dave

We have a paint shop in Sacramento that will load rattle cans with any factory, or other, color you want. Factory spray quality paint, real color coat. I used Chrysler Cool Vanilla and then top coated with a product called K2 or 2K, I forget which. All shot in one day! You follow the shop directions, they just load the color in a high quality spray can instead of a paint gun.

Wow, what a great job you did. I got impatient and got a run or two, but I'm satisfied with not having to get a compressor and all.

bcassel":9kwlnk26 said:

We have a paint shop in Sacramento that will load rattle cans with any factory, or other, color you want. Factory spray quality paint, real color coat. I used Chrysler Cool Vanilla and then top coated with a product called K2 or 2K, I forget which. All shot in one day! You follow the shop directions, they just load the color in a high quality spray can instead of a paint gun.

Wow, what a great job you did. I got impatient and got a run or two, but I'm satisfied with not having to get a compressor and all.

Click to expand...

Any way that you could post the information about that shop for us and do they ship cross country?

Original Paint & Equipment Inc

4190 Franklin Blvd # A
Sacramento, CA 95820-1125
(916) 444-0852

They don't have a web site, but if you call them they may be able to refer you to a similar company in your area.

bcassel":3jb5zrwx said:

Original Paint & Equipment Inc

4190 Franklin Blvd # A
Sacramento, CA 95820-1125
(916) 444-0852

They don't have a web site, but if you call them they may be able to refer you to a similar company in your area.

Click to expand...

Hey that's a good resource.
I wonder if I were to paint the original color wineberry using them and the procedure laid out here if it would look original?

dan filipi":1uhmbcz4 said:

bcassel":1uhmbcz4 said:

Original Paint & Equipment Inc

4190 Franklin Blvd # A
Sacramento, CA 95820-1125
(916) 444-0852

They don't have a web site, but if you call them they may be able to refer you to a similar company in your area.

Click to expand...

Hey that's a good resource.
I wonder if I were to paint the original color wineberry using them and the procedure laid out here if it would look original?

Click to expand...

Dan, you want to try it first? I am planning on a complete repaint, but my funds are a little low and I would like to see if that shop can get our paint.

Well, the steps laid out above work for using enamel versus base color. You can't use a "topcoat" product on enamel. You can use a clear coat so you might need to do some research on how to and how long. On my job, the recommended time between color coat and the top coat was no less than 30 minutes, no more than 24 hours. Otherwise you needed to fully sand and re-prep the color coat to receive the top coat.

By the way, that K2 topcoat is neat stuff. It is a two part top coat in a shaker can! You shake it, turn it over and press a plunger to inject the catalyst into the resin, shake it another minute and spray. The nozzle is directional, so you can set it for horizontal or vertical pattern and it comes out as smooth as a spray gun. You have to use it within 48 hours because that is the pot life of the two part material. Once sprayed it sets in 30 minutes.

What type of paint and clearcoat in a rattle can would be compatible?

dan filipi":3jq1eifo said:

What type of paint and clearcoat in a rattle can would be compatible?

Click to expand...

Well, we're talking about late 70's, early 80's so it would be, basically, acrylic based. The only difference these days, even if the paint itself is compatible, is the reducer and other chemicals that "could" react.

As i said, MOTIP (which does Dupli-Color over here too) paint didn't have an issue at all and that was acrylic.

Just one thing guys..... this is a shoestring job. Using "professional" paint in "professional" cans might bump the price up a bit.

Plus, you'd have to buy all your color coat in one batch, especially if your doing a metallic finish. Using an off the shelf solution reduces color mismatches considerably.

Anyway, whatever you do, it'll be cheaper than a paint shop and loads more fun.

And....... It's only paint. Mistake ? Let it dry, sand and shoot it again.

Dave.

That is a really good looking paint job, professional results..The best thing of all is that you can fix any scratches yourself, it's no big deal to get one.. :grin: