How I did a real metal flake paint job on my GoldWing using spray cans
First and foremost is the prep. On plastic parts I wet sanded with 220 grit using warm water and Dawn dish soap till the surface was dull then went over it again wet sanding with 400 grit to get a smooth feel to the surface. When I was satisfied with the finish I made sure to rinse all the soapy water off and set it aside to dry completely.
Once dry I wiped it down with a lint free cloth and sprayed the first coat of primer. I used Rustoleum black primer. When it dried (15 min. or more) I hit it again with a second coat primer. Note, I don't sand in between primer or paint coats. If your prep sanding is good and you get no runs when spraying, there is no need to sand until after the Rustoleum clear and before the 2k clear.
When the primer dried I hit it with a light coat of Rustoleum flat black paint and a second good coat of flat black when the first coat set up. Now the fun part. While the second coat of black was still wet or tacky I took the spray can of glitter paint and held it about 18” to 2' above and 1' or so out to the side of the surface and with quick short bursts I let the glitter rain down. I continued using short bursts moving the can around to get an even covering and the density of flakes I wanted.
Now I let that dry about 20 minutes and hit it with a coat of Rustoleum clear. That first coat of clear locked in the metal flake. I let that set up then started building up coats of the Rustoleum clear. I did 6 or 7 coats to get a thickness that I could sand smooth without sanding into the flake. It was important that I didn't hit the flake because that removed the red color and leave silver flakes and would mean I'd have to redo that area. I wet sanded with 400 grit and soapy water till the finish was smooth. Rinsed the surface clean of soap, let it dry well then used the Eastwood 2k clear (2 coats). Set it aside to cure. That's it. The metal flake really pops in the sunlight. The 2k I used really lays down nice with next to no orange peel. Wish I'd taken pics but they wouldn't do it justice anyway.
Using the Rustoleum clear was cheaper than using the 2k clear, $3.99 as opposed to $24.99. I did go through a lot of the cheap clear to build up for sanding. And it sands easier than the 2k.
I used black under the red flake. That was my preference. Your options are endless. Rustoleum sells different colors flake in a spray can and it's large flake like "old school". You can go with whatever base color you like. You can get flake in a spray can from other manufacturers but Rustoleum is probably the most common. One thing I did was experiment on cardboard before tackling the bike. Better to screw up cardboard.
This was the how I painted my bike. I don't claim to be a pro. I'm not a "paintologist". I don't claim this is the only way to get the results I got. There are lots of ways to paint a bike. There are lots of opinions on when to sand and what grit paper to use. I make no claim that my way is the only way. This was the way I did it and it turned out amazing IMHO.
First and foremost is the prep. On plastic parts I wet sanded with 220 grit using warm water and Dawn dish soap till the surface was dull then went over it again wet sanding with 400 grit to get a smooth feel to the surface. When I was satisfied with the finish I made sure to rinse all the soapy water off and set it aside to dry completely.
Once dry I wiped it down with a lint free cloth and sprayed the first coat of primer. I used Rustoleum black primer. When it dried (15 min. or more) I hit it again with a second coat primer. Note, I don't sand in between primer or paint coats. If your prep sanding is good and you get no runs when spraying, there is no need to sand until after the Rustoleum clear and before the 2k clear.
When the primer dried I hit it with a light coat of Rustoleum flat black paint and a second good coat of flat black when the first coat set up. Now the fun part. While the second coat of black was still wet or tacky I took the spray can of glitter paint and held it about 18” to 2' above and 1' or so out to the side of the surface and with quick short bursts I let the glitter rain down. I continued using short bursts moving the can around to get an even covering and the density of flakes I wanted.
Now I let that dry about 20 minutes and hit it with a coat of Rustoleum clear. That first coat of clear locked in the metal flake. I let that set up then started building up coats of the Rustoleum clear. I did 6 or 7 coats to get a thickness that I could sand smooth without sanding into the flake. It was important that I didn't hit the flake because that removed the red color and leave silver flakes and would mean I'd have to redo that area. I wet sanded with 400 grit and soapy water till the finish was smooth. Rinsed the surface clean of soap, let it dry well then used the Eastwood 2k clear (2 coats). Set it aside to cure. That's it. The metal flake really pops in the sunlight. The 2k I used really lays down nice with next to no orange peel. Wish I'd taken pics but they wouldn't do it justice anyway.
Using the Rustoleum clear was cheaper than using the 2k clear, $3.99 as opposed to $24.99. I did go through a lot of the cheap clear to build up for sanding. And it sands easier than the 2k.
I used black under the red flake. That was my preference. Your options are endless. Rustoleum sells different colors flake in a spray can and it's large flake like "old school". You can go with whatever base color you like. You can get flake in a spray can from other manufacturers but Rustoleum is probably the most common. One thing I did was experiment on cardboard before tackling the bike. Better to screw up cardboard.
This was the how I painted my bike. I don't claim to be a pro. I'm not a "paintologist". I don't claim this is the only way to get the results I got. There are lots of ways to paint a bike. There are lots of opinions on when to sand and what grit paper to use. I make no claim that my way is the only way. This was the way I did it and it turned out amazing IMHO.
opcorn: 
