[fletchman919]

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I'm wanting to paint my bike. I talked to a guy in length at NAPA and this is what he told me to get. Is this correct? If not, what do I need?

Acrylic Enamel Paint and Clear Coat
Hardener
Reducer

He gave me a print out of exactly which paint, hardener and reducer and the formulas to mix. This all costs around $165 so I want to be sure. Thanks!

 

[gotta love the wing]

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That acrylic is a nice hard paint and the clear coat will protect it even more. You could also do a base coat /clear coat. I like the acrylic enamel better because it's tougher and the paint on a bike takes a beating.

 

[plskthompson]

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I can't paint anything myself due to allergy issues, but my uncle and my dad paint cars, trucks, and even bikes quite often. If you as my dad, he likes straight acrylic enamel because it's simple to use, mix and spray. If you ask my uncle, he suggests base coat clear coat, mainly because it can lay down better, and can be buffed to a smooth finish without worrying too much about eating through the color, as long as you put enough coats of clear on. As for using clear with acrylic enamel, that's kind of a personal choice. I have seen clear used on acrylic enamel and it changed the color slightly. So I guess it's really all in what you are comfortable with.

 

[JBz]

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personally id go with acyrlic urethane. jb

 

[redbaron]

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The acrylic enamels are OK just by them selves, clear over them to me is a waste of money....Now the one thing you might want to consider is a "flex additive" ....reason being that even if every thing is bolted on nice and tight, it is still 90% ABS plastic, and it does flex some especially the front fender and if it flexes it's is going to crack and peel off....I might also suggest you put that flex additive in your primer too....Acrylic enamel will over time as any paint that is subjected to the weather also runs the possibility of either fading or checking.....Base coats/ clear coats if they don't start peeling off, and you have several coats of clear, it can be re-sanded with 1500 or 2000 grit sand paper and then rebuffed out to a wonderful shine...ALL paints can and will sooner or later fail, it's just how much time you want to put into keeping it polished and waxed out.......Good luck with your project and hope that your new paint job turns out good......

Claude......

 

[oldtoys1961]

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Urethane is good. Enamel with a clear will do just fine too. I just got in a gallon of Starfire Clear Enamel and plan on repainting a few pieces also. I'll pinstripe it and give it all a nice wet clear coat look.

$165 seem a little high. Get on the web. Enamel hardner should be around $13.00 to $20 a pint. You only need an ounce to every 8oz of paint and 2-4oz of paint reducer.

Heres a website I found very good prices on. And you can get the entire kit with plenty of paint to do a bike.

http://www.paintforcars.com/

 

[Bobcat89]

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I'm a collision repair instructor and would not use an acrylic enamel paint unless it was on my garden tractor. The people at NAPA are probably selling you a relatively cheap brand of paint. Acrylic urethane is what most of the base/clear systems are now days. Like one post stated, you cannot go wrong with a base clear system. This system allows two tone colors with ease, allows for alot of sanding and buffing after the paint without destroying the finish. If you know that you are going to do a bunch of sanding and buffing, an extra layer of clear is recommended.



Flex additive is a topic of much discussion among the body shop guys now days, some state the additive stays with the paint forever, some state it leaves after the paint cures. My opinion is that properly applied paint will not need the additive, because a good job is only 4-7 mils thick anyway. (mils are 1/1000th of an inch)



Try asking some more people who paint for a living....base clear, acrylic urethane is the way to go.

 

[fletchman919]

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Bobcat89 wrote:

I'm a collision repair instructor and would not use an acrylic enamel paint unless it was on my garden tractor.  The people at NAPA are probably selling you a relatively cheap brand of paint.  Acrylic urethane is what most of the base/clear systems are now days.  Like one post stated, you cannot go wrong with a base clear system.  This system allows two tone colors with ease, allows for alot of sanding and buffing after the paint without destroying the finish.  If you know that you are going to do a bunch of sanding and buffing, an extra layer of clear is recommended. 

 

Flex additive is a topic of much discussion among the body shop guys now days, some state the additive stays with the paint forever, some state it leaves after the paint cures.  My opinion is that properly applied paint will not need the additive, because a good job is only 4-7 mils thick anyway.  (mils are 1/1000th of an inch)

 

Try asking some more people who paint for a living....base clear, acrylic urethane is the way to go.

Is this the paint? http://www.paintforcars.com/kitu_jetblack.html


Is this the clear that goes with it? http://www.paintforcars.com/clearcoat_urethane.html

 

[JBz]

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fletchman919 wrote:

Is this the paint? http://www.paintforcars.com/kitu_jetblack.html


Is this the clear that goes with it? http://www.paintforcars.com/clearcoat_urethane.html

go to the base coat clear coat section and its in there. Jet black. Im not sure on the quality of this stuff but paint is one of those things you get what you pay for. JB

 

[exavid]

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Take a look at the Color Rite website.

 

[oldtoys1961]

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Painting can be an "Expensive" lesson of trial and error if you haven't painted in a while like me. Its been 20 years since i layed down a coat. SO popping for HOK, Sherwin Williams or the most expensive paint you can get can be very expensive lesson if you mess up and have to sand it off. I agree that basecoat then clear coat is the way to go. Its used on all modern cars and bikes today. Its a 2 stage process vs a single stage with enamel. My old Shadow was redone in black enamel and looked fantastic and had a wet look all the time. Even after 2 years. Just what ever you use, make sure you have a hardener in the paint. Dont use spray paint or Duplicolor stuff.

I did a few pieces in the Black Napa Enamel, got some orange peel but wet sanded it with 1500 grit and buffed it with McGuires polishing compound and it looks great. I'm currently having a fit with a extra front fender I got off ebay and it was painted with a rattle can, the stuff gums up the sandpaper when prepping. I'll have to get a mild stripper to get that stuff off. I've never painted urethane but I have found myself getting back into the groove on the enamel,its easy now to me and I can get a smooth slick coat.
Good luck on what ever you choose. The 5 Star Extreme Clear Urethane is whats recommended for clear coat to answer the above question. Or you can take it a body shop and pay around $500-$750 for a basic paint job. I like to do stuff myself just to say I did it all on my own. Do a few small pieces, do good prep work,clean,clean clean with SimpleGreen, afterall most of a bike is small pieces compared to a car.

 

[fletchman919]

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Thanks for the replies! I consider myself a newb painter, but I have successfully painted a couple projects with a fizz can. I just bought a sprayer (cheap Harbor Freight sprayer) and I'm wanting to try it out. I'm planning on painting it plain black with 2 coats. Next I plan on applying some silver pin striping and spraying 2-3 coats of clear over that. I did the same thing with a fizz can a couple years ago and it turned out really nice. The problem was that I used lacquer! The first (and only) time I spilled gas it immediately dulled the paint.

 

[oldtoys1961]

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I would have chosen the urethane over the enamel myself, but the local Napa in this little country town only had enamel. So I bought a pint to redo the side covers one day. I have to paint outdoors due to the space and cars in the garage. So I use a screen room I bought at a garage sale for $5. Toss in a fogger and wait and hour then move your stuff into it. I like to paint in the morning when its 75-80degrees. Heres a simple little shelter I did to make sure those nasty bugs don't get into the paint. They like that stuff and will fly clean across the yard just to stick in it.

 

[fletchman919]

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Great tip Oldtoys!!!! I will use a screen room also!

 

[fletchman919]

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I will use the urethane also. I think either would work, but the urethane seems to be a little more durable from what I have gathered. Thanks fellas!!

 

[Whiskerfish]

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Excellent thread guys. I am learning lots. Ok so using the Urethane is there anything specific I should look for in a gun?

 

[rcmatt007]

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usually the more you pay the better the gun, HVLP probably are the best

 

[rb7632]

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What ever paint you decide on don't forget a good primer makes a huge difference. Be sure you get a primer for ABS plastic.

 

[JBz]

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Whiskerfish wrote:

Excellent thread guys. I am learning lots. Ok so using the Urethane is there anything specific I should look for in a gun?

just a few tips that might help
if you can get one with small holes in the cap. urethane likes to be atomized more and will help prevent orange peel. If you are planning on color sanding and buffing it I wouldnt worry too much about it but its always best to get it on as smooth as possible to minimize work and you might just be happy without buffing. Its a good idea for a beginner to try a few test panels and get aquainted with the gunusing differant settings on the paint volume and spray pattern needles and air pressure. Dont be in a hurryon this and watch carefully whats happening as far as volume and patterrn. and how far your gun is from the parts. On bike parts you can turn your fan pattern and materialsdown but try to get each coat smooth which isnt too hard with urethanes. On a car hoodor roof id usually have the fan wide open with more materials and air but its not necesary for small parts. Walk away from it in between coats and dont stand around watching it tack up .I usuallydump and rinse my gun between coats but thats maybe just my thing so i dont worry about the cup dripping and keep my gun clean. Mix your paint real well and mix it everytime before you load the gun especially silvers or light colored metallics.I have quitea few guns but I used to do it for a living. A harbor freight gun should do the trick for a beginner. One thing that helps is to get the overspray away from the area quickly so it doesnt stay around and settleon the parts. when painting motorcycleparts I prefer to set them away from one another a good distanceso the spray of one part doesnt hit the other. .JB

 

[fletchman919]

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Awesome! Thanks!.....I'm going to get acquainted with my paint gun real soon. I'm restoring my daughters four wheeler and I'm repainting everything. I almost have it stripped down. I might be able to do a little painting tonight.