Painting bodywork

darth nater

Staff member
Control Rider
N2
Just ordered a new set of armour bodies. Still going back and forth about whether to send to someone to paint or just rattle can/2k clear myself. I'm not overly picky about this turning out perfect, so part of me is leaning towards doing it myself.

Any advice before I start?

Any specific brand of spray paint/clear coat you have found to work well?
 

Dom17

Intermediate Intermediate
I did rattle can. Everyone will say prep work is important. Roughing up the gelcoat to make sure it adheres. If you have access to a compressor spraying off the dust from the rough up process helps. Wiping down with a damp rag helps as well and letting it dry.

I'd also practice on a throw away part. Start to finish(pre work to clear coat). So you can identify errors with your process.

Heating up the spray cans in hot water helps reduce orange peel. Immerse them in hot water. Don't boil them but use really hot tap water.

Follow the directions on the spray cans for when to apply. If you get impatient or if you don't wait long enough it can result in wrinkles or runs.

If you do it in your garage the mist will get everywhere and on everything.

If you get a run, resist the urge to touch it. No matter what, touching it will take it from a run into a disaster.

Stickers and vinyl are great to cover up mistakes.

Overall it was a fun process. I learned a lot and my next go around will be better. Don't expect it to be perfect your first go around. Take your time and enjoy the process.

Also I think I needed 6 cans of color and 3-4 cans of clear for a whole bike. I went with cheap Rust-Oleum and it did fine.
aa6b96d65e2fc69b93988659de4c1a78.jpg


Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk
 

bmart

Control Rider
20170219_105027sm.jpg 20170212_155021sm.jpg I did similar to above, but know that rattle can paint chips pretty easily. I don't believe in spending any unnecessary money on track bikes...so I can use that money for tires and training. Rattle can gets the job done on the cheap.
 

Otto Man

John
Control Rider
I've been using my local Maaco recently. Are they Swenson level results? Umm...no. :rofl:

But, for the price, it's great. I would try looking into your local Maaco shop, getting to know the guy that runs the joint, explain the situation, etc and see if it's a possibility. In my experience, the work hasn't been 100% perfect, but it's still far better than what I could do myself. I don't ask them to do multiple colors, my recent trend has just been all black and using Pop Shadow number plates to keep it simple.
 

tdelegram

Control Rider
Swenson is our of business and sitting on $1500 of my body work and non-responsive. If anyone in his area wants to make some $’s and collect and mail me my body work PM me.
 

Backmarker

Control Rider
Swenson is our of business and sitting on $1500 of my body work and non-responsive. If anyone in his area wants to make some $’s and collect and mail me my body work PM me.

That's not the Swenson of passed... him being late yea..still upstanding, but not unresponsive ...weird...
 

dhaines

Member
A contract you say...that does sound like some dark web type stuff...LOL...so how much and what kind of message should be sent?
 
Top