Painting Fairings

[onetruevibe]

Hey guys,

Thinking about repainting side fairings this winter - the kid I bought it from busted/scratched the side fairings pretty badly and then tried to touch it up with what looks like black fingernail polish.

Have a look:







It's not terrible - the lighting in the pix makes it look worse than in person - and I'm not obsessed with having a perfect bike, by any means. Still, I'm seriously thinking about giving the repaint a go.

I refinish electric guitars as a hobby and the process I use is the same as you would use on an auto - so I'm good there. I hesitate only because I've never done plastics

My brothers think I'm nutter and should leave it be.

What do you think (not about the nutter part...the repaint...saw it coming ))

[Havok]

I say give it a shot, everything I have seen seems to be painting them is not that hard. With you doing restore work I am sure you can bust out with a basses fairing.

Also if this post makes you do it and they look totaly bad ass I am sending you mine to paint for me. Lol

[JMcDonald]

It shouldn't be that difficult. I've done cars before and I know the smaler surface area and complex angles of it will help prevent and hide any blemishes. If you have done painting yourself, you already have a feel for painting just enough to get a good gloss, but without getting drips.

[onetruevibe]

Originally Posted by JMcDonald

It shouldn't be that difficult. I've done cars before and I know the smaler surface area and complex angles of it will help prevent and hide any blemishes. If you have done painting yourself, you already have a feel for painting just enough to get a good gloss, but without getting drips.

Yeah....You're right about the angles hiding blemishes....you can hardly see the gouges as is.

I'm not worried about runs or orange peal. I do all my guitars with nitro in a rattle can - good prep work, wet sanding and polishing takes care of the rest. I guess I'm a little concerned about which paint to use on plastics, which i understand can flex and crack the paint. I'll need something that can flex with the plastic. Also...I need to know what type clear to use over the paint....incompatible stuff will wrinkle.

Thanks guys. If someone can supply some guidance on the rattle can paint, I'll work this into a DIY.

B

[kkim]

with plastics I've worked with, you need to use a primer that contains a flex agent prior to laying down any color coat.

what paint scheme do you have in mind? if redoing the stock color scheme, colorrite.com is the source for OEM paint for our bikes.

if you're going to do all the prep work to do a A1 job, do it right and use the correct paint instead of rattle cans.

for some guidance on redoing a bike, perhaps frugalninja250 can help?
http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=44144

[onetruevibe]

Originally Posted by kkim

with plastics I've worked with, you need to use a primer that contains a flex agent prior to laying down any color coat.

what paint scheme do you have in mind? if redoing the stock color scheme, colorrite.com is the source for OEM paint for our bikes.

if you're going to do all the prep work to do a A1 job, do it right and use the correct paint instead of rattle cans.

for some guidance on redoing a bike, perhaps frugalninja250 can help?
http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=44144

I'm not the kind of guy who asks for good advice and then completely ignore it when I get it - but this lousy economy has a strange effect on people

Unfortunately, I'm gonna have to learn to live with less than an A1 job

I don't have access to a spray rig or spray booth, and I don't have the dough to hire a professional. I'm just hoping to make an improvement from the current state.

As for the color - I think i'll stick with black because I like to go fast...

Color Rite Aerosol cans at $33.00USD? Ouch.

[JMcDonald]

You can buy decent paint in rattle cans. Hell, ive seen small stuff (like bicycles and such) done with the 97c rattlecans from walmart and come out pretty nice. Most of it is about technique and just being careful. Also, the biggest problem with rattlecans is they just dont put out enough volume to get a solid glossy finish over large areas (and the paint typically dries too fast for that also). And, like everything, it is an exponentially decaying curve as far as the relationship between investment and result. You could spent 5 bucks on rattlecans and an hour of work and have a finish that looks 80% as good as from the factory (say a perfect paint job at 15 or 20 feet). Spend 20 on paint and half a day on prep and buffing and you will get a solid 5 or 10' paintjob. Spend $50 on paint plus a real air system, and invest a weekend into the job, and you will start nearing perfection. But, you have to decide how much you want to invest. Also keep in mind black will show the most blemishes. Im going with white so I dont have as much to worry about.

Btw dont use any clears with the 97c walmart cans! I ruined a surprisingly good paintjob once doing that.
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[onetruevibe]

You are dead on JMc. Here are some examples of what can be done with rattle cans filled with good paint combined with good prep work and loads of patience:





I really hate to go with something like Krylon, after buying Color Rite primer, color, and clear I'm edging up on $200. Considering the time invested, it might be better to just buy a new fairing.

[JMcDonald]

On your current fairing, i would honestly just sand it mildly smooth (stop as you start to lose your mind :P), and rattlecan with whatever is on the shelf. Anything you do will look a millon times better than it does now, and at worst you will have spent a few bucks and a couple of hours getting to a more acceptable half-way point while you save for the fairing anyways. And at best you do find the result satisfactory and call it good.

You might consider getting a single can of the paint, and painting a section on the inside of the fairing. That way you can touch up your technique and also verify that the color and especially glossiness are acceptable.
Posted via Mobile Device

[onetruevibe]

Alright - decided to pull the trigger on the repaint project - that's what the cold winter months are for!

So - I grabbed some 400 grit paper and scuffed up the clear and knocked down the touch-up paint the previous owner had slathered over the scratches. Here's a look:

Before:


After:


I'll have to say, it was pretty unsettling - scratch up the clear. One of those "point of now return" deals.

It took about two, one hour sessions to get this fairing where I wanted it. Next steps will be to weld the cracks (may use epoxy instead) and feather on some bondo to make sure everything is level in the problem areas.

[JMcDonald]

Nice! What paint are you going to use?

[onetruevibe]

Hey J,

Not sure yet. I was planning on finding a cheap primer for plastics - something with a flex agent - and then hit it with some acrylic lacquer - duplicolor or something.

However, before I go the uber-cheap route, I'm going to try to pop into my local auto-paint supply shop at lunch today and see what they can do for me.

I'll keep you posted.

[kkim]

make sure the primer and color coat are compatible. mixing incompatible paint types can result in cracks and/or waves in the final product.

[randomwalk101]

Are you doing the whole bike or just a few panels? If just a few, make sure color matches. You don't want the bike to have diff shade here and there

[onetruevibe]

I popped into the local auto paint shop during lunch and they were really helpful. I asked about the flex agent and they explained that a flex agent only remains active for about 48-72 hours and only makes sense if plan to manipulate the plastics right after painting.

I normally allow lacquers to gas off for about 30 days before wet sanding and polishing - so I'm not going to worry about flex. They recommended I use an adhesion promoter as a primer coat (I think self-etching is synonymous), which I purchased in aerosol.

What I am worried about is incompatibility (as kkim points out) and color match (as random points out).

I've seen the wrinkling mess that results from incompatible media... For sure do-over. I'll do some test passes on some scrap to see what's what.

Color match is tough, especially when dealing with aerosols....chances any two cans came from the same batch is zip.

As for colors:

- I think white is easiest
- I know black is fastest
- but a two-tone would be a good challenge.

I'll gonna look around the forum for some ideas. There are some sweet bikes on ninjette.

[onetruevibe]

Finally got to work on this:

Levelled and roughed up using 800 grit:


Cracks welded and started mudding - looks ugly, don't it? Stay tuned...


I hope to have this side all prep'd this weekend and get started on the other side.

Still unsure about colors. I may just go with black and look for some sick vinyl.

[kobachi]

Updates?

[onetruevibe]

Originally Posted by kobachi

Updates?

Sorry for the delay, Craig. I was overcome by events - the holidays and all. I did finish the prep on both fairings: clear roughed, cracks welded and mudded with bondo.



Everything is pretty level and ready for paint. After the new year I'll set up a make-shift spray booth in my garage, hit it with adhesion promoter and then paint. I'll be using Krylon Fusion - Black Gloss. I'm waiting to hear back from someone here on vinyl options.

I could probably stitch this together as a DIY when I'm done, if there's interest.

[kobachi]

Sign me up as interested! My fairings were destroyed by a thief this year and I've been contemplating what to do with them once summer rolls around. Could you write more about what's involved I'm building a spraybooth?

BTW, in case you haven't noticed them (I didn't at first), I recommend removing the rubber plugs from the fairings before painting. They work much better when they aren't coated =)

[onetruevibe]

Originally Posted by kobachi

Sign me up as interested! My fairings were destroyed by a thief this year and I've been contemplating what to do with them once summer rolls around. Could you write more about what's involved I'm building a spraybooth?

No problem. I'll break it into three parts: prep, booth, paint.

Originally Posted by kobachi

BTW, in case you haven't noticed them (I didn't at first), I recommend removing the rubber plugs from the fairings before painting. They work much better when they aren't coated =)

Yes, they'll be removed. Thanks for reminding me.

[onetruevibe]

Ok - the weather finally got nice enough for me to get this job done!

My goals were:
1. learn something new
2. make the bike look better than before I started.

While the job is not perfect, I think I accomplished both of those goals, so...

Here you go:

[kkim]

is that krylon fusion paint? looks pretty good. Gloss factor?

have you considered finishing it by sanding with a 2000 grit sandpaper and then compounding and polishing it... or have you done that already?

regardless... good work!

[onetruevibe]

Thanks for the feedback!

Yes, I used Krylon Fusion Gloss. It's no showroom finish, but that's ok.

Showroom was my original plan - to use acrylic lacquer color, clear it, wet sand, buff and polish. But I was afraid of it cracking when the plastic flexed.

I also considered spraying clear over the Krylon but feared compatibility issues.

I didn't consider sanding and polishing the Krylon directly. Have you had experience with that? I'm curious how it would turn out.

[kkim]

I've wet cut the top coat on cars using a 2000 grit sandpaper, but they had a clear coat on them. I don't know how this would work with a color coat directly, unless there is a lot of clear mixed in with the color coat.

The basic idea is to sand very lightly to hit down the "orange peel" on the paint surface, which will leave a very fine, sanded surface. the talent comes in not sanding through the color coat and revealing primer.
slow and easy till you get a feel on how much sanding is needed to achieve the desired "cut".

compound over the section to smooth out the sanding scratches and work progressively lighter compounds until you achieve a glossy finish.

if you're interested, try it on some inconspicuous section on the fairing first to see how the paint responds to the process.

if it works, you can end up with a glass like finish.

[onetruevibe]

Yeah...I've also noticed that the black Krylon scratches very easily without some type of protector clear coat. Just running your fingernail against it can leave a little blemish. It may harden as it continues to gas-off, but still.

I may do a little more research and repaint later this summer with a more professional approach. Or I may just buy some new fairings

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by onetruevibe

Thanks for the feedback!

Yes, I used Krylon Fusion Gloss. It's no showroom finish, but that's ok.

Showroom was my original plan - to use acrylic lacquer color, clear it, wet sand, buff and polish. But I was afraid of it cracking when the plastic flexed.

I also considered spraying clear over the Krylon but feared compatibility issues.

I didn't consider sanding and polishing the Krylon directly. Have you had experience with that? I'm curious how it would turn out.

I'm guessing you already read Ninja250.org's Krylon painting guide?

[onetruevibe]

Originally Posted by CZroe

I'm guessing you already read Ninja250.org's Krylon painting guide?

Probably not.

Do you have a link? I popped over there but could only find this, which isn't Krylon specific.

Thanks.

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by onetruevibe

Probably not.

Do you have a link? I popped over there but could only find this, which isn't Krylon specific.

Thanks.

I guess they weren't talking about Krylon. I mixed it up with their Rustoleum guide.

[Reswob]

Did you prime, or just sand and krylon?

[warlord]

Looks pretty darn good.

[onetruevibe]

Originally Posted by Reswob

Did you prime, or just sand and krylon?

1. Sanded with 800
2. Welded the cracks
3. Slopped on some Bondo
4. Sanded with 800
5. Washed and dried the panels
6. Misted on a coat of Bulldog Adhesion Promoter
7. 4 coats of Krylon Fusion, 30 mins apart
8. Let it gas off for 24 hours
9. Reassemble

Easy-peasy if your not shooting for perfection. I guess you could say that about anything, though.

[cwb48]

Nice job Brian. I can verify the fact that you can get a good paintjob from a "rattle can" on a motorcycle or a guitar. I've done many touchups and complete refinish jobs with spray cans with complete success. As for guitars, see my gallery for photos of many guitars, all done in this manner. http://www.ninjette.org/forums/album.php?albumid=42

I hope you are using a respirator of some kind when you spray the nitro lacquer- it's very bad for your lungs. My older brother was a yacht yard painter, and he now has a bad case of COPD from all of the paint he inhaled over the years.

Chris

[onetruevibe]

Originally Posted by CZroe

I guess they weren't talking about Krylon. I mixed it up with their Rustoleum guide.

No sweat. I just wanted to be sure I wasn't missing something.

Originally Posted by warlord

Looks pretty darn good.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by cwb48

Nice job Brian. I can verify the fact that you can get a good paintjob from a "rattle can" on a motorcycle or a guitar. I've done many touchups and complete refinish jobs with spray cans with complete success. As for guitars, see my gallery for photos of many guitars, all done in this manner. http://www.ninjette.org/forums/album.php?albumid=42

I hope you are using a respirator of some kind when you spray the nitro lacquer- it's very bad for your lungs. My older brother was a yacht yard painter, and he now has a bad case of COPD from all of the paint he inhaled over the years.

Chris

Love the guitars! You obviously build them too! Yeps on the respirator. I made the mistake once of not changing the canisters and then spraying nitro - I was in bed for 12 hours afterward. Really messed me up.

[onetruevibe]

Originally Posted by kobachi

Sign me up as interested! My fairings were destroyed by a thief this year and I've been contemplating what to do with them once summer rolls around. Could you write more about what's involved I'm building a spraybooth?

Here's my "spray booth." Nothing special but it should give you an idea of what I did - YMMV.



Here's a pic of the modified coat hanger I rig'd up to hang the panel:

[kkim]

Brian,

good job on setting up a paint booth.

lottsa work to fix plastics, eh? ... which is why I sort of giggle/roll my eyes when someone comes on the forum looking for a cheap, quick and easy way to fix their recently dropped bike from a rider mishap.

IMHO, the best way to avoid having to fix screwed up plastics is not to drop the bike in the first place... many do not realize how much work, money and headaches can be expended fixing even the most minor of drop$.

work on your riding skills people... and work up to that magic line of crash/no crash in small, incremental steps while obviously working on staying on the no crash side of the line.

As for you, sir... great job fixing the fairings!

[7oxSin]

looks good, im going to be repainting my pre gen from yellow to gray soon. but i will be using automotive paint.