advice on painting fairings at home

[Paul321]

I bondo my aftermarket fairings. No cracks but scratches. So after it hardended. I sanded it with a 80 grit sandpaper. Going to prime it twice and 400 grit sand it. then finish it with a white laquir paint and finish it with a gloss. I have no spray gun so itll be done with the can. Has anybody done this? Is the result worth it or should I take it to the shop? Any tips or advice?

[Rev. That Guy]

It all depends on the prep work you put into it.

The first red flag is that you are using WAY to rough of sand paper. If you wanna use the 400 grit thats fine for initial smooth out but you will see the scratches in the finish. I would use the body filler to fill the scratches and then hit with 200gritt to smooth out. Primer over the putty, no need to do the whole thing, just where the putty is as the other paint on the fairings will act as primer anyway.

Once you have the putty covered up, START with 400 grit WET over the entire piece. then 600, then 800. Much higher than 800 and the paint wont have much to bite onto.

once you know everything is smooth as possible, then you can paint.

the finish is only as good as the prep work.

make sure that you dont cut down to plastic and if you do, get primer back on it and start over in the area.

also, make sure you use paints that are compatible and make sure the piece is completely dry before moving on to the next step as some primers can retain the water from wet sanding for a little while and this will ruin your final outcome.

again, its in the prep.

Frankly I have seen some amazing work (and done a bit myself) with rattle can and you can too if you take your time. On the flip side, if you have the coin to spend, take it to a shop to shoot it. it will always turn out better with proper automotive paint and clear.

- Justin

[The Doctor]

The real secret to great body work that the professionals DON'T want you knowing about! DUCT TAPE! That's right. You don't need paint. Just get some high quality duct tape! Now available in many colors to match your fairing! From GSXR Blue, Honda Red, and of course, traditional silver. Just add a little duct tape to your fairing and you'll be turning heads in no time!

[JetMech]

I agree on the prep work. I have seen some really nice stuff using the Color-rite factory paint match stuff mixed into a rattle can. They even shot a coat of clear over it and it came out pretty damn good. It actually looked better than the rest of the bike.

600 wet should be your final sand. I have never used anything above that but sounds like That Guy has a bit more experience than I do in the paint department. Not many people have seen my handy work when the vehicle it's on is moving at 600 mph.

[The Doctor]

(04-02-2013 04:41 PM)JetMech Wrote:  Not many people have seen my handy work when the vehicle it's on is moving at 600 mph.

Yes, that's right, Rolando has painted my bike.

[ars0n]

lol

[Rev. That Guy]

(04-02-2013 04:41 PM)JetMech Wrote:  600 wet should be your final sand. I have never used anything above that but sounds like That Guy has a bit more experience than I do in the paint department. Not many people have seen my handy work when the vehicle it's on is moving at 600 mph.

600 is fine too. I tend to be anal about it. I have re-shot an entire bike on more than one occasion because there was something I KNEW WAS THERE even if no one else did.

If you are shooting regular automotive paint, it lays plenty thick to use 600 as a final but for rattle can, i absolutely would not finish with anything under 800 as it lays down so thin that you can see EVERYTHING under it.

Also, another thing to consider is that rattle can clear coat will never harden like urethane clear - nor will it lay down as nice. I have done and seen jobs that were color in rattle can with urethane clear on top that works out great as well. If you have no other choice but to use rattle can clear, TAKE YOUR TIME and use MANY coats. I have a saying with automotive paint and that is coats are something you wear, not something you spray, but for rattle can, to be able to get it on thick enough, you need to do coats.

Another way is to use Urethane clear for wood finishing. You can find it at any hardware store. It is about $9 a can. If you can spray it without runs and make sure it is in a place that it will not be disturbed for about 20 hours or so, it will come out just as good as automotive clear. It is essentially the same base materials as automotive clear, only that it is using a different type of catalyst (a super slow catalyst) so that it can maintain a long pot life in the can. For what its worth, the slower the catalyst, the nicer, smoother and glossier the finish will be. Automotive clear you can get fast, slow and a few levels in between for catalyst, but even the slow automotive cats take about 6 hours and the fast cats can be handled in about an hour.

Dont use any brush-on clears for obvious reasons.

Hope this helps. Just some tricks and tips i picked up along the way.

Also, another thing, before wet sanding once you have your primer layed down, mist another coat of primer or paint in a different color and let that dry, then start sanding with a block. The reason for this is it will let you know where your low spots are (usually around repairs or fills) and will allow you to build up a bit more primer there or work the high spots down a little more. This will net you the absolute best results if done correctly as it will allow you to avoid waviness in the piece.

- Justin

[JetMech]

(04-03-2013 08:22 AM)That Guy Wrote:  

(04-02-2013 04:41 PM)JetMech Wrote:  600 wet should be your final sand. I have never used anything above that but sounds like That Guy has a bit more experience than I do in the paint department. Not many people have seen my handy work when the vehicle it's on is moving at 600 mph.

600 is fine too. I tend to be anal about it. I have re-shot an entire bike on more than one occasion because there was something I KNEW WAS THERE even if no one else did.

If you are shooting regular automotive paint, it lays plenty thick to use 600 as a final but for rattle can, i absolutely would not finish with anything under 800 as it lays down so thin that you can see EVERYTHING under it.

- Justin

I'll agree with that.