DIY Painting Tips

[stopintime]

Here's the results of a high gloss powder over hand brushed cowl. This look was inspired by BMW's zillion dollar R9T aluminum tanks and cowls.
 

Looks delicious in/by itself, but I would like to see the complete look before (on your behalf  ) deciding against a satin finish.

[Langanobob]

Yes, can you post some pics of the completed bike when you get it back together?  Looks great so far!

[ducpainter]

First of all...please fix your links. Google does not play nice with the forum. Please size your pics so they don't require scrolling left-right on a desktop/laptop. 1024 x any size smaller works well.

Secondly, while I appreciate seeing what results people achieve, please don't turn this thread in to a display/pic thread about some professionals work. It's for information about painting/coating for the DIY'er. Once you fix your links, I'll split your post out into it's own thread in Acc&Mods.

Thanks.

[LowercaseJake]

First of all...please fix your links. Google does not play nice with the forum. Please size your pics so they don't require scrolling left-right on a desktop/laptop. 1024 x any size smaller works well.

Secondly, while I appreciate seeing what results people achieve, please don't turn this thread in to a display/pic thread about some professionals work. It's for information about painting/coating for the DIY'er. Once you fix your links, I'll split your post out into it's own thread in Acc&Mods.

Thanks.

Sorry bout that...I went overboard in reply to the pic request, I'll actually delete the entire post until I'm ready to post any sort of build thread.

Still haven't decided on a final finish for the tank. The answer I received from the builder of that R9T only muddled things up further.

[LowercaseJake]

This is what I got in re: to an email sent to the Italian firm who did this tank:



"it is not the transparency that does this effect but the previous brushing process. you can not paint directly on the aluminum, before the paint needs an anti-transparent oxide, it is difficult to explain all the treatment, we do these jobs even remotely, if you want you can send it"

I took this as him not wanting to reveal trade secrets, which is somewhat understandable...the invitation to mail my beautiful tank to Italy to receive his "special" treatment ($$$) was amusing. I did get from his Englitalian the same thing Ducpainter already mentioned, which is the crucial pre treatment of the aluminum.

I do feel slightly closer to choosing the correct gloss level for the job. I know now that high gloss is NOT the right choice if I want to mimic the look, which isn't surprising. But it's a safe choice because I like the results, even if I don't "love" them. I might tell my coater to go ahead with the matte clear and wind up highly disappointed. Maybe I'll attempt the Goldilocks logic and choose a "semi gloss". Hrrm.

Ducpainter - I can see how these queries aren't exactly relevant to the thread, considering the only thing I'm DIY'ing is the choice of clear coat and a professional is applying it. If you want to move the whole block of replies to it's own thread in tech, that would make a lot of sense, and probably be more helpful to the community - I'm sure I'm not the only one interested in finishing aluminum goodies on their bikes.

[ducpainter]

We can leave it as is. The fact that the guy in Italy confirms what I posted is valuable. It's not a trade secret. He's not a chemist. It shows that to get professional results you need to use high quality materials, and a 'process'. The guy in Italy has found an etch that doesn't alter the brushed appearance. That's what prep is all about. You find a method that works, and repeat it on every job. The first shortcut you take determines the maximum level of quality you'll attain.

When you decide what you're going to do, post pics of the results in your own 'build' type thread.

Feel free to post any actual 'process' info you can glean from your coater in here, if that's the way you go, so someone that wants to DIY can learn from a pro.

That's the purpose of this thread.

[DuciD03]

More paint questions .... silver s2r 1K 07. Looking to do some touch-up; Wheels and frame; look black semi-gloss / satin?, is that powder coated? and possible to DYI to get factory finish? Wheel looks semi gloss powder coat; frame looks black powder satin with just an ever so little bit of metallic in it ... interesting; and how does one touch up smaller areas without throwing the whole frame into an oven?. Tank - Silver with clear over.

Looking for paint colour codes ...?
Wheels - black semi gloss powder coat
Frame - black semi gloss powder coat
Tank - Silver with clear over

Is that right? Further advise?

[ducpainter]

More paint questions .... silver s2r 1K 07. Looking to do some touch-up; Wheels and frame; look black semi-gloss / satin?, is that powder coated? and possible to DYI to get factory finish? Wheel looks semi gloss powder coat; frame looks black powder satin with just an ever so little bit of metallic in it ... interesting; and how does one touch up smaller areas without throwing the whole frame into an oven?. Tank - Silver with clear over.

Looking for paint colour codes ...?
Wheels - black semi gloss powder coat
Frame - black semi gloss powder coat
Tank - Silver with clear over

Is that right? Further advise?

How big of an area are you looking to touch up?

Spot repairs are for pros...and even then are difficult.

[DuciD03]

How big of an area are you looking to touch up?

Spot repairs are for pros...and even then are difficult.

Acknowledge that Im not a pro; so It wouldn't be prefect; but Ive done some painting that turned out good ok and one that I was disappointed with ... so understand what youer sayin ...lol

medium areas on frame, longish 4" x1/2" scratch; mostly to protect metal again (sand-able primer then paint?); know it may (will) not be prefect.

Tank typical rash ... etc; may have to re-colour a wheel ...

Cheers  

[ducpainter]

No codes available for Duc wheels and frames. The code for the silver is published in your manual. It's easiest to take the tank to a PBE supplier, and have it scanned, as many of the brands available in Europe are not available here.

[DuciD03]

No codes available for Duc wheels and frames. The code for the silver is published in your manual. It's easiest to take the tank to a PBE supplier, and have it scanned, as many of the brands available in Europe are not available here.

Understand what your saying about getting a tank scanned;

Frame & wheels (and engine cases) look powder coated is that right?

[ducpainter]

Frames...maybe, but I'm not certain.

Engine cases and wheels that I've played with, definitely not.

[Howie]

Frames are paint.  ColoRite has some frame colors that allegedly match.  Notice I said allegedly.

[DuciD03]

... just to follow up on duc paint; I spent and hour last year at the local "Canadian Tire" that had a fully stocked shelving unit 4ft height X 40 ft long of duplicolor a thousand or so automotive paint cans;

for the frame I found "Obsidian Black Metallic" (actually a pearl metallic) was an exact match for the black metallic frame on my 07 1K with a semi mat clear... very unique and distinct and cool colour; but this colour is different from the 05 black with a silver metallic fleck.

Had the silver tank paint matched at a reputable auto paint supply shop; very good match.

[DuciD03]

Nat your thoughts on colour and clears accessible to home mechanics.

With the duplicolor; its an acrylic lacquer; not durable, very soluble with most fuels and cleaners and thinners; easy to work with; but not durable. So went with a catalyzed 2k polyurethane clear coat to protect and get a durable finish; not so easy to work with but very durable; especially for the frame.

Was experimenting this year with duplicolor black to refinish some scratches on a s2r black fender; and decided to try an acrylic enamel clear to protect; that acrylic enamel was nice to work with; went on smooth and dried to a nice glossy finish and dried quick; in 10 minutes! Have you tried this stuff?

Turned out looking pretty good with some wet sanding colour with 2000 to smooth out orange peel; then 2 coats of acrylic enamel clear, cut polished to final finish & smooth.

How durable is that acrylic enamel clear?