DIY Painting Tips

[stopintime]

...............
Lars,

I've had every possible problem with decals, and I don't think shrinkage was one of them. Perhaps the translation leaves something to be desired. Decals suck...I usually make masks and spray the stuff I can.

Sorry, probably not normally an issue - I stretched my wet-applied stripes a little to form them over an edge. When they dried, they lost some of their width. Since the clear was already on (too soon?), the clear wrinkled a little.

[wingnut]

Thanks for the help gentlemen!  Now for the hard part...actually doing it rather than just talking about it.

[DarkMonster620]

dp,

can I empty my tank, even though we "officially" have ethanol in our fuel and apply this "Caswell Coatings gas tank epoxy" to my tank?

I'm thiniking of puchasing another tank to have a spare and also maybe purchase one from CaCycleworks, even though, I'm not too much into how it looks ... but, 4.3gls is better than 2.5gls ...

[ducpainter]

dp,

can I empty my tank, even though we "officially" have ethanol in our fuel and apply this "Caswell Coatings gas tank epoxy" to my tank?

I'm thiniking of puchasing another tank to have a spare and also maybe purchase one from CaCycleworks, even though, I'm not too much into how it looks ... but, 4.3gls is better than 2.5gls ...

You'd need to clean the inside and let it shrink back to normal size.

More info here... http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=46057.0

[DarkMonster620]

You'd need to clean the inside and let it shrink back to normal size.

More info here... http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=46057.0

thanks ... will do after i get replacement/spare tank worked ...

[Gimpy]

A buddy of mine has been rebuilding a Honda CBR that was wrecked by the previous owner.  The previous owner also had a horrible color sense.  The bike was painted this purple brown color.   

Anyhoo.. he has asked me to paint the bike "Honda Red."  My local paint shop can help me mix up a nice red, but with nothing to match it to, they are doing the same thing I am ... guessing.  Colorrite sells a "Honda winning red" and I was thinking of giving it a go.  Anyone have any experience spraying this other than touch up pens and aerosol cans?

I was thinking of spraying this over a PPG epoxy primer I have left over from the last bike.  And I haven't decided to play it safe and buy the Colorrite Clear or stick with some thing more familiar.  Although at $80 for a 1/2 pint its an expensive experiment.  (its a base and a top coat)

I know its not Ducati related, but my posts on the VFR forum I am a member of, haven't bared fruit.  I guess not every motorcycle forum has a resident painter as a moderator.

What would you do? 

[ducpainter]

I wouldn't buy the colorrite stuff for the simple reason it's too expensive. It will work fine over the DPLF primer.

Why not go to your PPG store and ask them to mix you the Honda color in their Nexxa line?

If you're in Cali all bets are off because they've gone to water borne only.

[Gimpy]

Yup..  I'm in Cali.  No matter what I try its going to be new and exciting.  Have you tried anything in the Envirobase  line?  I'm terrified of it.  Everything I read says that airflow is key because the paint doesn't flash as quickly. 

I built my booth in my garage.  So It seems I need to add another box fan or two and a bunch of filters.   

This Nexxa line you speak of.  Did PPG turn it into the Nexa Autocolor/Aquabase line?  I can't find any recent documentation, but it would appear that I could still buy that. 

[ducpainter]

Yup..  I'm in Cali.  No matter what I try its going to be new and exciting.  Have you tried anything in the Envirobase  line?  I'm terrified of it.  Everything I read says that airflow is key because the paint doesn't flash as quickly. 

I built my booth in my garage.  So It seems I need to add another box fan or two and a bunch of filters.   

This Nexxa line you speak of.  Did PPG turn it into the Nexa Autocolor/Aquabase line?  I can't find any recent documentation, but it would appear that I could still buy that. 

That's it...sorry...I'm in NH and still can buy solvent based materials so I do. Don't be scared...ask your paint guy for a P (tech) sheet and follow the directions. It isn't rocket science.

Airflow is key in getting the waterborne to dry. I have no experience with how much exactly, but a box fan in the window isn't going to do it in the times quoted in the tech sheets according to the PPG guys I've spoken to. Just give it adequate time to flash if you have less than ideal airflow or it's really humid.

[jc.cyberdemon]

have you used waterborne yet? I havent tried it but we are thinking about switching over from dupont to a good waterborne system... anything to get away from chromabase right?

[ducpainter]

have you used waterborne yet? I havent tried it but we are thinking about switching over from dupont to a good waterborne system... anything to get away from chromabase right?

I haven't. The PPG guys and my buddy red baron have told me not to be afraid.

I'm just stubborn.

You know how I feel about that stuff.

[jc.cyberdemon]

if i were you i wouldnt change a thing...all your work ends up great! we are hoping for faster production times.

[Bradley81]

Hi, I'm a new member in the process of fixing my downed S2R 800. I'm having an incredible amount of difficulty tracking down the paint code for the Tangerine Red color of my tank. The code in the owners manual was a dead end and ColorRite was clueless. i called two of my local dealers and one in California...nothing. After reading some old posts on this forum I noticed you had been a big help to some other members and hoped you could help me too.

[ducpainter]

Hi, I'm a new member in the process of fixing my downed S2R 800. I'm having an incredible amount of difficulty tracking down the paint code for the Tangerine Red color of my tank. The code in the owners manual was a dead end and ColorRite was clueless. i called two of my local dealers and one in California...nothing. After reading some old posts on this forum I noticed you had been a big help to some other members and hoped you could help me too.

Welcome.

That color is available from Nexa-Autocolor which is a subsidiary of PPG. The formula # is 4wenb. It is a good match.

Unfortunately it is a solvent based paint which is unavailable in Cali, I think. Maybe your PPG supplier can use that number to come up with a waterborne alternative.

Good luck

[Gimpy]

I've actually been quite surprised what I can still buy in cali.  While all the true PPG lines have gone waterborne, the Omni, and I believe the Nexa lines are just a little more low VOC then they used to be.  Also House of Kolor has a full range of low VOC that is still legal to purchase.