13Nice - Tips How to Paint your Own Motorcycle
Motorcycle and chopper
painting tutorial
PAINT AND PREP SUPPLIES
Reducer
Plastic Filler
Flow able Putty
Epoxy primer
Epoxy Sealer
Base color Paint
Clear Coat
80, 120, 400, 600, 1500,
2000 grit wet/dry sandpaper
IMPROVISED
PAINT BOOTH
If you're like me, you
don't have the luxury of a down-draft spray booth in your shop. Here's what I
did. I cleaned out a storage room that's attached to the back of my shop. I
lined the walls with white poly, and placed a variable speed fan in the window.
I then went around with a roll of duct tape and sealed the perimeter of the fan
to the surrounding poly on the walls. Now onto the lights. After the first time
you try painting something, you'll quickly learn just how critical good
lighting is. In fact when it comes to lighting, the brighter your paint area
the better. A buddy gave me two four-tube florescent light fixtures, which I
hung on opposite sides of my new spray booth. It's good to have reflective
walls. Lining the walls with white poly not only saves your walls, but it's
also quite reflective.
SAFETY
Before I continue, I want
to stress safety. It's a very bad I idea to paint in a room that's attached to
your house. In fact, it may not be legal in some jurisdictions. Also, paint
fumes are not only super toxic, they're highly flammable. Make sure your
fixtures are wired properly, and that your fixtures are fully encased with lens
covers attached. Last but not least, make sure you have a good quality
respirator with the correct filters for the kind of paint you're using.
PAINT
EQUIPMENT
For tools you'll need at least
two spray guns, a air regulator with a water trap, a compressor, and of course
some air hose. As aforementioned, you'll need 2 paint guns... one for painting
primer, and another for painting base and clear coats.
PREP
FOR PAINT
Be certain your fuel and
oil tanks are pressure tested and leak free before you start. Ideally, it's
good to sandblast your metal parts, especially if they have old paint on them.
If you choose not to sandblast, make sure to sand them really thoroughly and
wipe them down with a non oil-based cleaner prior to starting the job.
The next step is to apply
filler to the low spots and any trouble areas. It's a matter of personal
preference, but I like to spray a coat of epoxy primer prior to spraying on the
base coat. This gives a nice base for the filler to adhere to. Prepare your
filler in small amounts (it sets up fast) and apply it smoothly and evenly onto
your part.
After the filler has
dried, sand it smooth with 80 grit and look it over for any low spots or chips,
then fill and sand again. After the necessary rounds of filler and sanding are
finished, it's time to prime.
Spray on a couple of coats
of epoxy primer. After the primer has dried, get a spray can of black paint and
very lightly spray it over your part. This is the guide coat. The light black
coat will show any ripples, low spots or defects in your handy work. To repair
the problem areas that the guide coat exposed, you'll want to use flow able
putty instead of filler. Apply the putty in thin even coats, and then smooth it
down with 80 grit sandpaper (wrapped around a rubber sanding block). Once you
get the high spots leveled down, smooth it down even more with 120 grit, then
finishing it with 400 grit. You're now ready for the last round of primer. Once
the primer is dry, sand it thoroughly with 400 grit to give it a toothy surface
for the base coat to stick to. I like to spray on a coat of epoxy sealer just
prior to spraying the base color coat. In addition to providing a ideal surface
for applying the base color, it also prevents any solvents from coming through
and causing bubbles in your clear coat. Make sure to follow the paint
manufacturers spec sheets with regards to mixing times, mixing ratios and
painting temperature. Failure to following the instructions will cause you much
grief...believe me.
BASE
COAT/CLEAR COAT
Now comes the color coat.
Lay down the color coats as per your paint manufacturer's spec sheet. Next
comes the clear. After the first round of clear has dried, wet sand it down
with 600 grit. You'll notice rows of ridges appear in the clear as you sand.
Keep sanding until the clear is even and the ridges are gone. If you're
painting graphics on, now is the time to put them on. After applying your
graphics, cover them with another round of clear. It may take one or more
rounds of clear to completely bury the graphics. Be sure to wet sand flat with
600 grit between rounds of clear. After the last round of clear has been
sprayed, sand it down flat with 600 grit like before. When it's nice and
smooth, finish it off with 1500 grit. If you want to get it even more silky
smooth, go for a final round of 2000 grit.
POLISHING
Now for the gratifying
part. The final step is to polish it to a mirror finish. You'll need a variable
speed polisher, a buffing pad, and some polishing compound. There are many
different kinds of buffing compound available. Your local automotive supply
store will be able to recommend a good one.
= $360
Step 2: Find the total
amount to be paid back.
Total repayments =
principal + interest
= $1500 + $360
= $1860
Step 3: Calculate the
weekly payment amount.
Weekly payment amount =
total repayments divided by loan period, T, in weeks. In this case, $1860
divided by 104 weeks equals $17.88 per week.
Calculating simple finance
charges is easy once you have done some practice with the formulas.
0 comments:
Post a Comment