How Much to Paint a Bike

**gamgee** · 5th September 2006, 22:35

ignore what I asked before
how much will it cost me to get a vfr400 painted in 1 color - gloss black

**marty** · 5th September 2006, 22:47

for $2.50, would it matter if it didn't? you could try it, then if it didn't work strip it off and send it to a paint shop like you should have done in the first place

**Bandit Rider** · 5th September 2006, 22:50

Almost certainly not going to work. I tried with that sort of gear, and it was hopeless. You really need a compressor, regulator/water trap, and reasonable spray gun. The compressor needs to be big enough - partly a function of the size of the tank and the spray gun, not just the volume of the pump.

**gamgee** · 5th September 2006, 22:50

hmm so you reckon i should just shell out for the proper job then, yeah how much does that cost, i searched the forums, and the price varied from around $600 - $1000 it's for a fully faired bike single color, gloss black

**SuperDave** · 5th September 2006, 23:01

I've gone for the home paint project, but in hindsight it turned out to be a lot more expensive than I expected. If it's your first attempt at this sort of thing you'd be amazed how much paint you'll waste in overspray. That's one thing, another thing is the intial set up of the equipment which in my case cost me around $240 for compressor, air gun, air hose and all necessary fittings.

I resprayed my old ZXR and the finished project was quite good, I was really pleased with it and wouldn't consider it a waste since I enjoyed the project itself. But if you are just after a decent finish I would suggest doing all the prep work and sanding the fairings properly first, then taking them in to a spray place and asking them to do the priming, painting and clearcoat.

Just my 2 cents.

**gamgee** · 5th September 2006, 23:02

Originally Posted by SuperDave

I would suggest doing all the prep work and sanding the fairings properly first, then taking them in to a spray place and asking them to do the priming, painting and clearcoat.

Just my 2 cents.

and how much will that cost?

**SuperDave** · 5th September 2006, 23:23

Originally Posted by gamgee

and how much will that cost?

I havn't actually had a quote for this, but from reading up and hearing what others have said before I'm pretty sure you pay say $400 you get a 400 dollar looking job, pay $800 and you get an 800 dollar job, if this makes sense. The prep sanding work is what takes the most effort and time, the spraying itself by professionals with proper equipment and facilities won't take too long at all.

I'd suggest phone around and get some rough ideas over the phone.

**dawnrazor** · 6th September 2006, 07:50

I just got one fairing and a noce fairing done for $600, so by that scale the whole bike is over a grand - if you want a stellar job done, try reflections on the shore

**gamgee** · 6th September 2006, 08:36

I'm sure someone has painted there entire bike and can give me an estimate, $600 for one fairing is just rediculous, i'm sure you can get a decent job done for less than that!

**dawnrazor** · 6th September 2006, 09:11

Originally Posted by gamgee

I'm sure someone has painted there entire bike and can give me an estimate, $600 for one fairing is just rediculous, i'm sure you can get a decent job done for less than that!

well lets see that was TWO fairings not one, and there was crash damage repair as well - basically its now better then new, no one could tell it had a spill. So ridiculous or not, it was about half the price of replacement parts from the factory.

As I said if you want a stellar job go to the professionals, if you just want a quick spray up, then .......

**MSTRS:Me** · 6th September 2006, 09:25

Just talked to a spraypainter mate....he says about $400. You people need to move to Napier!!!

**gamgee** · 6th September 2006, 09:42

cheers, i'll have a call round...

**WRT** · 6th September 2006, 09:48

I had a repair and paint for one side fairing and the nose cone off my TLR (after some random punter pushed it over - grrrr) done by Reflections. $1000 all up, including decals (x4 I think), which were worth a fair portion of that cost. Cant remember how much it was just for the repair and paint, but the decals were several hundred dollars worth (Suzuki's fault, not Reflections). I can back up Drawnrazor's comment that if you get it done at Reflections that it will come back better than new, those guys are fantastic.