Painting the ZXR??

[placidfemme]

I've noticed that a few KB'ers have painted (or are in the process of) painting their bikes themselves...

So far the cheapest price I've sourced for a full paint job (all the fairings and tank) is $700, and I'd need to do the prep work myself.

crazefox quoted me a bit cheaper than the above price, but after you take into consideration the shipping cost of the parts to him, the extra time delay in waiting for shipping to arrive with him, then painting it, then shipping it back... will push the price up to about $600-$700, and will take longer. However, he will do the prep work and plastic welding if needed....

I was talking to a friend this weekend about getting my bike painted... and she asked "why not just do it yourself... learn something new... you never know, you might be good at it".

She offered me the use of her garage (I don't have one), to hang the fairings in to the dry and to paint in... so...

I've done a search on KB for "paint", "painting" and "Paint job" etc and read through the various threads, picking up tips and hints from different KB'ers.

If its going to cost me $700 or under to paint the bike myself... then why not?

In all the other threads about painting the bikes, a few things have been mentioned but no prices have been attached to those...

Can anyone please help advise me on what I'll be looking at... This is what I've come up with, I know I'm going to miss out some stuff but... yeah

1. Plastic sheets to put up in garage to reduce dust and stuff
2. Different grit sandpapers for prep work
3. Plastic welding on damaged parts of fairings
3A. Bog??
4. Spray Paint Gun thingy (about $50 off turdme) (and 1.4mm needle for top/clear coat and 2.0mm for primer???)
5. Paint (2K or 4K... I have no idea what the difference is... or how much I'll need)
6. Undercoat....?? Topcoat...??? Colour....??? Primer...???
7. Compressor thingy? (what is CFM?) Can I rent one? Or should I buy one?
8. Respirator....??

Now after typing all that up and reading all those other threads... its starting to look like a BIG job to do... but I've got the time and the will...

So any advise in regards to techniques, prices and whatever else pops to mind would be great...

Thanks in advance

[Pumba]

I have had a little but of experience working on my cousins VFR whne He painted it. It is a fair bit of work to get it right and looking sharp, and you may cock things up and have to strip back the fairing you just painted and try again, but if you enjoy a challange and have the time to commit to it why not learn a new skill and if you get it right have mega satasfication at the end of it.

On the other hand a professional will generally get it right first time, and just through experience get a better finish for spending less time.

THe choice is yours.

[McJim]

I did mine myself - I regret it and am saving up to have someone else do it properly next year. I will be sanding it all back myself to save money.

But then that's me.

[Scouse]

do it yerself then if you fuck it up get Crazy Fox to do it

[SN4PD]

Want to give mine a re-spray while you're at it

[kiwifruit]

just ride it, who cares what it looks like

just my humble opinion

[degrom]

Hey... From the postes I read from you,you sound very handy.

I voted that you do it your self. I would suggest that you start with your tank. It's metal and easy to clean with paint stripper. If it turns out okay you can do the rest toooo...

I think CrazyFox mentioned that 2K are illegal to use in your garage(Still waiting for proof of his words). I use Lacquer and it's not to bad.

What kind of paint are you thinking of using? Solid color,metallic,pearl?

Solid colors like red/blue will give the best results for first timers. Metallic is a bit more tricky and Pearl is the hardest of the three. Problem with the Pearl is that it's expensive and not easy to get right the first time. Pearls are also hard to re pear if you get a scratch or a chip.

Clear coat is the last part of your paint project. It makes the color coat stands out and shine. It also protects the color from scratches.

The tricks of the trade takes a while to master but personally I find it really rewarding to see the project as it progresses. Books help a lot with the basics but it always helps to ask around and get advice from people that have been doing this for a while.

[adiddy]

im thinking of doign mine over summer - a bit of experience and fun...
i have done a boat before and it woulda been easy then a bike ... as long as you strip it back real good then have the patience to prime, bog spray , sand , spray etc then you will be all good ..

i say you try it yourself , whats the worst thing you can do? nothing a sander cant fix ryte?? you sound like your determined got the money and hey your a chick !!!

GO HARD

[placidfemme]

I did mine myself - I regret it and am saving up to have someone else do it properly next year. I will be sanding it all back myself to save money.

But then that's me.

How did you do it? (Hopefully I can learn from your mistake) Did you use spray cans? Or acompressor? What type of paint did you use? Why do you think it sucked?

lol a lot of questions... I know... But I wanna get this right first time...

do it yerself then if you fuck it up get Crazy Fox to do it

lol I think that cost me more than just sending it to him in the first place

Want to give mine a re-spray while you're at it

Did you drop it on the Northern Labour Weekend Ride? Damn... and it looks like it was mint before the bin...

hehe let me do mine first... and then we'll see if I'm good enough to do yours... lol... or I could practice on yours? p/t

just ride it, who cares what it looks like

just my humble opinion

I am riding it... I don't mind thats its rangi... it makes my bike special lol

But I wanna paint it so I can sell it and buy an R6

I would suggest that you start with your tank. It's metal and easy to clean with paint stripper. If it turns out okay you can do the rest toooo...

What kind of paint are you thinking of using? Solid color,metallic,pearl?

Solid colors like red/blue will give the best results for first timers. Metallic is a bit more tricky and Pearl is the hardest of the three. Problem with the Pearl is that it's expensive and not easy to get right the first time. Pearls are also hard to re pear if you get a scratch or a chip.

Clear coat is the last part of your paint project. It makes the color coat stands out and shine. It also protects the color from scratches.

The tricks of the trade takes a while to master but personally I find it really rewarding to see the project as it progresses. Books help a lot with the basics but it always helps to ask around and get advice from people that have been doing this for a while.

Thanks for the tip of starting on the tank... Just as well I have a huge petrol container thingy so I don't have to waste my gas while the tank is off the bike...

I don't know much about paint lol... don't even know which paint to use... I'm going to be doing it in plain ole shiney black... and I'm going to be PM'ing crazefox and asking for a quote on the paint from him, hopefully he'll know which is the best one to use...



Thanks all for the comments and advice so far...

Does anyone know how much it is to rent a compressor or even to buy a decent one powerful enough to do a project like this?

[placidfemme]

im thinking of doign mine over summer - a bit of experience and fun...
i have done a boat before and it woulda been easy then a bike ... as long as you strip it back real good then have the patience to prime, bog spray , sand , spray etc then you will be all good ..

i say you try it yourself , whats the worst thing you can do? nothing a sander cant fix ryte?? you sound like your determined got the money and hey your a chick !!!

GO HARD

Well thats what I thought If I start with just one fairing (or the tank) and I screw it up, then I can try again... its not like its someone elses bike and theres a timeframe on how long I have or how many attempts I can do...

Also if I'm not too bad at this, I could always look at being the Auckland Version of crazefox lol... but much less experienced...

[McJim]

I used spray cans - it looked the absolute dogs bollox until I spilled petrol on it!

Picture attached

[placidfemme]

I used spray cans - it looked the absolute dogs bollox until I spilled petrol on it!

Picture attached

Was that picture before or after the petrol incident? Cause it looks great in that picture...

Yeah I won't be using spray cans... I'll either be buying or renting a compressor, and doing it that way... Which I guess will be harder, but hopefully it'll be worth it...

[McJim]

That was just after I had put the final 5 coats of lacquer on and let it dry in the garden (check the mud on back tyre).

It hasn't lasted well - I'll be getting it professionally done soon.

[SN4PD]

Did you drop it on the Northern Labour Weekend Ride? Damn... and it looks like it was mint before the bin...

hehe let me do mine first... and then we'll see if I'm good enough to do yours... lol... or I could practice on yours? p/t

Passed QKChk & Kid at a turn off, ran wide through some gravel I didn’t see (at night.......), just add 50kmph and 15m of tar and volla, extreme makeover!

Will be getting crash bungs fitted to the new bike ASAP

[placidfemme]

Passed QKChk & Kid at a turn off, ran wide through some gravel I didn’t see (at night.......), just add 50kmph and 15m of tar and volla, extreme makeover!

Will be getting crash bungs fitted to the new bike ASAP

Damn that sucks... Just as well you weren't going faster... looks like you just low sided it... Doesn't look like a lot of damage other than scratches...

are you getting crash bungs on the ZXR? I looked into that and you would need to have custom mounting brackets made... I asked at 3 different bike shops and 2 said "no can do" and the other said he could do it, but it would take a couple of hours to play around with making the installing the custom mounts, plus the cost of the crash knobs... he qouted me at about $400 (including the crash knobs and installation). If your keen I can PM you his number and you can ask him...