Primer question

[Brian_M]

I'm just about ready to finally start painting my bike, I've got all the sanding and prep done. I'm going to be priming in the next couple of days and the paint that I was given at Napa was an etching primer, to my understanding this is meant for metal and not plastic. Does anyone know what the suitible primer would be to use on the entire bike? There are areas of bare plastic and metal where I've sanded decals or made repairs but the majority of the bike still has the stock paint on it just scuffed up with 400 grit sandpaper. If anyone is familiar with products that are available at Napa and can recommend a good primer for me I'd appreciate it.

[brooder]

Duplicolor works on plastic.

[Brian_M]

Well I'm not wanting to use any spray paint just so the strength of the final finish isn't compromised

[redkat]

I'm looking into painting my kat soon and found this stuff http://duplicolor.com/products/paintshop.html. It's meant for automotive use and it comes with everything you need to paint your motorcycle primer, color coat, and clear coat. Best of all is it comes ready to spray, no need to mix in hardeners and what not. Hope that helps you out.

[Brian_M]

Actually I'm going to be helping a friend paint his '84 toyota with that system, it looks pretty nice. I've already bought all my paint for my project though (Napa Crossfire brand) I'm just curious to know if the primer that they gave me will work fine for the bare plastic areas

[Mojoe]

seeing as there are a gazillion types of primer, I would suggest asking your paint retailer if it will worl on plastic.
some don't. some leave you a hell of a mess with gooey sticky plastic because of chemical reactions.

FYI....etching primer in my dictionary is a primer (usually black or red) that you spray over your gray primer after it is all sanded smooth. then you sand the etching primer as you would the regular gray primer. it is designed to reveal any high or low spots. and it is usually done with a sanding block. low spots will leave the etching primer behind in those spots. however, because of all the curves and bends on bike fairings, it is rarely used. it is usually designed for large flat surfaces.

[chinto]

seeing as there are a gazillion types of primer, I would suggest asking your paint retailer if it will worl on plastic.
some don't. some leave you a hell of a mess with gooey sticky plastic because of chemical reactions.

FYI....etching primer in my dictionary is a primer (usually black or red) that you spray over your gray primer after it is all sanded smooth. then you sand the etching primer as you would the regular gray primer. it is designed to reveal any high or low spots. and it is usually done with a sanding block. low spots will leave the etching primer behind in those spots. however, because of all the curves and bends on bike fairings, it is rarely used. it is usually designed for large flat surfaces.

I do use a "guide coat" as i call it, when painting bikes. even though the bike has a lot of curves and lines, I spray a light guide coat and sand by hand (no block).