rattle canning a racing stripe

[chrisman826]

i want to rattle can my bike... but im not sure if i want it all one color, or if i want to have something a little eyecatching like a stripe or something. Ive never painted before but so far a lot of research on the boards has me feeling confident i can do it. So if i wanted to paint a racing stripe... im guessing that i would paint the first color... then paint the stripe by masking it, and then apply the clear coat on top of it all..... right?

[steves]

Sounds right to me.

[irenekat]

sound right to me too and be sure to post a pic

[chrisman826]

cool. hey quick question. Im going to be going by sweet lous guide. But ive heard a few peeps on other posts about sanding after every coat of paint? is this required to get the 2nd coat of paint to stick to the first coat? or can i just go in after the paint dries up and add the second coat with out sanding. and, do you think that i should mask off the stripe for the body paint? so that when i paint the strip i will be painting on a portion that doesnt have any paint yet?

[BlackKatnWV]

I would paint the stripe color first, lay tape over that......then spray your next color.....that is unless your 2nd color is lighter than the orange...

[chrisman826]

nope, that sounds perfect. I think ive decided to go with main color black, stripes a silver... This is going to be fun i can feel and i almost cant wait to get started.

[paradoxmd]

if you need some help, give me a shout. i may be able to offer some advice.

[DreKat]

pratics on an old fairing if you can get your hands on one.

Spray your first coat, wait 10 min then spray a second coat, wait a few mins then slowly remove the tape. Wait until it is dry and then clear coat it. Take your time and make sure you have all your suplies with you before you start. Good luck and send pics.

[Dennis]

When i used to do body work I always painted the stripe first then the body. The reason for this was that it was easier to mask the stripe area then the whole body.

[BlackKatnWV]

When i used to do body work I always painted the stripe first then the body. The reason for this was that it was easier to mask the stripe area then the whole body.

Thats what I suggested....only problem is you have to get some good tape because regular masking tape allows paint to seep through if you saturate it to much.......If you just keep doing light coats if should be alraight.

[Dennis]

When i used to do body work I always painted the stripe first then the body. The reason for this was that it was easier to mask the stripe area then the whole body.

Thats what I suggested....only problem is you have to get some good tape because regular masking tape allows paint to seep through if you saturate it to much.......If you just keep doing light coats if should be alraight.

If there is an auto body supply store around, you can get a fine line tape that will make nice crisp line. Apply that first (outline your stripe area) then apply the masking over that. should not have a problem with bleeding that way. But yes if the coats are too heavy, they will bleed pretty much no matter what you do.

[Black_peter]

pratics on an old fairing if you can get your hands on one.
.

I have some old fairing pieces if you want Chris..
To try out sanding /striping etc...
Let me know.

[chrisman826]

peter, your always so giving man! lol. Sure thing, something to practice on will definatly be great. Ya, and masking the stripe and painting the rest does sound a million times easier so that is what i am going ot do. Or Im envisioning a cool design. Im thinking i can just spray a portion of the fairing the design color, then masking the design, and then painting the rest of the body...

[chrisman826]

oh and im going to attempt to use the EZ-Off method to strip the paint... supposedly its safe for plastic and works well. read up on a website how a guy did it, he showed pics and it looked fairly easy.

[KSlawman]

Probably goes without saying, use a quality rattle can paint. Stay away from the Wal-Mart .96 cent stuff. They are low solids, and will put alot less paint on the material.
Good luck and show us what you end up with.