Repainting Elektra..

[Char]

Okay so...I was originally going to repaint the fairings I got off of ebay, to the color of my bike. (The electric blue) BUT I have decided I like the color of the fairings and have decided to paint the rest of the bike the NEW color. NOW...There are some dings and scratches in the original paint job ...The work would be done by me, myself and I. There are some people who say don't sand the parts and there are some people telling me to YES! Sand them down!! I hate to ask for help, but I'm confused and want to do this right. This is something I can say and be proud I did it by myself and I don't want to screw it up!! Help me you guys! Give me any suggestions you may have.

Thanks!

[steves]

I thought that paint, in good shape, shouldn't need to be sanded unless other damage repair needs to occur.

[chinto]

Re: Repainting Elektra..

Okay so...I was originally going to repaint the fairings I got off of ebay, to the color of my bike. (The electric blue) BUT I have decided I like the color of the fairings and have decided to paint the rest of the bike the NEW color. NOW...There are some dings and scratches in the original paint job ...The work would be done by me, myself and I. There are some people who say don't sand the parts and there are some people telling me to YES! Sand them down!! I hate to ask for help, but I'm confused and want to do this right. This is something I can say and be proud I did it by myself and I don't want to screw it up!! Help me you guys! Give me any suggestions you may have.

Thanks!

There are some scenarios where it is appropriate to sand and where it is not required. Can you show some pics of the areas that need to be repaired. It may help in getting you pointed in the right direction.

Personally I never sand anything down to bare plastic if it can be avoided.

[Char]

I can take some pics of the Kat after I get home from work tomorrow.

And Steve...the paint, to me, is in good condition...there are just some spots where the paint looks like it was chipped and the person who had the Kat before me just did a touch up. It doesn't HAVE to be perfect. Just want to make sure that the repainted parts on the bike match with the fairings.

[KatanaSoldier]

What is the new color you are going with?

[Mojoe]

of course the parts have to be sanded. you can not paint over a clearcoat without scuffing it up a bit so that the new paints has something to bite on to. some people use a scotch-brite brillo pad for this, but I like to use maybe a 600grit if the part your painting is in nice shape.

for the dings and scratches, use some 280 or 320 to sand them out, then smooth it up with 400 and finish off with 600.

[chinto]

sorry for any confusion. Mojoe is absolutely right the parts definitley need to be scuffed before paint. When I read your post Char, I interpreted it as though you were asking if the old paint needed to be sanded off completely Which it does not).

If yuo do not scuff the surface the new paint will not adhere.