Suggestions on painting lower cowling and adding decals??

[crazyaussie]

DISCLAIMER: I PERFORMED A SEARCH AND FOUND A LOT OF GREAT STUFF, BUT I NEED SOME PERSONAL ADVICE!

Man do I hate how I feel the need to say I search before every question I ask....it seems if you don't at least one person calls you out. With that out of the way, here's my dealio.

I haven't really done any major mods to my bike yet, but I'm getting the mod fever real bad. I have a 99' midnight blue Kat (the almost black blue with speckles in it), and I want to paint the stock lower cowling (now gray) to a glossy black. I'm not interested in using colorite cuz I don't need the exact color match, but I want an affordable solution that will give me a glossy finish. I've found in my searches a lot of great information on how to prep the body pieces and paint them, so I think I'm set in that department. What I need from someone is a recommendation on what the best brand of automotive paint I should get that will give me that nice glossy finish?

Also, as I stated in the title, I will be adding the kanji decals and "suzuki" sitckers on the cowling during my paint job. Another question I have is at what stage of the painting process do I need to apply the decals? Is it after base coats before any clear coat? This'll be the first time for me to paint, but I'm confident that with the advice I've found about painting, I'll be fine. Also, I don't have a sprayer, so this'll prolly be a rattle can job.

Sorry this post has gotten so lengthy, I like to be thorough in my descriptions. Suggestions on materials and decal info. will be greatly appreciated. Thanks,

[Mojoe]

dupli-color is about the the best bang for your buck when it comes to "off the shelf rattle cans".

as for the decal.....you can apply it over the base, then clear it. however, if you ever wish to remove it, you need to screw up your clear. also, you have to be certain the sticker is "clearable". some decals will cause the clear to flow oddly, and not cover. it will go "fish-eye".....so test it first.

as far as asking a question and being worried about being slammed for not using the search.....screw it....ask anyway. if you think about it, pretty much everyone question has been asked at one time or another anyway.....so by all rights, there should be no more questions ever asked again on this site cuz it can probably be found in search. or at least that is what some on here would have you believe.

[chinto]

krylon actually works pretty well for rattle can, and its a bit cheaper than dupli-color.

[Mojoe]

ya....krylon is cheaper. I just didn't suggest it as the best bang for your buck cuz for the cost difference between the two, I think dupli-color gives better results.....imho.

[chinto]

ya....krylon is cheaper. I just didn't suggest it as the best bang for your buck cuz for the cost difference between the two, I think dupli-color gives better results.....imho.

i used a dupli color caliper paint once that I had poor results with. i sort of got off them for a while because of it. I just recently did a touch up of a fender and used the duplicolor rattle can and actually was pretty pleased with it, so you are probably right about bang for buck.

[professorman]

I would not put the clear OVER the sticker. If you ever get a scracth or anything, you will definately mess up your paint job. If you have a scracth with the sticker on top, you can always peel it off and have good paint under there or put another sticker to cover up any damages.
You can never not plan for the unplanned. The other day someone knocked over my kat. I am a, going to use stickers to cover it up.

[crazyaussie]

I would not put the clear OVER the sticker. If you ever get a scracth or anything, you will definately mess up your paint job. If you have a scracth with the sticker on top, you can always peel it off and have good paint under there or put another sticker to cover up any damages.
You can never not plan for the unplanned. The other day someone knocked over my kat. I am a, going to use stickers to cover it up.

That would only work if the scratch is only on the sticker...and not the paint anyway...how likely is it that you would scratch ONLY the sticker and not the paint? I see what you are saying though...I just think if you get scratches, they are gonna be over the paint anyway...therefore you'd mess up your paint job anyway.

[chinto]

I would not put the clear OVER the sticker. If you ever get a scracth or anything, you will definately mess up your paint job. If you have a scracth with the sticker on top, you can always peel it off and have good paint under there or put another sticker to cover up any damages.
You can never not plan for the unplanned. The other day someone knocked over my kat. I am a, going to use stickers to cover it up.

That would only work if the scratch is only on the sticker...and not the paint anyway...how likely is it that you would scratch ONLY the sticker and not the paint? I see what you are saying though...I just think if you get scratches, they are gonna be over the paint anyway...therefore you'd mess up your paint job anyway.

Not necessarily true. Many scratches will not go deep enough to get to the paint. That being said if you do clear over the stickers you will have the added protetcion of the clear coat on your stickers. It will also look better. On the other hand it will be a major pain in the a$$ to remove the decals if you decide to change them, or if you need to re-paint for whatever reason. Also as Mojoe mentioned, you will need to be extra cautious that the clear will adhere and react properly with the decal.

good luck

[Mojoe]

ya....krylon is cheaper. I just didn't suggest it as the best bang for your buck cuz for the cost difference between the two, I think dupli-color gives better results.....imho.

i used a dupli color caliper paint once that I had poor results with. i sort of got off them for a while because of it. I just recently did a touch up of a fender and used the duplicolor rattle can and actually was pretty pleased with it, so you are probably right about bang for buck.

I used duplicolor on everything but the tank and fairings on this bike. even the frame is duplicolor. it kept the cost down and turned out pretty good. it was a first bike for a new rider....female at that....so I didn't spend much.

http://katriders.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=19536&highlight=gs550

[Patrick]

What kind of prep is necessary prior to a rattle can job? Thanks.

[chinto]

What kind of prep is necessary prior to a rattle can job? Thanks.

The answer is in the search:

http://www.katriders.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=17617

http://www.katriders.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=30542

http://www.katriders.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=30896

here's a few links to get you started. I leave the rest of the research up to you.

[Patrick]

Thanks mate!