painting question

[itssmeebtchs]

So I am going to re-paint my red bike to black and yellow.. should I go ahead and remove all or mostly all the paint on it before I paint or just sand it down a little then prime it? Im not looking for the easiest but the best way to do it.. I have time and dont mind putting in the work. suggestions?

[kevin2502000]

This is what I would do. Sand down existing paint with 400 grit and do any body filler if needed. Spray on your buildable primer and when that's dry wet sand with 600 grit. This will show you if there are anymore imperfections that need work. Don't go higher than 600 grit on the primer because it needs a certain roughness to adhere. When you are satisfied with how the wet sand looks get ready for the base. Make sure you wear some clean rubber gloves and wipe everything that is going to be painted off with denatured alcohol. Don't be stingy with it, it's cheap. This removes any grease or oil and evaporates dry. Now wipe with a clean tack cloth. Now spray your base. Not sure what type of paint you are using by I highly suggest bc/cc.

[itssmeebtchs]

**** I started sanding down with 180 was that to much? I read on a thread here, that's what you should start at then move to 400 after the filler and etc.. and kee movin up there after the primer..

[kevin2502000]

If the paint was fine 400 would be good. You sound like you're trying to remove it all which you can if you want. Just make sure don't sand higher than 600 on your primer or you might have adhesion problems.

[itssmeebtchs]

alright, yeah I was gunna use 1000 on the primer should i go with 600?

[hardlydangerous]

no need to remove the original finish, wet sand it, prime and paint

[kevin2502000]

alright, yeah I was gunna use 1000 on the primer should i go with 600?

600 is max.

[itssmeebtchs]

no need to remove the original finish, wet sand it, prime and paint

Its not the original, sanded down and there isn't primeron anything...

[freqflyer]

From what I've seen the original paint is so thing, you can't sand it without taking it off. Or at least a good portion of it.

[kevin2502000]

From what I've seen the original paint is so thing, you can't sand it without taking it off. Or at least a good portion of it.

You can if you wet sand it with 600, even if it goes through the clear it's still smooth enough to fix imperfections. You wet sand your final clear coat with 1000 or higher before polishing so I hope it doesn't go through.

[itssmeebtchs]

what kind of paint would be best to use? brand? gloss? semi?
I'm lookin at duplicolor because I was told that looks the best for the money

also how much paint and clear should I need, 1qt?2qt?3qt?

[Tparkin]

Duplicolor may be fine as long as you use a quality 2 part clear...Duplicolor's clear sucks. I have painted a few bikes in the past and have always used Nason brand base and Nason 2K Clear. It shoots excellent and the clear is top notch.

I just painted my bike yesterday and used about half a quart of base (if that) and a little over a quart of clear. That gave me one thin and one medium coat of base and about 3 coats of clear.

[chito2004lakers]

I just painted my bike yesterday and used about half a quart of base (if that) and a little over a quart of clear. That gave me one thin and one medium coat of base and about 3 coats of clear.

Where are the pics man?

[kat astrophe]

+1 dont use duplicolor clear, if you want it to come out good go to a real body shop supply store and buy nason brand. im painting my bike today and just did first coat of nason clear and it lays down so smooth. I would just go nason all the way.

[Tparkin]

+1 dont use duplicolor clear, if you want it to come out good go to a real body shop supply store and buy nason brand. im painting my bike today and just did first coat of nason clear and it lays down so smooth. I would just go nason all the way.

Yeah, what he said ^

I painted a friends bike a couple weeks ago and he got some other brand that didn't shoot very well and the clear sprayed horribly. I agree that Nason's clear is the best I've used.

Where are the pics man?

Here it is...pre buff. Still deciding on whether or not to add some charcoal/red striping to break up all of the silver, it looks like a frickin mirror in the sunlight. When I bought it, the plastics were cracked and busted up and the entire bike was the color of the bar ends...Barney purple.