Paint Sugestions

[Nofear6677]

I'm looking to paint my bike and was looking for suggestions on ways to do it good, yet cheap.

[diavolo]

Never use good and cheap in the same sentence.

[Mojoe]

Never use good and cheap in the same sentence.

what you need to as is ask what kind of paint job you can do with X amount of dollars....with X being your spending limit, of course. I can't suggest anything until I know how much you are willing to spend.

[hardlydangerous]

The cheapest GOOD job I have done was $150 .

Utech 2K clear
5 black Dupli-color spray paint (base)

Mind you there was no body work involved, just a color change

[Nofear6677]

im just looking for a color change. and i don't have any painting supplies such as a gun or anything, so im not sure what would be the best route to go. im looking to spend about 300 or so.

[hardlydangerous]

well for three hundred bucks you can use quality paints.

My favorite spray guns are still the $15 units from harbor freight.

They spray most urethane and lacqure paints perfectly except the Duplicolor lacqure RTS paint shop paints.
When spraying these I use about 10 psi and even then its such a light paint it goes on like crap.
your local autobody supply store will have a huge selection of paints for you.
dont buy paint online... 90% of the time its really old stock unless your buing from a specialty store

[Nofear6677]

I know virtually nothing about automotive painting though. So I wouldn't have a clue as to what kind of paint to buy, compressor needs, or anything of that sort.

[Mojoe]

another option is to do all your prep work yourself, buy the paint you want, then maybe pay someone just to spray it. $300 might be able to get it done.

[Nofear6677]

I went to a bodyshop on my way home today and they said they would paint it for a couple hundred. this seems too low to me, although they painted my truck hood and fender relatively cheap. (they did it for 600, nobody else would touch it for under a grand) Is there anything y'all think I should be worried about?

[T McCall]

If you're talking prep/paint/polish etc , then that sounds way low.Remember the old saying" you get what you pay for".
Sport bikes start at $ 1000+/- here for non candy 1 colors.
Most people on here will tell you thats way too much but keep in mind "quality" materials and workmanship.
Maybe they are doing you a favor as a repeat customer.Ask them , doesnt hurt to ask the questions.Good materials from start to finish cost more than that.

[greentreena]

^ I totally agree, you get what you pay for.... however If you have dealt with the body shop before and you liked the job, by all means give them a shot. It will be a beter job than doing it yourself if you have no experience painting.

When I learned paint and body, I wasted way more than $300 in paint and material!

[Mojoe]

If you're talking prep/paint/polish etc , then that sounds way low.Remember the old saying" you get what you pay for".
Sport bikes start at $ 1000+/- here for non candy 1 colors.
Most people on here will tell you thats way too much but keep in mind "quality" materials and workmanship.
Maybe they are doing you a favor as a repeat customer.Ask them , doesnt hurt to ask the questions.Good materials from start to finish cost more than that.

even though I tend to agree with you for the most part, the reality of it is that not everyone can afford to dump $1000 into a paint job. and even if they could afford it, it is also likely that the bike isn't worth spending a grand on a paint job.

in an ideal world, that is what I would charge to paint a bike, but we don't live in an ideal world, so customers willing to spend that around here would be few and far between.

$500.....that is what I could charge and still make a little cash on the side. assuming there are no repairs to be done, I would just pull out the sandblaster and strip it all down, if it needed it....or was covered in stickers. if I am painting a bike, I don't waste my time removing stickers...except with the sandblaster. anyway, let's say 2 hours to strip the parts down and ready to lay the primer.

laying the primer.....should take no more than an hour. I am being conservative with that. 30-40 minutes, including mixing the primer and washing up the gun afterwards sounds about right.

sanding and prep....let's say 4 hours. again, I am being conservative. if you do it for a living, and don't stand around with your thumb up your butt whenever you feel like it, and actually work like you are getting paid for it, 2-3 hours is doable. I have sanded down a whole car in that amount of time.

laying the base.....30 minutes, including mixing and washing up after.

laying the clear....let's say 2 hours total including wait time between coats. myself, I favor lo-temp reducers to cut that wait time, so 60-90 minutes will do it.

in total, providing all goes well, a bike can be painted in 10 hours+/-. actually, lets say 20 hours, just to be generous and allow time for everything to set as you do it.....but you are aren't actually working when that is going on.

cost of quality materials.....$200 will do it. of course it will cost more if you just buy what is needed to paint one bike, but if you buy your clear and reducers by the gallon(s) instead of pints or quarts, it cuts the cost per bike.

$500 - $200 = $300 for your time. at 10 hours, that's $30/hr. even if it takes you 15 hours, that leaves you $20/hr. I have no problem with $20/hr clear cash money under the table. mind you, that isn't very much if you do it for a living, but if you are doing it just for the joy of it, like a hobby, it's not bad at all.

HOWEVER, I have no overhead. I pay no rent or mortgage on a shop, don't have employees to pay, no union dues or fees, no permits to pay for, no advertising to pay for, no insurance to pay for...etc, etc.....nothing more than maybe the $5 it might add to my power bill.

so ya, I agree, you do get what you pay for. the thing is, with most body shops, you are also paying for those things I listed above....the guy's rent/mortgage, insurance, advertising...etc, etc, as well as his salary. imho, if you do a little research and shop around, you can avoid paying for all that extra stuff.

I am really not saying all this to cut your throat, or hurt your business, or ANYTHING like that. in fact, it has nothing to do with you or any body shop. what it has to do with is the welfare of the little guy who can't afford to dump $1000 into a quality paint job and to let him know that it can be done cheaper. I am not nervous about the quality of my work. it's as good as as it will be with anyone who charges $1000. I painted a bike for a member on here (the one shown in my "fine tuning your paint job" thread"), and he was so happy with the results that he gave me a $100 tip....which was cool because I threw in the polishing for free. polishing is a "bonus", and in most case you can have a great looking paint job without polishing. most collision centers don't waste time polishing after repairing a car, and they look fine.

but like I said.....it's not about cutting your throat or trying to steal business from you. on the contrary, seeing as I have neither the time or the desire to paint anyone's bike at this moment.....but when/if I do, you can be sure I will offer my service in the same way you are.....but at half the price. and I will repeat once again, it is not about cutting your throat. it's purely about the "little guy" who just wants a nice paint job without having to spend a grand on a bike that is possibly only worth $1500 tops.

So no, $1000 is not too much, providing the person can afford that, or the bike is worth a $1000 paint job. but if not, they can get just as good for half the price.

but then again, what I would charge would be relevant to who the customer is. it's a "habit" I picked up from my old man. if a customers comes in thinking he is some hotshot bigshot who knows all about it and acts like money is no object, then ya, I would likely quote him a grand just for being an a-hole. but if he is an average Joe family man just doing his best to keep afloat, or some young kid who doesn't have a lot of money to spend.....well I think $500 is a reasonable amount for both parties.

so there you go....that's my advice to anyone who would like a new paint job, but unsure or unable to do it themselves. just shop around. there are many "hobby painters" like myself out there who would gladly paint your bike for $500 if no repairs have to be done. truth be told, for guys like "us", it isn't always about the money. often it's just about being able to work with bikes because that is what they like to do.....and to be honest, I think you will find most are more apt to take pride in their work, as opposed to some guy in a body shop doing it because the boss told him that was the next job on the list.....if you know what I mean. I have seen plenty of "less than perfect" work come out of a body shop under those conditions. In fact, I know quite a few "work from home" painters who do much better work than "get the job done as fast as you can so the next job can get started" body shops. in those kind of shops, there is a fine line between quality and profits. hell, I saw a Ford pickup at the dealership last summer with new paint right from Ford, that had a tailgate painted so badly that I would not buy that truck myself. it was so full of orange peel that it wasn't even funny. well actually it was....both myself and my old man had a good laugh over it.

anyway...that's it. pick up a phone book, a newspaper, take a gander at the community advertising board hanging at your local supermarket.....anywhere people might advertise, and call around. for sure you have to be careful and it is advised to ask to see some of their work, but for sure you should be able to find someone who will do it within your budget, providing you are not too cheap.

[T McCall]

Yes , i'm suprised sometimes what some of the customers put into a certain bike.But thats non of my concern.If they ask about resale and such then i will say something ( its not worth it).Not just talking about katanas.
If you shop around the country at the usual suspects , the prices are about average.On occasion i'll offer to do 1 color in the ppg bottom line system if the person doesnt have much $ to play with or its track bike just needing to get it in 1 color.But i tell them up front its not going to be top of the line .Saves them a few bucks.
People come here for "quality". Not just what they see in the final finish but whats underneath as well.Steel is repaired / prepped the correct way, abs plastic is not repaired with fiberglass etc etc.
Sounds like i'm tooting my own horn, not the case.I've worked hard and long for a good reputation.

As far as the original question:
If you're wanting info on how to do your own bike, you're in the wrong place. All body and paint suppliers have tech sheets available for review.Dedicated sites on just about any procedure.

[black&blue]

I'm going to paint it my self and if it looks ****ty OH WELL strip it down and try again =D just my two cents, Don't get this one deleted to mojoe ;D

for the record, I went this route in the few months I've had the bike, and 2 paintjobs later, I am not happy with the results. I have painted it twice now and even after putting lots of effort into the finish it is still kind of disappointing. Dude, $300 isn't that bad for a real paintjob, seriously. And every time I fill up I have to be super careful not to spill a drop of gas or my tank paint will start getting effed up.
But then again, you're going the fighter route and don't have all the fairings in place anymore. But just sayin, man- really think about it.

[Javy23]

Never use good and cheap in the same sentence.

+1