Tips on painting?

[rooster]

Hi all,

I have a Bandit 250 that could use a little paint in places.

I want to try painting the motor and the fork legs.

Has anybody painted a motor before? Can you just drop the motor and paint the whole thing (masking off sensitive bits of course) or is it better to take all the various covers off and do them separately?

Secondly has anyone painted fork legs on the bike before?
I don't have very much space to work in and I've never taken forks apart. I figured that I could remove the wheel, caliper and mudguard then mask up the tubes and put some newspaper over the rad/engine to stop overspray. Then sand down the fork legs and give them a few coats of black followed by a clear.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Cheers!

[sandy klock]

A good friend of mine paints his(he overhauls mtrs.) with a paint brush.  It is a special engine paint that flows out afterwords. to look like spray and bake.  One thing he really likes is no overspray or fumes to deal with.  a window fan pointing away from engine. is all that is needed.  I will get product info if you are interested.   sandy

[rooster]

Yeah that sounds very interesting! A product name would be great. 

[sandy klock]

just talked to Damon, He uses 415engine black from summit racing. spray or brush application.  Also recommends their clear coat for fork legs etc.  But said it will lift paint so not to use on painted surfaces. said it is tough as any pwdr coat. the 415 is a brn black, He is also using a semi gloss ureathane for the blue black tint match.  all depends on prep work(goes with any painting) and dont power wash bike for a lasting job.   Also the product comes with its own hardner.   good luck.   sandy

[Unique]

just talked to Damon, He uses 415engine black from summit racing. spray or brush application.  Also recommends their clear coat for fork legs etc.  But said it will lift paint so not to use on painted surfaces. said it is tough as any pwdr coat. the 415 is a brn black, He is also using a semi gloss ureathane for the blue black tint match.  all depends on prep work(goes with any painting) and dont power wash bike for a lasting job.   Also the product comes with its own hardner.   good luck.   sandy

Sandy mate Damon idea of 415engine black paint from summit racing sounds a good idea! Do you use an harder with 415 ? . And as sandy says’  The finished paint job is only as good as the prep work beneath the paint.

I myself used Hycote brand black engine enamel out of an aerosol spray can, worked well, although the red i did the cam covers in.. i coultn’t get in the hycote range in a red, so used a red in VHT brand aerosol spray which even today is still tacky to the touch.

If using aerosol spray cans do remember that the paint is thin down greatly by solvents(thinners) so the paint will come out of the nozzle, so apply coats thinly and build up to required density,

have a look at the link below if using aerosol and may be usefully too if using air-powered spray guns! I haven’t read all of it yet myself but seems to have some good tips, Although i believe in most cases using air-powered spray guns will alway beat aerosol spray cans hands-down.

http://www.secondchancegarage.com/public/124.cfm