Painting Our Bikes

graucho

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Twin Cities, Minnesooootah. Ya', schure
Hello all. Many of us build from scratch or tear down their bikes when doing maintenance or installing their motors.
This may be a good time to give it a fresh coat of paint. Over the years I have painted my bikes with an airbrush.
I've been asked elsewhere how to do this, and where do you get the materials? I made a few videos explaining how and where.

If anyone has good painting techniques please post them so others can learn. :beatnik:

My painting videos.





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howdy graucho! nice paint job.

A few days after you posted your thread i started a thread in the forum and help box on this topic. i managed not to see your thread in the search results somehow.:rolleyes:.

At any rate, my compliments on your excellent work! My younger brother just got an airbrush kit, so perhaps he can paint my bikes for me someday.your pics may inspire him (I hope!).

I use rustoleum spray paint, mainly gloss, some satin, and it comes out well enough. I really need to find colored hi-temp paints for my engines. any specific companies and types, folks? back in 2008, Prism mentioned painting an engine with 'Gun Kote' by KG (?) Industries. any body else use that product?

I know some folks used to powdercoat ( Cooltoy, for example). does anyone have a DIY powder coat system that's up and running?

what do y'all do to protect your paint jobs on the gas tanks from gasoline?
all answers welcome

p.s. don't use spray-on lacquer, it tends to look bad dissolving under a gas spill.:-/

for the bike body and fenders, gas tanks and other parts that don't get warm (or hot!) I paint with spray paints. I have not tried any liquid out-of-the-can paints.
I always wet sand in between coats with a 450 or higher grit. Prior to painting the main coats I prime the surface with a self etching primer, which (as the name implies) cuts into the surface and bonds to it, thus providing a secure, paintable base for your main coats. It comes out smooth and professional-looking.
Dust falling on your work during the drying period is always disastrous, so I tend to go outside and section off a painting spot somewhere with pieces of plywood to reduce the wind, which carries the dust. Of course, using dusty pieces of plywood counteracts my efforts, so I brush off the wood first.:unsure:

any info on custom sticker producers? I intend on getting some stickers with my logo on it to place on my bikes.
please reply, fellow MBers!:D
 
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A few days after you posted your thread i started a thread in the forum and help box on this topic. i managed not to see your thread in the search results somehow.:rolleyes:.

At any rate, my compliments on your excellent work! My younger brother just got an airbrush kit, so perhaps he can paint my bikes for me someday.your pics may inspire him (I hope)

Thanks buddymac. As in my first video I have switched over to Duplicolor brand premixed paints for the simplicity of painting bikes. No mixing thinners, hardeners etc and applies between 50 to 85 deg with no guesswork. Also the clear coat is awesome. 3 heavy coats and it withstands a gas splash after a week of curing. I haven't left gas on it for more than 30 seconds though. (I should do a test and post the results) if you pause the vids there are links to paint stuff I've used. I not affiliated with Duplicolor or O'riley auto parts... I just found the paints easy with great results, including the clear coating that doesn't react scary with the matching paint.
 
any info on custom sticker producers? I intend on getting some stickers with my logo on it to place on my bikes.
please reply, fellow MBers!:D
[/QUOTE]

i highly reccomend stickermule.com for custom skickers. they have a variety of options and the products they make are high quality and fairly priced.
 
The number plate on my cyclekart is a sticker, but not fairly priced at $36. A local sign and graphics shop did it.
 
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