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Paint color choice & fuel resistant questions

  • Thread starter Thread starter GS750GUY
  • Start date Start date
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GS750GUY

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I will be painting my bike and have been told to be careful on color selection in that some colors are more fragile, higher maintainance, sensitive to the elements, and prone to UV fading than other other colors. Does anyone out there have experience in this area? Which colors are more colorfast and the least sensitive to direct sunlight exposure? Any colors that I should definitely stay away from?

Also, what kind of paint is least botherd by fuel spills. We have all seen paint jobs wrecked by an accidental fuel spill.

I know many of you will respond by saying I should have it done by a professional shop that specializes in bike painting. I do have some experience in painting and will be researching it thoroughly. I have heard some shops charge $500.00 just to paint a gas tank. Kind of stiff when working on a shoestring like I am. Any pointers out there for the guys that have done it themselves?
I appreciate your input.
GS750GUY.....Harold
 
Most home jobs are done in Lacquor for it's forgiving nature. It dries very fast & you can sand the bo bo's out. Takes lots of time. The critical apart is what kind of clearcoat you use, if you are having paint mixed You can also add UV protectants. If you have spray equipment I would use an Acrilic urethane. Regardless of which type of paint you use
REMEMBER paint is nasty shet & you don't want to breathe the fumes. SO buy or borrow the equipment
 
Lynn is correct...for the most part.

Having spent the 10 of the last 13 yeas selling paint and equipment, acrylic urethane is the most durable. Make sure to go with a basecoat/clearcoat system, as the single stage systems are highly susceptible to UV fade/oxidation. There are varying degrees of hardness available in most lineups. The harder a finish is, the less likely it is to break down from UV or chemicals such as gasoline. The drawback is that these are typically more likely to chip from a stray rock or whatnot.

As far as colors are concerned, with a basecoat/clearcoat system you can use any color you want. There will be little difference in fade if you use a good quality product.

Being on a gas tank, the possibility of chipping is not likely to be a huge issue, so I'd say the harder the better. PPG's DBU is an excellent product. It is more expensive than most of the others, but you get what you pay for with the DBU line.

Good Luck with your project!

Edit: Lacquer is seldom used anymore. The only place I have seen it recently is in rattle cans. All good urethanes will be sandable, as any quality bodypaint work requires sanding to achieve. The main benefit to lacquer over the newer products was its ability to melt back into itself. This made it possible to put a very light coat over a dry coat possible, with little fogging/roughness in the surface. With urethanes, you must only work with a wet area, otherwise you will have more sanding to do in order to achieve the glossy finish you want.
 
Last edited:
GS850_Coug said:
Lynn is correct...for the most part.

Being on a gas tank, the possibility of chipping is not likely to be a huge issue, so I'd say the harder the better. PPG's DBU is an excellent product. It is more expensive than most of the others, but you get what you pay for with the DBU line.

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Click to expand...

Just a foot note to the base coat clear coat system...When choosing the hardener for your clear coat, go with the highest gloss you can get, PPG makes the most forgiving products, in my experience, and Coug is right about getting what you pay for. Stay away from the Omniproduct line, there clear coat is JUNK...to soft and sprays like cottage cheese. Also, make sure to pick up some Final Wash for cleaning/prep and a few tack rags (bees wax on cheese cloth) and don't forget the Fisheye Eliminator. Apply your base coat (at least three coats) without a gloss (spray it dry) or your final color will look muted out and flat, especially if you're using a metailc base coat. Also, if you're looking for the "show car" finnish, you'll have to color sand the base coat with 1200/2000 grit and the clear as well. Then buff her out.

If you have any trouble or questions when you get going, send me a note... thousands of hours of experience in this department!

Dave
 
Dave, while your offering advice, I might as well ask now.

I plan to buy an inexpensive HVLP gun and go at my paint myself. Are the gravity-feed cup guns okay, or should I go ahead and spend the $$ on a better system.

Also, I plan on shooting two base colors, do I put one color down, wet sand; mask & shoot the second color then wet sand it, or is it okay to skip the wet sand between colors and just wet sand the whole thing prior to laying down the clear?

Thanks,
Kurt
​
 
Dardoonk-

The gravity HVLP is much better for the automotive paints. They are force-fed by gravity, requiring less air. A siphon setup will typically take 3-4 cfm of air just to feed the paint. Add the 3-4 cfm to break up the tiny bit of paint and your already into a 2hp compressor (1750rpm NOT 3450rpm). Go with a gravity feed, unless you plan on doing industrial paint work. It is also much easier to clean.

Dave-

The MBC/MBU (Omni) products are definitely crap. That's why I recommended the Delta/Delthane (DBC/DBU) product line. It's worth every penny!
 
dardoonk said:
Dave, while your offering advice, I might as well ask now.​


I plan to buy an inexpensive HVLP gun and go at my paint myself. Are the gravity-feed cup guns okay, or should I go ahead and spend the $$ on a better system.​

Also, I plan on shooting two base colors, do I put one color down, wet sand; mask & shoot the second color then wet sand it, or is it okay to skip the wet sand between colors and just wet sand the whole thing prior to laying down the clear?​

Thanks,
Kurt​
Click to expand...

Kurt: Unless you're going into this as a business, the gravity feed guns work quite well and are a great deal cheeper. What are you painting? As far as the two tone paint scheme, you'll have to sand between color changes as the base coat becomes too hard for the next color overlay to adhere. Usually it is best to paint the accent color/flames/stripe whatever on top of your base color/primer but under your final color. As far as sanding your second color, you don't have to as long as you shoot the clear within 2-3 hours of your last coat of base. You'll need to apply two or three thick coats of clear, about 1 hr. apart, let them harden for a day or two, then block sand them (600/1000 grit) to remove the paint ridge from your color change (unless you fade the colors) and then follow up with two more heavy clear coats, sand and buff.
 
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