Painting Bodywork help

[chownsy]

Hello all

I paiinted all my fairings the other day and they came out terrible, the imperfections showed up loads (even afte a good coating of high build primer)

Anyway i didnt realise the high build primer could be sanded down so much so i sanded 80% of the imprefections out (100% would take many many more houws and alot of money which i dont have) and then i sprayed it with the final primer before i spray the bike again.

I have rubbed it down with 600grit wet and dry now to get a smooth surface to paint on. (Im not bothred if there are some small imperfections in the bodywork as it will be an every day to day bike rather than a special bike)

What is best to wipe the sanded surface down with to get rid of all the residue?

I have a compressor and airgun to do the spraying with but is there any techniques to spray with? As last time i did it i ended up with a couple of raised lumps that when sanded it left a white patch

Is it advisible to sand with 1000/1200 grit between base coat and pearl cote and then between pearl cote and laquear?

I will then polish with G3 on a sanding pad (the foam types)

And then wax with Wool pad and Tesco's Wax (i know its cheap but if i do it wrong its less money i spent)

Regards

Richard

[LUCAS]

I did my CBR400 last year and was constantly hassling a few ex spray painters for advice along the way. It was my first time with bodywork and they came out good for rattle cans.

The panels i used needed a lot of repairs which i sorted. They weren't perfectly smooth. I didn't use normal primer but what's know as filler primer. Much much thicker and easier to get a nice smooth finish. Was easy to get runs though if not careful. Initial panels were rubbed down with 600 wet and dry. After each layer of primer i used 600 - 800 - 1200 - 1500 giving a nice smooth finish. It was constantly drilled into me that the primer layer was the most important to get right

I used a fan/ extractor to get rid of over spray (the paint in the air which settles to leave a rough and horrible finish).

Wet and dry was always used with warm soapy water after allowed the panels to dry for 24 hours.

I used those alcohol wipes for surface preparation for removing any grease before spraying and allowed more than enough time to dry completely.

With final top coats i used used 1200 - 1500 - 1800 - 2000 and then 3000 wet and dry. The jump from 2000 to 3000 was too much and noticeable. After all spraying was finished I used T-Cut to get a nice smooth finish.

Like i say that was my first time and was advice from other more experienced people than me. Whether that was right im not the one to say but the end results was good



Not all of the bike was finished then (front mudguard, forks amongst a few things). the bodywork didn't last very long though....

[hardnutdvd]

What is best to wipe the sanded surface down with to get rid of all the residue?

Talking as an ex decorator, id use a tack cloth, i beleive pro vehicle sprayers use them too..
http://www.tackrags.co.uk/?gclid=CK6d6b ... 2AodyVArbw

when spraying it you want to make sure you start spraying before the panel and finish after the panel, dont stop half way along the plastics...
prep is the key to a good finish.. loadsa wet and dry gradually gettin finer and finer

[chownsy]

I did my CBR400 last year and was constantly hassling a few ex spray painters for advice along the way. It was my first time with bodywork and they came out good for rattle cans.

The panels i used needed a lot of repairs which i sorted. They weren't perfectly smooth. I didn't use normal primer but what's know as filler primer. Much much thicker and easier to get a nice smooth finish. Was easy to get runs though if not careful. Initial panels were rubbed down with 600 wet and dry. After each layer of primer i used 600 - 800 - 1200 - 1500 giving a nice smooth finish. It was constantly drilled into me that the primer layer was the most important to get right

I used a fan/ extractor to get rid of over spray (the paint in the air which settles to leave a rough and horrible finish).

Wet and dry was always used with warm soapy water after allowed the panels to dry for 24 hours.

I used those alcohol wipes for surface preparation for removing any grease before spraying and allowed more than enough time to dry completely.

With final top coats i used used 1200 - 1500 - 1800 - 2000 and then 3000 wet and dry. The jump from 2000 to 3000 was too much and noticeable. After all spraying was finished I used T-Cut to get a nice smooth finish.

Like i say that was my first time and was advice from other more experienced people than me. Whether that was right im not the one to say but the end results was good

http://i497.photobucket.com/albums/rr33 ... dc8111.jpg

Not all of the bike was finished then (front mudguard, forks amongst a few things). the bodywork didn't last very long though....

Thanks for all that advice, Helps a lot.

A few things i want to make clear, (i did use High build primer to start) Do i have to rub the primer down with 600 then 800 then 1000 then 1200 or will 600 be okay (it feels really smooth already).

If i think the primer layer is okay and im happy with the imperfections that are left, that will be okay as its only me that will really notice them. (The body work was seriously in bad condition when i got them so what i have them looking like now is 80% better than when i got them)

Regards

Richard

[hardnutdvd]

i would go lightly with a couple of grades.. lightly with fine then again with finest...
i know you only doing it for yourself but if your doing it you may as well do a best a job you can..

[LUCAS]

I was advised with 600 then 800 then 1000 then 1200. Get the primer smooth and it makes achieving a smooth final coat far easier

[hardnutdvd]

I was advised with 600 then 800 then 1000 then 1200. Get the primer smooth and it makes achieving a smooth final coat far easier

this would give you a good finish..
as said before, the more time spent on prepping the better and easier the job will be.
the final coats will go on better, stick better and look better.

its all down to how much time and effort you wanna spend. the more you spend the better it will end up.

[chownsy]

I will sand it with 1000 grit later then i guess :)

I know i shouldnt be lazy, but im on a very very tight budget (Especially as engine just blew up(Headgasket)) and cannot afford no more primer for this at all

Regards

Richard

[suzbug]

Hi.
just to add, im doing the same with my vfr.
a great way to ensure a good primer surface is to dust coat the primer with another paint, so a rattle can of a different colour.
That way when you wet flat it with wet and dry, any colour still showing indicates slight dimples in the primer, or low spots.
once you have got rid of all of the colour you know the finish is like glass!
dont go silly with the colour coat, just a sprinkle.
take your time and dont rush.

Also, once you have done this wait a while before spraying with top coat, by this i mean days not hours. High build primer has a tendancy to sink and shrink as it drys out, so what look great today could end up with ripples in a week.

Good luck mate, hope it goes well.
Suzbug.

[chownsy]

Hi.
just to add, im doing the same with my vfr.
a great way to ensure a good primer surface is to dust coat the primer with another paint, so a rattle can of a different colour.
That way when you wet flat it with wet and dry, any colour still showing indicates slight dimples in the primer, or low spots.
once you have got rid of all of the colour you know the finish is like glass!
dont go silly with the colour coat, just a sprinkle.
take your time and dont rush.

Also, once you have done this wait a while before spraying with top coat, by this i mean days not hours. High build primer has a tendancy to sink and shrink as it drys out, so what look great today could end up with ripples in a week.

Good luck mate, hope it goes well.
Suzbug.

thanks for that reply

Im never going to get it like glass unless i spend another 50+ on primers which i cant afford.

I will do that paint idea later before i sand with the 1000 grit so that i can see if there are some major areas i need to give my attention to.

Regards

Richard