Possibly the silliest question

[Mojo]

Ok, I know this sounds silly. But can anyone tell me exactly how many freaking paints I need to actually paint a bike? The best I can figure is that I need the following products from say House of Kolor for an example.

Primer
Sealer
Basecoat (Black, or white)
Intermediate Coat in the desired color or finish type.
And finally clear.

I guess I get confused as to why I would paint the bike with say black basecoat, then say blue candy. I am greatly temped to just buy a gallon of duplicolor from murrays and call it a day. But I know you only get out what you are willing to put in and want to do the best job I possibly can and still manage to learn something along the way.

Thank you.
Bud

 

[TAZ]

Bud,
Not a silly question at all!
Candy colors are quite confusing if you don't know exactly how they work. Candy colors are basically tinted clearcoats. So whatever you put under the candy will be seen through the candy.
Example:
Silver basecoat, blue candy will end up a bright blue candy
charcoal basecoat/blue candy will end up a darker basecoat.

Candies are somewhat harder to spray, especially to help keep them from "streaking" (which means basically light spots and light spots). If you have never sprayed before or are not comfortable with spraying, I would suggest going with basecoat/clearcoat color which is basically the same type of paint you see on most automobiles or motorcycles.

If you sprayed a black base, then sprayed a candy color over it (any candy color), you would pretty much end up with black since you cannot see anything below the candy. *Now* add some flake to that black, *then* spray some candy and you will end up with a very dark candy. If you look at number 102 in the "Samples of Work" section, for the base I started with black, added some flake, then some metallic for the base under the candy green (in other words, I made my own base under the candy green). You will see some close-up shots of this job.

Let's say you decide to go with a basecoat/clearcoat color.
Here is what you would need to paint your project as far as paint materials go.

Primer--once your parts are sanded, any place you go though should be primed with a good epoxy primer.

Sealer---If you plan on spraying your parts a dark color, you can use a black (or dark gray). If you plan on using like a silver or a light blue, you should use a medium gray. If you plan on using a white, or very light solid (no metallic), use a white. You see how it goes, you need a sealer to go with the base going over the sealer, the darker the base, the darker the sealer.

Basecoat---The actual color. Don't spray for shine-spray for coverage (the clear will take care of the shine

Clear---This is your gloss for the paint job. The flatter you get the clear, the better off you are. This is quite a bit harder to spray versus the base.
Hope this helps you along!!!!
any more questions, feel free to post

If all else fails, contact me , and I'll get the job done for you!!

 

[rex]

I agree,there's no question too silly.If you don't ask you'll never (almost) find the answer.It is frustrating though because you usually have to buy more than you need and the stuff isn't cheap.If you're painting something comparable to a Wideglide or Softail (no fairings and hardbags) a qt of base will give you enough with probably 1/3 left over which is cool to redo a piece later if need be.A qt of clear and hardner will do about 4 coats over everything,but getting the hardner in a 1/2 or full pint depends on the system you pick.Instead of buying qts of the sealer and hardner,you might want to stop by a local bodyshop and see if they will sell you a pint or qt's worth of epoxy and catalyst.Alot of shops are funny about this due to liability or the A hole factor,but some will.Better yet if they use PPG and the parts are sanded and ready to seal they can make you up a qt ready to go with 401 hardner.Kept sealed in the can it will last about 2 days in a cool environment.Take it home,put some on the bare spots,flip the parts and seal and paint the backsides.In the morning go out and scuff the outsides again and seal them to paint.The little left to go bad is much less than buying a qt of sealer and catalyst to sit and go bad.Of course if that's a frustrating deal you could get with Scott.Personally I think his prices are extremely reasonable for the quality of work you'll get,and I've seen higher priced jobs around that weren't worth 1/2 what they paid.You definately wont regret Scott touching it if you go that route.

 

[Mojo]

Thank you Gentlemen.

There is no ammount of suffering I won't go through to learn something new.

I really appreciate the knowledge you guys hand out here. It is quite hard to find anyone willing to share things they've learned. It's nice to see several in one place.

Bud

 

[rex]

Any time man.I don't have any problem helping someone if it's on my time and I'm not busy working.As you can tell from the lenghth of some of my posts I try to explain as much as possible but I know I get too involved and lose people at times.Keep asking though,we'll get you going.