[barfer]

Gents & Ladies,

For those of you who want to take a hand at "doing it yourself" here is how to get acceptable results in your own garage, backyard, kitchen, whatever:

Tools you need:

* Rattle can paint - colorite will send you Ducati paint (or any other moto paint based on paint codes).
* Masking tape
* Sandpaper - 120, 220, 400, 600 grits at a bare minimum. If you want the clearcoat to shine, you'll need 800, 1000, 1500 and 2000 and buffing compound.

This is what I started with, thanks to Sear's Point on 11/15 (see other thread for crash details):

Ouchie:

Step 1: Bust out the 120 grit sandpaper. Use a block or you'll make waves. For contoured places, you can use a foam block or a sponge but *resist* the urge to use only your fingers. You will make waves and the prep work is the most important piece of making your paintwork look acceptable.

Get everything smooth. The edges of all the layers of paint will start to feather together like this:

ok, now for the embarrassing part: Bondo. Yes, you need to fill those deep gouges that wouldn't get flat with sanding. Mix it up and don't get it on any tools you care about:

 

[barfer]

Now spread that bondo over the gouges, making sure the gouges are free from sanding dust and are sufficiently "roughed up" inside from sandpaper so that the bondo can stick:

Spread the bondo thin and you will feel it start to "gel" and start getting hard to work with at some point--at this point stop touching it and just wait for it to harden. Don't get too fancy with it or too worried about what it looks like on there. You can sand it later and fix it if necessary. Sanding is work you want to avoid, so remember: less is more when it comes to bondo. Better to put another layer on if you use too little than have to sand off huge amounts of it:

Ok, now time to sand again. I use 120 lightly until it is "close" to being the right shape and smoothness. Now its time for the 220:

After the bondo and sanded parts look smooth enough, tape off the portion you are going to sand. I like to paint whole panels rather than try to blend repairs into existing paint. Here, I chose to paint all the way up to the stripe. Mask it off, and sand the whole panel with 400 grit sandpaper. This way, the primer will stick to everything. Some people use 220 for this stage but I think 400 roughs it up enough and makes your primer smoother.

Ok, now bust out that primer. You can buy it from colorite. Don't use the crap at home depot. Primer is everything and makes a big difference. Don't skimp; buy the right stuff.

Wait 10-15 minutes between coats to let it flash dry then add another coat. Spray the rattle can 6-8 inches away and use broad, even stokes and overlap each pass. Always keep the rattle can moving--don't stop in one spot. If you didn't cover it enough on that pass, you'll get it next time.

I like to use 3 coats of primer to give me plenty of room to "flatten it out" in the sanding stage.

Ok, now wait 8 hours. Some people wait less time but I like the primer to be really cured before I hit it with sandpaper.

While you're waiting, soak some 600 grit sandpaper in water. Add a squirt of dish soap, a few bubbles help keep the paper clear. If you get grit in the paper you will scratch up the piece.

So now hit that primer with 600 grit paper on a block until the surface is "flat" and "smooth" and all those pinhead size bumps the primer left are gone. If you sand through to metal or non-paint covered parts of the piece, you're going to need to re-prime and repeat this step.

Sand the flat parts of the piece first and do the edges last, because the edges are where you are going to sand through. In the photo above, you can see I've sanded through the primer on the edges in some spots. If I cared greatly I might have re-primed but there was paint from the original paintjob under there that would give my new paint something to stick to, so I chose not to re-prime.

 

[barfer]

Ok, time for the color coat. Same deal as the primer, be smooth and use long even strokes, always keeping the paint can moving. If you don't get full coverage, you can get it on the next pass or the next coat. Do as many coats as you need to get the right color. Sometimes it is only 1 coat. I had to use 2 coats. But when you hear people talk about fancy paint jobs with "10 layers of paint" ignore it. They aren't talking about 10 layers of color coat. You only need as many as it takes to get the color right. If you are painting *red* for instance, it may take 3 coats to get it dark enough. After you shoot the paint on there, check the other body parts to make sure you have the shade right.

Of course, my paint isn't a factory paint code. There are places that have a scanner who will mix custom paint for you and put it in a rattle can. I went to a place called San Leandro color to get it mixed. $33 bucks for 1 rattle can but the color match is perfect and I don't have to use a real paint gun and deal with all that junk for just this small repair.

Ok, now it is time to mask off your stripes, numbers, or in my case, the white panel that the numbers are going to on on. I should have showed the tape stage separately, but here is the white panel all taped off and painted with white:

Ok, wait for that to dry and rip off that tape and bust out the clearcoats:

This is where I go kind of crazy with layers. This is a trackbike and it will get a little roughed up just in the load-in, load-out process. I put five layers of clearcoat on it. Same deal--long, even strokes. Don't be tempted to put a lot of paint on there. Too much paint and you will get runs. Get it on the next coat. Wait 20-30 minutes between clearcoats.

Ok, wait 8 hours and pull off that tape. I like to wait at least 24 hours before I hit the clearcoat with sandpaper or polishing compound. Looks pretty good as is, though. Tomorrow I will hit it with 800, 1200, 1500, 2000 and rubbing compound and it will look really good.

So that was fun and all, but as the guy at the paint shop told me, the best way to have good paint is to "Stop crashing your bike."

 

[Prem]

Good write up Barfer. I have one question for you, or any of the Paul Smart tribe. Where can I get paint to match the PS1000LE seafoam green? I didn't see it offered in the list from ColoRite. I have a nice little scratch on my swingarm I'd like to repair/protect.

 

[vitalc]

Thanks for that write up, Barfer.
Great job on the instructions and on the bike !

How did deal with the seat damage?

 

[barfer]

Thanks, dudes. On the Paul Smart code--I don't know but I would call auto paint shops in your area and just ask who has a scanning machine who can match it. They can scan, match and mix the paint in 20 minutes while you wait.

A custom scan will also likely be a better match than just following a factory paint code, which doesn't take into consideration paint fading or other factors that may have made *your* actual frame be a slightly different shade than the factory chip.

As for the seat, another forum member kindly agreed to send me one of his extras for a very good price. Upholstery is not one of those areas I really want to get into just yet...

 

[GTRossi]

ouch!!!

i got a sick feeling when i saw the first pic - but you did a nice job cleaning it up

glad to see those colors are going fast.

 

[srs]

Great write up and great work! Are you in CA, if so, is that water-base paint?

 

[barfer]

Great write up and great work! Are you in CA, if so, is that water-base paint?

GTRossi: Thanks and sorry I crashed the plastic you gave me.

SRS: I am in CA and the water based paint law you are thinking about does not apply in *every* california county. Luckily there are still some counties in CA that will allow you to buy Deltron 2000 DBC in a rattle can still. I don't know if the counties where it is prohibited will figure out a way to do this with water based paint...

 

[DGJ]

Barfer, your track skills (crash excluded) and your shop skills are an inspiration.. LA-DUC and I always joke about doing our own valve adjustment one day -truth is we two big pussies and won't ever build the nerve...

great work!

 

[LA-DUC]

Looks good dude...

 

[barfer]

The follow-up

Thanks for the nice comments, guys. I'm strictly an amateur on all accounts.

Here is the follow-up:

See the itty-bitty amount of texture in the paint? You can see it right in the center of the photo, near the top-right on the seat cowl? This is after a few strokes with 600 grit paper, soaked in water, with a few soap bubbles in there for good measure.

So here it is with 600 on it until the texture in the clearcoat is gone, and the paint is completely flat:

But dull now, eh? Bust out the 800, it only takes a few strokes, then the 1000, then the 1200, then the 1500 and 2000. Really only takes a few strokes with each sheet. Super fast and easy. Use a wet sponge as a sanding block:

Now here it is, all dried off after I hit it with a buffing cloth and some 3M "mirror glaze" finishing compound. This photo is bone dry, no wax, no nothing, just polished urethane on plastic. Left side is the original, right side is the rattle-can, backyard-bondo repair job:

 

[poolagent]

Thanks for the nice comments, guys. I'm strictly an amateur on all accounts.

Here is the follow-up:

See the itty-bitty amount of texture in the paint? You can see it right in the center of the photo, near the top-right on the seat cowl? This is after a few strokes with 600 grit paper, soaked in water, with a few soap bubbles in there for good measure.

So here it is with 600 on it until the texture in the clearcoat is gone, and the paint is completely flat:

But dull now, eh? Bust out the 800, it only takes a few strokes, then the 1000, then the 1200, then the 1500 and 2000. Really only takes a few strokes with each sheet. Super fast and easy. Use a wet sponge as a sanding block:

Now here it is, all dried off after I hit it with a buffing cloth and some 3M "mirror glaze" finishing compound. This photo is bone dry, no wax, no nothing, just polished urethane on plastic. Left side is the original, right side is the rattle-can, backyard-bondo repair job:

Superbe job

 

[vitalc]

Absolutely! great job...

now, paint that number 12 on

 

[Riderjeff]

D.I.Y. stuff is always the best. Nice work!

 

[CU3RVO]

Awesome work! Nothing beats working on your own bike...with a nice fatty, cigar that is!

 

[barfer]

Awesome work! Nothing beats working on your own bike...with a nice fatty, cigar that is!

If you're not too careful, those paint fumes will get you walking on the moon, too...

 

[spyvito]

JC Pak Bikes

Good write up Barfer. I have one question for you, or any of the Paul Smart tribe. Where can I get paint to match the PS1000LE seafoam green? I didn't see it offered in the list from ColoRite. I have a nice little scratch on my swingarm I'd like to repair/protect.

Contact JCPAKBIKES, they were able to set me up with a rattlecan of Green and it matches perfect.

 

[barfer]

Last weekend back at Sears Point

 

[CU3RVO]

Last weekend back at Sears Point

That is one sweet looking machine....