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Painting my GSXR fairings. Need advice

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Location
Arlington
First Name
Dave
Last Name
Loggins
So...I've decided to paint my GSXR 750 fairings. I have a new set of race fairings that are clean and primed. I've ordered a single stage automotive paint from TPC

I went with a single stage and single color to make it as simple as possible but all I've ever done is brush and spray can painting. I've never done real paint, with hardener that you mix and apply with a sprayer.

I plan to build a paint booth in my garage but could use some tips on how to do it.

Anyone with some skill that would like to offer advice?
 
Oh.....not that it changes things that much but I plan to paint the tank too.
 
I would just build a simple frame out of 2x2 and 1x2 to clamp down the plastic sheeting. For small things you are probably fine without ventilation but make sure you have a great mask. I painted a lot of cars as a kid with a cheap mask and I'm sure it will be what gets me one day. Make sure you have a decent dryer on your compressor with these high humidity days we are having.
Get a large piece of cardboard to practice setting your gun up. Don't be afraid to tack out you body before you start laying paint. (That's when you mist it and let it sit for a few min) Most of my painting problems come from being impatient and laying to much product on. Runs will get you every time if you rush.

What kinda gun are you using?
 
Have you considered a vinyl wrap?
 
That's what I am thinking on my KLR. Called a shop and they wanted too much so I'm going to try it myself on a spare set of plastics.
 
I would just build a simple frame out of 2x2 and 1x2 to clamp down the plastic sheeting. For small things you are probably fine without ventilation but make sure you have a great mask. I painted a lot of cars as a kid with a cheap mask and I'm sure it will be what gets me one day. Make sure you have a decent dryer on your compressor with these high humidity days we are having.
Get a large piece of cardboard to practice setting your gun up. Don't be afraid to tack out you body before you start laying paint. (That's when you mist it and let it sit for a few min) Most of my painting problems come from being impatient and laying to much product on. Runs will get you every time if you rush.

What kinda gun are you using?
Good suggestions. I don't have a gun yet. Figured I'd pick up one from home depot or harbor freight. Any suggestions?

I've got a 4 post car lift that I can use as a paint boot frame. Figured I'd frame in a filter for exit and a box fan to push air into the booth for a bit of air flow. I know not to use the fan for exit since paint fumes can be flammable but figure it should be ok if it's pushing the air into the booth instead of sucking it out.
 
Have you considered a vinyl wrap?

That's what I am thinking on my KLR. Called a shop and they wanted too much so I'm going to try it myself on a spare set of plastics.

I figured it would be more expensive and I wanted to learn a bit. I guess I could check. I can have them painted by someone in the CMRA for about $350 but figure I can do it myself for about $200 and I'll learn a bit.
 
I never got an official quote on vinyl but called a shop and they said it was not worth it. Depending on the bike they charge a lot for the wrap because the body is so complex. I going to try it on my bike cause the KLR is relatively flat on the body work. It's about 10 bucks a roll for the wrap and should be able to get it done with two rolls.
 
Good suggestions. I don't have a gun yet. Figured I'd pick up one from home depot or harbor freight. Any suggestions?

I've got a 4 post car lift that I can use as a paint boot frame. Figured I'd frame in a filter for exit and a box fan to push air into the booth for a bit of air flow. I know not to use the fan for exit since paint fumes can be flammable but figure it should be ok if it's pushing the air into the booth instead of sucking it out.
For paint guns I would make sure you get a good HVLP gun. My last gun was a DeVilbliss and it was excellent but not cheap. I would check out northern tool or harbor freight. Just make sure you have a regulator gauge on the gun so you can control your pressure.

I like the booth idea. Make sure you have indirect filtered air flow and positive pressure. Just push more air in then can escape.

In the end don't worry to much. They best paint job I ever shot short of a professional paint booth was in the dirt drive way of my brothers house in New Mexico.
 
Good suggestions. I don't have a gun yet. Figured I'd pick up one from home depot or harbor freight. Any suggestions?

When I raced my firebird, I attempted to paint my own bodywork.

Guns from Lowes and HD need work to apply an automotive finish. The nozzle is too big and shoots too much product.
Good for priming, but not finish work ... at least that was what I learned.

I have gun and related supplies if you are interested.


If you are wanting to learn ... why not learn to lay vinyl?
If doing a single color, how hard could it be?
 
When I raced my firebird, I attempted to paint my own bodywork.

Guns from Lowes and HD need work to apply an automotive finish. The nozzle is too big and shoots too much product.
Good for priming, but not finish work ... at least that was what I learned.

I have gun and related supplies if you are interested.


If you are wanting to learn ... why not learn to lay vinyl?
If doing a single color, how hard could it be?
I've already bought the paint...not sure I can return it. As such, I'm definitely interested in your gun and supplies.

But...you do bring up a good point. I'll check into the vinyl. I've never really even considered it. If nothing else, maybe I can use it to give me some contrast.

I'd love to put some black stripes or something on it. Red and black is my favorite color combination. (although KTM orange is pretty great too :) )
 
Automotive paint is typically not returnable.
 
I've got a 4 post car lift that I can use as a paint boot frame. Figured I'd frame in a filter for exit and a box fan to push air into the booth for a bit of air flow. I know not to use the fan for exit since paint fumes can be flammable but figure it should be ok if it's pushing the air into the booth instead of sucking it out. [/QUOTE said:
If you put the filter on the exit, you may catch the over-spray and keep your shop cleaner but you won't keep the gnats out of your paint. If you filter air before the fan coming in, will work a lot better. Buy lots of wet-dry sand paper. Good luck.
 
You might wanna check out this guy's channel. His name is Windy Urtnowski and he does better work than a lot of self-proclaimed professionals I've seen. Most interesting of all, he does it in the open air of his back yard using a spray gun from Harbor Freight. Furthermore, he does a lot of it in the dead of winter when paint supposedly shouldn't be sprayed. His results are very impressive. The only bad thing about his channel is that it contains close to 1,500 videos thus far without a single playlist. Also, he combines multiple projects and life vlogs into a lot of the episodes, so it's really hard to find specific things. But trust me, it's all there:



https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuw2xxvgvaVOB1T1J-tv9NA/videos
 
Cold cure is the absolute best for paint. Takes forever but looks great. I know a lot of old cars guys that loved painting in the winter for that.
 
My advice is, if you’re anywhere as particular as I am, pay somebody to do it for you. When it comes to cosmetic jobs I go crazy over tiny I,perfections that other people either can’t see or wouldn’t notice. More often than not I ruin a “good” job by trying to make it perfect. I’ve learned to just leave these kinds of things to somebody else.
 
My advice is, if you’re anywhere as particular as I am, pay somebody to do it for you. When it comes to cosmetic jobs I go crazy over tiny I,perfections that other people either can’t see or wouldn’t notice. More often than not I ruin a “good” job by trying to make it perfect. I’ve learned to just leave these kinds of things to somebody else.
I'm really not a perfectionist about cosmetics at all. A flaw won't bother me much.

My bikes have to be mechanically perfect but just cosmetically ok.
 
I'm really not a perfectionist about cosmetics at all. A flaw won't bother me much.

My bikes have to be mechanically perfect but just cosmetically ok.

Then paint away, my man. I wish I could take that approach.
 
Once you figure out what you are doing, let me know. I'd love to paint the plastics on my bike one of these days. Really I'll leave the actual paining to my wife as she's the artist in my family. I just repair stuff and wash the dishes sometimes.
 
I found this article a few years ago and keep it for situations like this. It seems you already know what paint you are going to use. Maybe this article will help.

 
You might wanna check out this guy's channel. His name is Windy Urtnowski and he does better work than a lot of self-proclaimed professionals I've seen. Most interesting of all, he does it in the open air of his back yard using a spray gun from Harbor Freight. Furthermore, he does a lot of it in the dead of winter when paint supposedly shouldn't be sprayed. His results are very impressive. The only bad thing about his channel is that it contains close to 1,500 videos thus far without a single playlist. Also, he combines multiple projects and life vlogs into a lot of the episodes, so it's really hard to find specific things. But trust me, it's all there:



https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuw2xxvgvaVOB1T1J-tv9NA/videos
Thanks for those links. Good stuff there.
 
I always have to try something once. If I can't do it right after that or it's to much work then I don't mind hireing it out.

Paint was something I really wanted to learn when I was in highschool. Our first car we painted was my brothers 1977 Toyota Corona station wagon. It was a disaster and my brother and I we're high as kites and green for days. We were also cleaning up over spray in the garage for days.
Next project was my 1977 F100 custom. I did a much better job on that one but drove it to Youth Group one night at church and the youth minister and I got to talking. I told him about it and he wanted to see. We went outside and all he said was no Michael no.
I actually owned a paint shop for his side hustle and he told me to bring the truck to his place. I spent every evening at his shop for 6 months learning on my truck and other cars he had going. Learned a lot that year about cars and life. I learned that I. A perfectionist in a lot of areas and body and paint is one of them. But what I realized is while I could still see lots of flaws no one else seemed to be able to. I am able to live with that and there is nothing better then laying down a nice coat of paint and making it beautiful.

Enjoy the learning process, don't be afraid to sand it down and start over if you have to. Just have fun and learn.
 
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