DIY Paint Job

[Paranoid Dave]

Has anyone doe a decent DIY paint job before, can you really get a great finish with a spray can? I figure it would be a lot cheaper to do a design on something if I can mask and paint it myself. Perhaps get it laquered by a company at the end?

Any advice please, I just don't think the halfords spray cans would do the job, maybe i'm wrong?

thanks

PD :D

[Chappers]

Dave,

Don't risk doing it yourself, go see my mate John who does all my spraying.

He does it for a living so he's no cowboy, he sprayed my tank, bellypan and side panels gloss black for under £250 :eek: whereas I was quoted £280 just for the tank elsewhere. He does custom paintjobs too. He did a full Repsol paintjob on a fireblade which he charged £800 for a bloke that was quoted £1500 elsewhere :)

John Patterson - Sawtry nr. Peterborough
Home: 01487 831029 (Mon-Fri 5:30-10pm or anytime over weekend)
Work: 01480 333267 (Mon-Fri 8:30-4:30)

Good luck
H :p

[Paranoid Dave]

when i got my screen abd yail section done before christmas I paid £90 to have them done by a pro, I guess that's pretty good then.
I have a lot of time and i'm a bit of a perfectionist so I figured if i wanted something a bit different i could DIY. Judging by the prices I think i might?

[Chappers]

Go for it then but you've got John's number should it not go to plan :lol:

[Scotty]

ive done a few bits and pieces with helfrauds tins o spray paint
it is suprisingly easy with a bit of practice, im hapy with the finnish i acheived,
as with all do it yourself things you will be aware of where the imperfections are (if that makes sense)

if i ever get back on the road you can have a closer inspection at my attempt

even the halfords laqure finnish is not too bad , be prepared to spend hours and hours sanding , as they say preperation is everything

[MotoNik]

Tis very true - preparation is key. Lots of time spent wet-n-drying to get the surface utterly smooth. Be prepared to primer the same panel three or four times, with wet-n-drying between each coat, and then doing several more coats of your chosen colour. Watching the pros at work you will see that they even flat back the top coat with a very fine wet and dry, prior to applying the lacquer.

Also, cleanliness is everything - the faintest little fleck of dust with spoil it, so get yourself down to B&Q and buy some plastic sheeting (dead cheap) and build yourself a spraying enclosure in your garage/shed. Works reasonably well. Also, put an electric heater in there to raise the temperature - helps the paint adhere, and contributes to a more glossy finish - paint will "bloom" in cold conditions, and often subsequently crack.

Failing Halfords, it would be worth tracking down your local paint supplier - they will sell you whatever colour you want, in an aerosol for about £3.50 a can.

I started doing some silver panels for my Supersport, for a kind of Paul Smart type paint job. Not finished it yet - I need a tank to complete the job really (so I can keep all my original red stuff). I was surprised that with a decent amount of prep you can actually get pretty good results with aerosols. The ones I got from my local paint place were much higher pressure than the Halfords ones, so it's easier to lay on a good layer of paint.

cheers,

Nik