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Primier...

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Okay, got all my paint supplies ready to go here soon. The sales guy at the paint shop asked me if I was painting all metal. I told him no, just the tank is metal and the rest is ABS plastic. He said not to prime those just sand them smooth and until they are no longer shinny. Use of the primer can cause the paint to crack. He said just prime the tank and if I do prime the plastic just a skin coat. This is the first time I've ever painted anything. Was this good advice?
 
I don't think so, but I'm no expert. I have used primer on the ABS parts of all of the bikes I have painted, it didn't crack.
 
I'd prime the ABS parts with an adhesion improving primer made specifically for ABS if it doesn't have paint on it already, or you have sanded through down to the substrate. You should be able to get away with panding the side covers by spraying 2 part epoxy primer on it as well.

Sometimes the solvents in top coats can cause issues with the substrate if applied directly to the ABS.
 
I've just sanded down my ABS plastics to prep for primer. It's not that the plastic will move or twist often (let's hope not!) so i don't see why the paint would crack...?
 
Biggie said:
I've just sanded down my ABS plastics to prep for primer. It's not that the plastic will move or twist often (let's hope not!) so i don't see why the paint would crack...?
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Was just curious what that guy said. I know from my last paint job, it cracked all over. Though at the time, 1981, the painter used an Enamel base coat and about 12 coats of clear. I just think the Enamel was too hard of a paint? I don't know. I'm all new to this. The pic is of the old paint on the tank now. That is going to be stripped down to bare metal.
 
Scuff 'em all, let the primer sort 'em out.

(Most plastic primers are meant to flex, just like the topcoat.)

Make sure you get the surface really clean since and note that plastic will absorb the impurities left there more easily than would a metal surface.
 
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mrbill5491 said:
Kind of wish I knew someone around here that could do this for me, I'm not feeling all that comfortable about painting my bike.
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Practice on something else first, got any old gas tanks or fenders laying around? Mailbox? Bicycles or lawnmowers? Your neighbor's old car?

Even practicing on cardboard boxes will let you learn how to work the gun, how much to spray before it runs, how far away to hold the gun, how to use a decent spray pattern… just get used to working with this stuff.

Just shooting water through the gun at the fence or something will let you learn a lot.

By the way, what are you using for a spray gun?
 
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I bought a gun from HF, figuring this was going to a one shot deal. I didn't want to invest in an expensive gun. I had read in a forum they were okay for something like this and not for extended use. I did get some extra cups and gun filters for it. I've used spray guns in the past though not on something like this. It was mostly painting the grain beds on our grain trucks, shoot and run lol.

I was just going through the tech manuals for the paint I bought and noticed the guy didn't give me the BC activator nason 483-30. Unless he mixed it into the paint already...got everything else. BC, reducer.
 
That gun should work just fine for what you're doing. Make sure your fluid adjustment (knob coming out the back) is about half way out. That'll be a good place to start. Do a couple of test sprays to make sure you have enough material coming out to lay down a nice wet coat. Some people don't have enough paint coming out and can't figure out why the paint sprays on so dry and thin..that's the reason. Open the fan adjustment (knob on the left side) all the way open. Follow the mixing ratios to a T and go for it. The etching primer you have in the spray can is what you want to spray on the bare metal first, but it's not for any build purposes at all. It just allows you to follow it up with a high-build primer for filling sand scratches. I wouldn't use any more than a couple of thin coats of the etching primer. I also wouldn't recommend using it on the ABS parts. Krylon makes a decent high-build in a spray can, or you can buy a more pro-type spray can at your auto paint store. It's about 15-20 bux a can there but it's actually a really good product. It's cheaper then buying a whole quart and hardener otherwise. Spray all the parts with the high-build, at least 4-5 coats, let it dry for 24 hrs. then sand everything with 400 before applying the base coats..followed by the clear coats.
 
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nvr2old said:
That gun should work just fine for what you're doing. Make sure your fluid adjustment (knob coming out the back) is about half way out. That'll be a good place to start. Do a couple of test sprays to make sure you have enough material coming out to lay down a nice wet coat. Some people don't have enough paint coming out and can't figure out why the paint sprays on so dry and thin..that's the reason. Open the fan adjustment (knob on the left side) all the way open. Follow the mixing ratios to a T and go for it. The etching primer you have in the spray can is what you want to spray on the bare metal first, but it's not for any build purposes at all. It just allows you to follow it up with a high-build primer for filling sand scratches. I wouldn't use any more than a couple of thin coats of the etching primer. I also wouldn't recommend using it on the ABS parts. Krylon makes a decent high-build in a spray can, or you can buy a more pro-type spray can at your auto paint store. It's about 15-20 bux a can there but it's actually a really good product. It's cheaper then buying a whole quart and hardener otherwise. Spray all the parts with the high-build, at least 4-5 coats, let it dry for 24 hrs. then sand everything with 400 before applying the base coats..followed by the clear coats.
Click to expand...

thank ya very much for the info...
 
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