Rattle Can Paint Jobs

[Flaggo60]

I read here occasionally about the use of spray paint cans for refinishing bike parts. My own experience doing this has been pretty poor. Does anyone have a sure way to do a nice job, or is this a reason flat black got popular?

 

[khardrunner14]

Take your time, used matched products, lots of coats with light sanding in between, and find a good clear coat (preferebly a 2 part). I'll post pics soon of my bike which was done rattle can style. It turned out nice.

 

[PAULYBOY]

Take your time, used matched products, lots of coats with light sanding in between, and find a good clear coat (preferebly a 2 part). I'll post pics soon of my bike which was done rattle can style. It turned out nice.

CHOICE #2 Find a local goob like me (only in YOUR area) that has talent, equipment and a never ending lack of ability to make profit. Get him interested in your project and have him offer to paint it foir next to nothing with real paint and real equipment. Offer to pay for paint and supplies, and chances are that he'll charge you next to nothing over and abobe the cost of the materials.

 

[Calvin Blackmore]

I assume you painted your own bike
got a bigger picture it looks damned sharp

 

[PAULYBOY]

Thanks, man. I do have more pix. If I don't have it sold to some kid from a cafe, I'm gonna paint it again with more yellow in the flames.

Then again, I'm thinking a really nice, understated dark paint job with blacks and violets and candy skulls just barely appearing would look nice too. Dammit, i just talked myself into more painting ideas. See? I can't win! Now I'm gonna have to go home and paint that extra tank i've been saving just to see what this idea would look like.

 

[TheCafeKid]

You WILL have it sold to some kid from a cafe. Perhaps even sooner than he or you thinks[-o<

 

[Flaggo60]

Second part of Rattle Can Paint Question

Second part of Rattle Can Paint Question

One of the problems I found is that the gas tank work is really affected by spilled gas. Clear coating didn't help. I know factories bake the paint on, is there a clear coat that anyone has found that isn't bothered by gas dripping?

 

[spyug]

I've been painting with compressor and HVLP guns for 5 years or so now and while I would say this is the only way to go, 2 or 3 part auto urethanes are expensive....even in small quantities so rattle cans are a good alternative.

For the last two paint jobs, I went with off the shelf spray bombs for the colour and urethane clearcoat for the shine and protection. Cheap and easy enough. I bought a pint of clear last year and it covered two sets of "tins" (2 coats) and there is still about half left.

You can shoot base and or clearcoat with a small HVLP touchup gun and one of the 1/2 horse compressors both available for less than $100 (Princess auto, Harbour Freight, Home Depot, Lowes etc). You might need to stop from time to time to allow the compressor to keep up....but it will do the job .

As far as clearcoat in a can.....fuggetuboutit useless...tried them all.

Did the GS for about $15 in materials

Give it a whirl and show us what you can do.
Cheers,
Spyug

 

[Jethro]

That looks nice spyug... glossy.

My buddy did his ZRX in flat black. It actually looks pretty good and repair is easy- you can do it right at the gas pump if you want. If I wasn't going to pay a lot of money for a paint job (which I would for sure, it's worth it), I'd paint flat black.

 

[jimfj]

I used Rustoleum aerosol from the hardware store and cleared it with Ace Hardware clear enamel. I have spilled a very small amount of gas on the tank and it had no ill effect. I am very careful though. If you would like step by step instructions PM me and I'll help you out. Mine turned out great, not perfect. I cleared over my pinstripes which were the on the roll, tape type. These pics don't due the color and finish justice. Not patting myself on the back, just very happy with the results and knowing I spent less than $50.00 including pinstripes and sandpaper.

Jim

 

[Ironriot]

Rattle can paint jobs......

Rattle can paint jobs......

I LOVE EM! To me a rattle can job just gives a bike so much more character. Plus its cheap and easily repairable. I might be biased though. I gave mine the ol' rattle can treatment and it turned out PURRDY good.

Pics ain't so great but the job did turn out pretty good. I painted the frame flat black. It looks absolutely killer. Everyone that sees it notices it immediately from how good it looks. I did spend ALOT of time on prepping it though. The tank is gloss. I wet sanded it and buffed it by hand (didn't have a DA). It has a nice shine but I burned through the paint while wet sanding a part of it so I had to give it another coat and I've yet to buff it again. This time around I think I'll use a DA lol. I think it turned out good but now it just makes the engine look like the turd it is. Thinking about painting that too

 

[Mark M]

For the last two paint jobs, I went with off the shelf spray bombs for the colour and urethane clearcoat for the shine and protection.

Cheers,
Spyug

Spyug,

What brand and type of color did you use? What is the shelf life of the urethane clear? That is a 2 part catalyzed clear, right?

Thanks,
Mark

 

[Jethro]

I used Rustoleum aerosol from the hardware store and cleared it with Ace Hardware clear enamel. I have spilled a very small amount of gas on the tank and it had no ill effect. I am very careful though. If you would like step by step instructions PM me and I'll help you out. Mine turned out great, not perfect. I cleared over my pinstripes which were the on the roll, tape type. These pics don't due the color and finish justice. Not patting myself on the back, just very happy with the results and knowing I spent less than $50.00 including pinstripes and sandpaper.

Jim

Wow! Another nice one.

 

[dardoonk]

If you can get hold of an HVLP gun and a compressor, I'd spend the money and give it a go yourself. Nason brand, which is the low cost arm of PPG is shadetree friendly and won't cost you an arm & leg.

For under $100 bucks, this is what I ended up with & I had never painted before: (the blemish you see beside the silver is due to reducing the photo size)

 

[willie]

NICE job! Nice design too!

 

[Flaggo60]

Nice jobs, all, and encouraging. For a long time owner like me, the colour to go for is the one I already have, black. That way it can be touched up as needed much later with less problem finding a match.

 

[Perimeter85]

Yeah really. A paint gun is cheap. Paint, depending on what it is, also not much more. Good tool to have. Then you can do all your friends bikes and parts.. etc. It will redeem it's original value tenfold.

Or you could just do primer...... \\/

 

[Aubra]

Or you could just do primer...... \\/

I've actually seen primer that was sanded down smooth and had clear put on top of it, somehow it looked pretty darn decent.


I was playing around with some paint on my old KZ, flat black base coat and had some auto zone "anodized" blue metallic paint on top of it. To my surprise, it actually turned out neat. Black when it was low light, and a deep purple when it was daytime. When I sold it, the owner kept asking me where I got it done so he could redo the fenders that way. I probably couldn't do that again if I tried.

 

[tuvalox]

I had a friend paint my bike with a compressor and $450 worth of paint including primer and clear coat. The bike came out awesome, but it hurt the wallet. I touched up the frame with black rustoleom in a rattle can and it came out fine. The only thing I would be worried about would be gas spilling on tank or the vibration from riding causing spiderwebs in the paint. i have also seen some nasty reactions when you put layers of paint on something. It would really suck to have your paint start checking when you put the clear coat on.