Rattle Can - Flat or Gloss?

[Grif]

I'm about to repaint my bike after some patch work. Being the poor college kid that I am, I've decided to go with classic rattle can black, topped with a couple passes of clear coat. Should I go with flat or gloss, and what would be the difference in appearance between them?

[hungryman]

I'm about to repaint my bike after some patch work. Being the poor college kid that I am, I've decided to go with classic rattle can black, topped with a couple passes of clear coat. Should I go with flat or gloss, and what would be the difference in appearance between them?

If you use a flat base, you need a flat clear. I'm not sure they have rattle can flat clear. I could be wrong.

[spots25]

consider a paint job done like the guy (9?) posts down...

[Grif]

Which thread is that?

[8trackmind]

*Cringe* More rattle can commandos...

Any chance you could pony up the bucks and have it done correctly?

[jpaul]

If you want to do a rattle can paint job, check out this;
http://http://www.thegsresources.com...gs_repaint.htm
I've seen a few rattle can jobs that look good, but most look like crap. There is an automotive paint shop in my area that can package most any automotive paint into cans, and one of my buddies did a really nice job on his bike, but it took him most of a winter to do all the prep and painting.

[ScreamingLiL2stroke]

Nice paint jobs can be achived threw a rattle can but it takes time and know how.

[8trackmind]

Nice paint jobs can be achived threw a rattle can but it takes time and know how.

Nice, but not very durable. None of them will withstand fuel, or fuel vapor for very long.

[covelle]

They are all basically correct the paint doesn't harden or stick as well as real two part auto paint but with lots of prep you can make a pretty decent 3 footer. however the answer you are looking for is Satin. The Satin finish is the classic hot rod finish that has the ease of being able to be resprayed very quickly for touch ups that won't show. No clear coat needed. If somehting happens to the paint you grab another can and give it a quick blast. I did this to my bike and I recommend the duplicolor becasue they have a better nozzle on their cans. you wont' get clogs or nasty spitting drips like you do from most other cans. Havig said all that it is very easy to scratch the paint but A quick wipe of any gas that spills hasn't effected mine yet ( for what it's worth) If you can't find satin use flat and again no clear. you want to be able to just give it a quick blast to touch up and you can't do that with a clear coat in the way. .........when you have the money the rattle can paint is easy enough to strip off so you can do it right.
my $.02

[covelle]

oh yeah and by the way gloss black is the hardest of all colors to make look good on anything, motorcycle or automotive. It shows every imperfection, and every little spider web line from washing or waxing or rubbing it with your hand.

[spots25]

bahahaha!!! teh internet > me

http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=2331682&page=0&fpart=1&vc=1

check THAT thread 9 posts down... I painted my bike with duplicolor and gas made the paint just melt off

[Can_O_Tuna]

A friend of mine went to a local body shop and bought some leftover paint from the guy for $10 and used a Preval Spraygun http://www.prevalspraygun.com/about.htm

I dont have a pic , but it came out nice, not pro, but better than most homemade jobs I have seen.

In my opinion flat black looks the best from a rattle can, especially if you shine up all your chrome bits on the rest of the bike.

[HiSPL]

Flat Black. The easiest to get right and actually looks nice. If it runs or gas gets on it, you can touch it up by just spritzing a little more on it....




This is duplicolor "truck and suv bumper paint" It stuck well to the plastic bits and was easy to spray on and get a good finish. It took several coats though, because it's kinda thin. It takes maybe three good thin coats to really get black.

[Jethro]

bahahaha!!! teh internet > me

http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/...0&fpart=1&vc=1

check THAT thread 9 posts down... I painted my bike with duplicolor and gas made the paint just melt off

In order to make a rattle can paint job gas resistant, you need to leave the tank in the sun or under heat lamps for at least 30 days before introducing any kind of chemical. Even then, the paint never hardens becasue it doesn't have HARDENER in it. Even good quality spray bombs (kind of an oxymoron) from a real paint shop don't have hardener in it. It might be decent color base, but it won't have hardener in it unless you have a good friend at the shop and you live within a quarter mile of the paint shop.

I wouldn't ever consider painting a motorcycle with anything other than a catalyzed paint process. The real work is in the preperation of the bodywork, which you have to do with either spraycans or catalyzed paint. It's kind of like working your a$$ off all semester at school, studying every night, going to every class, doing the extra credit, only to intentionally blow the final exam. I know that as a student you have little money, but you are going to have many, many hours of prep work before the paint process. If you consider time to be money (and who shouldn't?), you can figure on a minimum of 30 hours of work at- oh, let's say $15/hr. You have $450 into the paint job already. What is another $80 in a catalyzed, 3 part paint system?

Like I said, the real work is in the preperation. Painting is almost no brainer when we are talking a home brew project. As my buddy Jimbo posted above, the Preval units are pretty decent if you have no access to a compressor and spray gun. You won't be in a booth anyway, so the quality of the spray won't be your biggest problem. I have painted many small parts using the Preval units and they honestly work as good as a rattle can, with the advantage that you can use real paint.

[Can_O_Tuna]

you're going to have many, many hours of prep work before the paint process. If you consider time to be money (and who shouldn't?), you can figure on a minimum of 30 hours of work at- oh, let's say $15/hr. You have $450 into the paint job already. What is another $80 in a catalyzed, 3 part paint system?

Great Theory, but who hasn't put WAY more hours in our old bikes than is financially sensible. I think my rate is about $2 an hour...or less :-D Labor of love I guess.

On my bike I just went around to a couple of different shops and did the old "Hey when you are spraying blue could you hit my parts in the same color" and it worked out well. I had an "6 deep tank dent repaired plus all body parts scuffed, prepped and shot for $200. I did not get the exact color I wanted, but the bodywork and paint was done professionally.

Use some of those college skills and look for a deal...they are out there

If you have the knack and the proper tools you can teach yourself a new skill and in the future get away with just the cost of materiels. Or just pony up and spend the $$ and get it done right.