another paint question

[nichols750]

I have been reading all the posts about painting and i'm now wondering is a flat paint job more or less durable than a glossy one? I'm prepping my tank to paint it and like the look of a flat paint but, i don't want it to all wash away as soon a i drip some gas on it.

what are you thoughts, oh great ones?

[Jethro]

As far as durability from gas spills, either flat or glossy is equally as durable as each other. If it's a spray can job, it won't be able to handle gas spills well, but a flat spray can job is easier to repair becasue all you have to do is clean the gas and spray it up. Gloss wouldn't take that too well, you'd be able to see the patch.

If you are concerned about durability, spend the money and get a real paint system from an auto body supply shop. I have been using Dupont Imron. You can probably paint the bike for $150 or so, but will need to borrow or rent the spray equipment.

Good luck, the prep work is key!!

[suzychop]

laquer

you can buy petrol resistant laquer in a can .

[Dionysian_Chaos]

you can buy petrol resistant laquer in a can .

True enough: if you're going the spray bomb route, it's only like another $1.50for, say, flat black engine enamel vs regular krylon. Flat paints - and other textured finishes - are real easy to match and blend whereas gloss finishes aren't. Spray bombs are fine for something as small as a bike, but when you start painting a car with them (done it!) it's a bit of a pain in the ass. If you're just planning on painting your bike and aren't also into cars and such, I might say to skip a system - if you learn a bit about the technique of painting and pay attention to what you're doing, you should be able to get a decent enough finish on something as small as a tank and side covers. Flat finishes are fairly easy, so if that's what you're into go for it.

What I'd spend some money on is some urethane primer (you could check with local auto body shops and see how much they'd charge you to primer some already-prepped bike parts, or they have urethane primer in cans at auto body supply stores) since lacquer primer is absolutely no barrier to moisture whatsoever. Lacquer primer also builds and wetsands like ass - the urethane primer makes it easier to get a quality surface for the paint to adhere to.

And it's all about that surface - paint doesn't hide imperfections at all and even if it did, what use is it if it only sticks for a month or so and starts flaking off? The leading joke at my shop is that there are people who show up with a gallon of paint and want us to prep and paint their car for Maaco prices - as though we're dicking them for 10x the price of what the paint costs, and that's why a real paintjob is so expensive. "But I already bought the paint!" And it's usually not as good as the PPG stuff we use even on bs used car dealer quickie bumper jobs. People have no idea how much work goes into getting that surface ready, keeping it clean and not messing it up before it even gets sprayed, wetsanding and polishing, etc. After doing this enough (even on these POS wrecks that you know are going to look like crap again in a week, just because that's how they treat their car) I definately appreciate a rattlecan, flat black paint job. "Oh, dear! A scratch! Wait...(psssssst psst pssssst......psst pssssst) what scratch?" :-D

And to top it all off, they drop their car off and they haven't ever even thought of cleaning the thing, ever, and it takes me the better part of the day to just de-grime the thing to a level that I can, only then, start detailing it. I'm not even joking.

Anyway, back to the point: spend the time cleaning and properly preparing the surface to begin with, and it will save you the time and effort of sanding everything back down when it comes out looking like ****. Words to live by.


Good luck,
D. J.

[Cyg]

couldnt aggree more prep work is 99 percent of the finish look on any paint job. what you dont see with your hands will be magnified by your glossy paint.