Clear coat over old paint

[Guest]

My '77 GS750 has pretty good original paint. A few small chips here and there but, to me, it looks very nice.

I am am wondering if I could freshen it up/ protect it by spraying some new clear coat over the original paint. Anyone have any experience doing this? What prep? What clear to use? How did it turn out?

Comments, opinions.

thanks
Brian

[tkent02]

Use the two part Urethane stuff in the spray can. Laquer thinners will eat the old enamel.

This is the stuff you want.

http://www.automotivetouchup.com/spray-paint/spraymax-2K-clearcoat.aspx

[canuckxxx]

Yes, that looks like good stuff. Being a 2 part I would think that it would be, at least somewhat resistant to gasoline spills.

Thanks for that.
Brian

[Nessism]

I've never had much luck with painting on top of old paint. The solvents get under the old paint and cause it to lift. If you are willing to live with the consequences I'd start by cleaning the old paint with wax and grease remover. Do a really good job to remove all contaminants on the paint. Wax and grease remover is designed to be applied to the paint then before it dries you come with a second dry cloth and soak away the solution and all the contaminates it dissolves. Wet on, wipe dry. After the tank is clean use a gray scotchbrite to scuff up the old paint followed by more wax and grease remover. When you paint the tank you want to dust on several light dry coats, allowing each to dry per the maximum allowable respray time between coats. The idea is to reduce the amount of solvents hitting the old paint and build up a barrier coat on the tank. After the first three (or so) light dusting layers you can start to spray the next couple layers heavier to get a smoother surface. Not to heavy though. You don't want too much solvent from the paint getting under the old paint. Good luck and be sure to post some photos here of how it turns out.

[dorkburger]

Ive occasionally wondered about this also. I have 2 spare seat trims for the 1150 with good paint except where the clear came completely off of the black decal stripe as typical on that bike, and ive thougt of experimenting with clear, but I dont know how it would affect the decal.
Ive recently read posts from a member (Glib?) Who was contemplating clearing the red on an 83 1100 to slightly alter the look.

[dorkburger]

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?226538-Opinions-on-paint&highlight=

Found it......

[canuckxxx]

Here's a thought: I could try what ever clear I intend to use on the underside of my tank where there is original paint too. But probably not originally clear coated.

[Joe H]

I will be watching this for info and results
I am about to clear over some old powder coat and have been told by three different painters (who do not know each other) to do the degrease dewax like Nessism said and then wet sand using a few drops of Dawn dishwashing soap and water, rinse thoroughly and wipe it dry (not air dry), and then let it dry for a few days in a safe place before clearing it.
They all seem to think it will work fine not optimal but it will work, I hope!

[posplayr]

I had a used car that looked very good when purchased but as the years wore on it became obvious that the drive side fender had been repained with less than OEM quality paint. The clear coat was flaking very badly.

I sanded the fender using various grades probably a last pass with a 400-600 grit. You have to make sure you donot cut through the color to the primer. Othwerwise you are just trying it get the surface clean and smooth (use use decreaser and the sanding will get rid of wax). I then masked it off and shot it with PPG clear in a touchup gun. Looked much better than before and no problems with adhesion.

As Ed says you need a stable base. Probably best to do as when applying decals. Do a light dusting first to get the clear to flash and seal the original color below. In a 15-min after the light coat it is sealed, go over with sucessive coats that are not so thick that the reflow the first barrier coats. This is the process used with decals otherwise they also will lift when clearing.

[canuckxxx]

Just brain storming here: have you guys seen the clear plastic films they put over car bodies using water and a squeegee.

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/3M-Automotive/Aftermarket/Our-Brands/Scotchgard-Pro-Series/Where-to-Buy/

[Joe H]

Interesting product, Lot of uses for that i would imagine.

I will say all the advice given here matches everything I have been hearing doing my research to clear over powder, I would think t would be the same over an old painted finish.