I like to think I've seen enough episodes of American Chopper, Overhaulin, etc. to pretend that I know what I'm doing when it comes to painting. So, I thought why not give it a try.
I purchased my bike, dirt cheap, with a dented tank and scuffed up fairings. Mechanically, the bike is perfect. The damage is only cosmetic and was done while the bike was standing still. Its my first bike and I just assumed this meant I wouldn't have to cry the first time I drop it myself. My only concern was that the tank was beginning to rust where the paint had chipped off. I looked into the following options to take care of the rust:
1) New tank - Too expensive
2) Have tank professionally done - Too expensive
3) Color Rite Paint - Supposedly, to get it to match, you need to purchase base coat, primary coat, etc. Getting expensive again and no guarantee it will match.
4) Mask off some stripes and paint with what I have at the house - Free, but not sure how it will look
I chose #4. Considering the amount the bike cost me, it didn't make sense to sink $200+ into the tank or even $60+ on paint that I wasn't sure would match. So here is the process I used and I have to say, I am quite happy with the results, it only took me a weekend to complete, and I learned some stuff.
1) Use a razor to chip off the rest of the paint in the affected area (you can tell where the rust has gotten underneath the paint)
2) Mask the area to keep from scuffing the paint too far into the good stuff and sand with 400 grit to get rid of rust.
3) Sand with 800 grit
4) Clean surface with rubbing alcohol
5) Apply 3-4 wet coats of primer
6) Remove mask once the primer no longer appears glossy. Then allow it to fully dry.
7) Use pin-striping to lay out a stripe. I decided to simply follow the body lines on the tank.
8) Remove the tank
9) Use pinstripe to lay out all the lines. To keep things symmetrical, I laid pinstripe down the center of the tank, then used a flexible ruler to measure the distance from the center to the stripes in various spots and adjusted my lines as needed. I also used the flexible ruler to make sure the stripes stayed 1.5 inches wide the whole way too.
10) Mask off the areas you don't want to paint. Use a razor blade to trim the mask to the center of the pinstripe lines you laid out. Press very lightly so you don't cut through the pin-striping.
11) Sand the exposed areas that will receive paint with 800 grit.
12) Clean surface with rubbing alcohol
13) Apply 3-4 wet coats of paint
14) Remove mask and pin-striping once paint no longer appears glossy (I used a satin finish). Then allow it to fully dry.
15) Put the tank back on.
I attached pics of the final result. I have pics of the entire process, but the site would only allow me to upload 3 attachments... I'm new to the forum, so if you want to see the rest of the pics, please let me know how I can upload more then 3 at a time.
How to deal with chipped paint that has begun to rust
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How to deal with chipped paint that has begun to rust
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biketechted
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Re: How to deal with chipped paint that has begun to rust
Post a reply to this thread and add extra images 3 at a time.
Or post a link to a photo sharing site like Instagram.
Looks good.
Or post a link to a photo sharing site like Instagram.
Looks good.
Re: How to deal with chipped paint that has begun to rust
Good info, but did you happen to read the sticky on top of this page ?
Re: How to deal with chipped paint that has begun to rust
My bad. So, I email you the post and you post it once it is approved for the how to? If so, you can delete this thread and I will do it the right way and email the post... Sorry about that.
Re: How to deal with chipped paint that has begun to rust
That's the way it works.That way I can make sure the info is accurate.
No reason to delete this one.
No reason to delete this one.
Re: How to deal with chipped paint that has begun to rust
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Re: How to deal with chipped paint that has begun to rust
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Re: How to deal with chipped paint that has begun to rust
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Re: How to deal with chipped paint that has begun to rust
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Re: How to deal with chipped paint that has begun to rust
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Re: How to deal with chipped paint that has begun to rust
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