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View Full Version : Kwaker zxr 400 paint job coming soon to a topic near you


Barty_b0y
26-05-05, 04:43 PM
Im currently doing a paint job for my bro and his zxr
the deal was he repaired the plastics - via plastic welding and i painted it

well im almost sure he didnt try to do any so i`ll show you the from primer stage

this time i`m using a coloured primer to make the most of the expensive motorbike colour and it should look like this
http://uk.geocities.com/gazdulux@btopenworld.com/zxr4/jamesbike.JPG

when its done


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So here`s the story

Friend of mine wants a bike tank painting .
Some of you may know i paint vehicles in a past and when i can be bothered present life .

So any way he drags out this tank that was talked about in a partial drunken stuper one night at the local watering hole .

His description of it was a good solid tank for his bike just wants sanding down " no rust in it? " I tried to ascertain.

"Nah it`s mint mate " his response

This is where the infamous words " NOTHING IS EVER QUITE HOW YOU VISUALISE IT " springs to mind


So he drags out this tank for his Honda CB750 about 85 87 year ish

I`m like In my head when he shows it to me

"OMFG WHAT THE F******* H*** DOES HE WANT ME TO DO WITH THIS PIECE OF f****** CRAP"

So i take it away and ponder :( :(
In a few more sessions down the local boozing hole , the coversation went somthing like " so what coulours you got in mind then ???" " mmm leave it with ya "

anyway i found out candy red was a liked colour and also he liked flames yes Flames

That was 4 months ago and its sat about for ages waiting for me to actually do somthing.

So last week i made a move .

First job was to take the paint blistering scabby dog to a sand blasters and get all the paint off and with some luck not blow great holes in it when removing the rust .

this was acheived quite satisfactory to the tidy sum of a £5 note

back to a mates house and use his small sand blast unit as although the job had been done there were still very small traces of rust in the metal

Basically rust eats into metal and the best way to describe it would be if you imagine a sewing needle being stabbed into your metal without puncturing the metal or breaking the needle " we will call these stab marks " PITS " "

these pits can seem deeper than the metal is thick but if they look black they contain rust and unless you get them out they will continue to make the metal rust there are two ways i use of getting rid of rust in metal

one is sand blasting as you are now aware and the other is a grinder or belt file

the first is the most metal friendly as you only attack the rust with the blaster

there are no other ways of getting rid of rust that work long term apart from these two methods that i have found
paint on products slow it down but they will not stop it.

so then after we have a rust free tank we then proceed to cut off the tank badge strips as these are not now required by me at least :lol: :lol:

yes i asked him if he wanted them and i got a "leave it with you "response

so i cut them off with a pair of gilbows " old school tinsnips " posh facom ones wouldn`t get in to cut em :(

cut em off and slapped some filler on the tank where the lugs and indents were

ok this is where you lot may need educating LISTEN AND LISTEN WELL

This was sanded down with 80 grit paper on a block to get the right shape and thats it any little dints i found on the way were filled using TOPSTOP gold filler

the reason i use this filler is
1 it spreads like butter " wouldnt eat it on a saanny though " :wink:
2 it is very resilient to pinholing " little dimples in the filllers surface "
3 it grades into paintwork very well if need be
4 it sets like concrete " its sets very hard compared to some fillers "

No more sanding the 80 grit is enough

Then we come to the smelly crap this is an isocyanite base paint " basically its dangerous "
2 pack primer mixed at 4 part paint 1 part hardener 2 parts thinner

when using this paint the best method of appliction is an airfed mask for yourself if you dont have accesss to one use a charcoal mask and plenty of ventilation around the work area and after a coat of paint walk away and get some fresh air

now heres where this comes into its own against any other primer

you remember i only sanded with 80 grit paper :wink: :wink:

put three good coats on wet on wet " this means wet coat then when its tacky and not dry another coat of wet then same again "

i ended up mixing too much primer and just carried on till i ran out of it and i found a little ding that i just kept over coating until the dint was covered well about 12 coats

be careful in tricky areas and just feather the gun trigger so its not ejecting full paint volume then you can localise the spray and take your time a little using a mist effect to gradually build up paint in these areas

when its dry take it and put it in your airing cupboad for a few days if you havent an airing cupboard put it in the warmest place you can find and let it bake this will allow the 2 pack to settle and sink into all the dings dints and filler lines
and it should look somthing like this http://uk.geocities.com/gazdulux@btopenworld.com/flames/S2300001.JPG


When you get it out at least 2 days or if you have a low bake spray booth 30 or 40 mins :D

put on a guide coat red or black paint is ideal for this

i had a kwak green spray can so i used that http://uk.geocities.com/gazdulux@btopenworld.com/flames/S2300003.JPG

the reason for this is so when you are sanding the primer down you need to know when the area is flat with a different coulor paint acting as a guide its easy to see the low areas " 80 grits lines, ding ,dints, etc"

somthing like this http://uk.geocities.com/gazdulux@btopenworld.com/flames/100_0254.JPG

sand all this down with a 600 or 800 wet and dry get alot of water not just a pint pot as one guy did

kitchen bowl is ideal ( nearly full ) with plenty of wash liquid in it

wrap the paper around a rubbing block and start flatting listen for changes in sound on the rubbing block as this demonstartes foriegn matter in between paper and paint,
If you hear this bang the paper and block in the bowl get some more water on the block/paper and carry on, the new water on the surface most times will wash away the noise making debris .
if you leave it there it will mark your newly primed surface and can scratch it easily .
Any areas you rub through just lightly prime them with an aerosol can lighly not heavy as aerosols paints sink as they arent activated so " the less there is on the less it can sink " like this

http://uk.geocities.com/gazdulux@btopenworld.com/flames/100_0257.JPG

once its all sanded ( in the paint trade it is now called "flatted " flatted = ready for paint )

Dry it off and hang it or position it somewhere where you are going to paint it


in this case i am doing a candy red so my next colour is silver
so here it is before i change to red

this has had about 6 coats the first one or two qite wet to cover then the few after alot lighter in order to reduce any patchyness or striping that too much silver can cause

Fist coat is alway a wet coat but careful with this as it will run sag and silver up all over if you make it to wet once you got a coat or too of silver on it you can now start to mist the colour on

Mist = not pulling a full trigger on the gun for full paint volume and a bit futher away this will then hopefully remove any stripes oR heavy areas of paint that you may have aquired

keep misting until the full area you have painted is uniform in apppearance and fully covered over the primer colour and its of a MATT appearance to look at (no shiny bits thankyou, not what we need. ) . ;)

once this is done let it flash off 20 mins ( flash = tiime for the thinners in the paint to disipate ito the atmosphere)

it should be somthing like this http://uk.geocities.com/gazdulux@btopenworld.com/flames/100_0259.JPG

then out comes the ink ( ink = candy colour )
INK you say <<< yes INK thats what it is an ink in my case i used a basecoat ink then a laquer to seal it i prefer this method as apposed to a solid ink

two to three coats of this puppy ( puppy = little dog at pet shops ;) ) getting one coat on it one going one way then the other going 90 degrees in direction to the last one
( if you dont you will get stripes in it trust me and we dont want striped tanks do we :D)

Anymore than 4 coats and you will lose the effect of the candy paint

the last coat should be misted similar to the silver that we put on just to make sure that the surface is uniform in colour and not stripey


once its all nice and red or whatever colour you have it, sit back for 20 minutes time so it can flash off .then its out with the laquer and this is a laquered red tank http://uk.geocities.com/gazdulux@btopenworld.com/flames/100_0212.JPG

the laquer i like best isnt the most but i get on with it really well

its mirrorcryl and i find i can paint it best with a 4 paint 1.5 hardener 1.5 thinner type of mix

i find it just flows mint like factory and most times no polishing is required at all apart from dust bits.

Mix your paint up, don your mask and first coat just put on a quick coat dont bother about shine at this stage just a good misted coat

let this flash for 5 to 10 mins if you have a piece of masking tape on the item being sprayed that get laquer touch it to see how wet it is if its slippery its not ready if it strings\ tacky it wants another coat.

second coat make this heavier but not going for a direct shine as to where you are painting as this paint will flow out a minute after its been painted let it flash of 5 10 or 20 whichever time lets it tack ( tack = sticky to the touch not slippery and wet )

third coat same as the second this time not so heavy but enough to cover and check a few strokes back to make sure its flowing right if not just a quick flick over the area to apply a LITTLE more paint so it does flow

but always give it a minute to settle

at that you should have somthing like this.

This then is thrown in the airing cupboard at 40 paces so it can harden off like the primer then after a day its pulled out and Flatted

i flatted the laquered tank with a 1500 grade wet and dry plenty of water and lots of washing up liquid in the bowl when it was flat
( flat = all over dull matt non shiny surface )

now we need to get some flames on it
omg

Break out the airbrush i have 2 airbruses one a badger and one a cheap sealey thing both are very simialar but the badger is the best and its what i used on this project as its a shade easier to use

Im no artist so i got my sis who is, to draw some flame type things on some paper which i transferred to the tank with FINE LINE STRIPING TAPE
i used 3mm 3m ( 3M product name ) fine tape

this tape is used instead of masking tape as masking tape when painted leaves a ragged edge which fine line tape eliminates
And the tank was masked up thus

http://uk.geocities.com/gazdulux@btopenworld.com/flames/S2300004.JPG

then most of the tank was masked out like this http://uk.geocities.com/gazdulux@btopenworld.com/flames/S2300005.JPG http://uk.geocities.com/gazdulux@btopenworld.com/flames/S2300006.JPG


the first colour to go on is white like this http://uk.geocities.com/gazdulux@btopenworld.com/flames/S2300008.JPG
this was done with the normal spray gun as using an airbrush to do this would take a week this is bladdered on literally , covering all the red up

then after that we broke out some yellow and i went around the edges first circling into the middle of the flamed section to lose the yellow and mingle it into the white but not covering all traces of white like this http://uk.geocities.com/gazdulux@btopenworld.com/flames/S2300009.JPG

then out with a peachy orange i mixed up and did all the outlines again and grading into the yellow not going quite as far as the yellow like this http://uk.geocities.com/gazdulux@btopenworld.com/flames/S2300010.JPG

then after that i pulled out some purple to flick on tips and edges

then the tape was pulled of the whole lot and it will leave this http://uk.geocities.com/gazdulux@btopenworld.com/flames/S2300014.JPG

after that you get the tricky bit and if you thought that lot was tricky this is terrible this bit you get a 1 mm paint brush and go around the whole tank airbrushed edge to cover it personally i think i need a steadier hand as at 2 foot you can see my shakey hand in the green but at 3 feet it loooks mint so i may be to critical http://uk.geocities.com/gazdulux@btopenworld.com/flames/S2300016.JPG
http://uk.geocities.com/gazdulux@btopenworld.com/flames/S2300017.JPG
this job took me 8 hours on its own as the paint was to thin the brush didnt hold much and my hand was shaking like i just met jaws from james bond :D

but any way i just got to laquer the whole lot and upload the photos to my web space then there will be a big how to on here for it

so ill go and laquer it now and you should see this with pics tommorrow
theres a few more pics yet

the laquered tank http://uk.geocities.com/gazdulux@btopenworld.com/flames/S2300018.JPG

with a quick fettle and outside in normal light http://uk.geocities.com/gazdulux@btopenworld.com/flames/S2300020.JPG

Iansv
26-05-05, 06:21 PM
arrrggghhhhh Flames....

I gave up reading halfway, sorry :oops: :lol:

AlanSv
26-05-05, 06:33 PM
cant see the pics

Barty_b0y
26-05-05, 06:59 PM
omg bandwidth probs i guess:(

ill check it and see

GC-SV
01-06-05, 07:46 PM
Well I did take the time to read it all and was impressed.
I have always been fascinated with custom painting but have, as yet, never got round to it.

One of the problems I foresee is the amount of paints/colours that you need to buy without even mentioning the primers, laquers etc.

Sprayguns, ovens and respirators are not a problem as I can use a paintshop in work.

I learnt something anyway and appreciate the time and effort that you put into the thread.
I hope your mate appreciated it and sorted you out with a drink or 3.

Viney
01-06-05, 11:21 PM
Nice one BB. Sprayed my bike a couple of weekends ago....well added some colours. Between you and me mate pual, im learning a lot

Barty_b0y
01-06-05, 11:44 PM
GC-SV

To do this project i walked into the local paint suppliers and told them what i was upto and asked to see the motorbikes colours for the candy red

mentioned i wanted a few other colours namley a silver a yellow awhite an orange and a purple

the guy asked me around the back to look at the scheme that they mix the paint with

he showed me the base colours on the shelf ( the colours that all the colours are made up from ) and i chose my yellow silver purple and orange from these

for the whole lot i got a 1\2 litre of ink \ candy 1\4 litre of silver 10th of a litre of white \ purple\ orange and yellow

a litre of laquer will drown it like the titanic i mixed up maybe 1\4 but you will need at least 2 litre of 2 k thinners and a litre of hardener

i bought a new mop for my mates polisher and some g3 rubbing compound for him ,the paints some fine line tape 3mm ,

also the guy did me a favour and charged me just for a litre for the paint a 10th of a litre works out about £8 mixed which as i know the ink should have been £35 on its own and i walked out paying just £56 for the lot.

but for the airbruses 10th of a litre is way too much you could go to the hobby shop and buy it would be enough

Robw#70
02-06-05, 05:43 PM
What no etch primer? or is the 4:1 supposed to do it all?

Spokey
05-06-05, 10:02 PM
bugger the tank - lets see some pics and details about you're polished rims ... :wink:

Banana

Barty_b0y
07-06-05, 01:44 AM
Cheers viney\ gc sv much apprieciated comments



Rob nope no etch primer not needed its not an ally tank and with a sand blasted surface you dont need it, not on steel anyway.

2 pack primer is an ideal base for any surface you are painting but with ally an etch is preferable if you want to go really mad you can use a plastisizer on plastics but invariably its a waste of time mostly not all cases but most of them


Banana a how to on polished rims errr that would go somthing like


go to b&q get some paint stripper and stripper the paint of to the area you want mask the edge up and spend 4 hours doing both to get paint of them then get some solvol out and give them both 20 minutes polish with solvol


thats all i did ;)

wheelnut
07-06-05, 09:49 AM
So thats where you have been hiding :P

Solvent Abuse :D

Good read matey, it brings back to me my former life working in a paint shop.

Our claim to fame was we completely rebuilt a 1934 Alvis and sprayed it a kind of Maroon, being young and daft it was my task to flat the thing off, time and time again, although technology has improved since cellulose and thinners.

Another job we did was repaint all the Co-op's hearses and Austin J4 vans they used for transferring bodies from the hospitals. kind of wierd rubbing these down in a dark garage at ten o clock in the evening :?

There was no greater sense of satisfaction though getting a perfect finish on a black hearse :P

Are you off to MFN?

Barty_b0y
07-06-05, 03:44 PM
So thats where you have been hiding :P

Solvent Abuse :D


There was no greater sense of satisfaction though getting a perfect finish on a black hearse :P

Are you off to MFN?

lol luverly black :D


mfn not sure i got my underseats of at the moment and i have to make a new exhaust bit at the mo so i can carry a pillion so maybe but if it goes tits up NO

sexysi
07-06-05, 03:55 PM
Excellent Guide barty, just in the process of changing from Rizla Blue to Rizla green, so performing several of these tasks now. Although this guide is worthy of a print out and keep in a folder. Good one man. Now just need a new garage with a proper spray booth in it. :wink: =D>
sexysi

sexysi
07-06-05, 03:58 PM
Just pasted it into word. 17 pages excellent.
sexysi

Barty_b0y
07-06-05, 07:41 PM
Excellent Guide barty, just in the process of changing from Rizla Blue to Rizla green, so performing several of these tasks now. Although this guide is worthy of a print out and keep in a folder. Good one man. Now just need a new garage with a proper spray booth in it. :wink: =D>
sexysi

lol i painted this in a mates shed the primer silver and red and the flames and laquer in the dining room ffs not the best but at least it was dust free :oops: :oops:

Barty_b0y
30-08-05, 09:44 PM
dohhhhhhhhhhh bump