Kawasaki Paint

I just recently purchased a very well maintained Kawasaki Concours its a 2001 model and it has those hard black saddle bags on it. The bike itself came in a beautiful blue color from the factory and I was thinking about painting the hard bags the same color as the bike itself. I just think having the outside shell of the saddlebags a matching blue would be very nice. The only question is, does anyone know how to find out exactly what color blue that is? Or maybe where I can find the information? Thanks ahead of time.

Kawasaki lists it as:

Metallic Sonic Blue

www.color-rite.com sells paint for late model Kawasakis

Let me wish you luck in dealing with color-rite. I have tried a number of times to get them to (1) answer emails and (2)help me in selecting the amount of paint to order to paint my bikes. They have been worthless; they have never answered emails or assisted me. I am amazed they are still in business.

I would think you would be able to unscrew a piece of the fairing and take it to NAPA or your local paint ditributor and have them scan the color to make the right color paint.

I just went to their site and linked to the Canadian distributor to find touch up paint for my wheels. $25 for a jar of touch up paint, $15 hazardous material surcharge, plus shipping.
I don't think so.

Hmm well at least I know the NAME of the color now. I may have to see if I can find someplace local to mix the paint but I am kind of in a small town. Another curiosity question. How much could I expect to pay someone to paint the outside of the saddlebags if I supply the paint? Also HOLY CRAP not going via color brite. Do you see those prices??? It would be cheaper to hunt down smurfs and squeeze the blue out of them..

Post edited by: JCGreen, at: 2007/04/06 08:34

JCGreen wrote:

How much could I expect to pay someone to paint the outside of the saddlebags if I supply the paint?

I'll assume you mean someone *competent* to shoot the paint that also has a *conscience*? (lotsa luck :huh:)

I'd expect that with you supplying paint, they'll start talking at a couple hundred and work up from there.

I'm not entirely sure about the composition of those bags, but a good clue to the competence of a painter wanting the job would be whether he mentions using a flex agent as an additive. Plastics - even the hard ones - flex a bit in use, and the paint cracking from flex issues over time would be a concern.

Hmmm very good point thanks for the heads up.

JCGreen wrote:

How much could I expect to pay someone to paint the outside of the saddlebags if I supply the paint? Also HOLY CRAP not going via color brite. Do you see those prices??? It would be cheaper to hunt down smurfs and squeeze the blue out of them..

Yeah, paint ain't cheap. :woohoo:

A couple of other thoughts were rattling around my head while answering the question previously, and before they die lonely deaths, I might as well toss 'em into the conversation:

1. Metallics are notoriously hard to match precisely; if you're considering having the bags done and want the best possible results with color matching, it'd actually be best to ride the bike to a shop that does its own mixing - pretty easy to find - finding one that's *good* at it might be another story - and have them do the matching, as well as the rest of the job.

That might suit you in good stead as well because:

2. Painters are a notoriously funny bunch - just like doctors, lawyers and call girls, hunting for the "cheapest" isn't always the best idea for getting the best results.

3. Walking into a painter's cubbyhole with a couple of pieces and a can of customer-supplied paint sets off a psychological mechanism - ("...ah. a wiseguy, eh?") and can actually kick in what'd otherwise be described as "The Hemmoroid Surcharge" - charging extra up front for a job that won't pay much in the first place and has the potential for becoming a pain in the ass if the customer's self-supplied paint doesn't satisfy the customer.

That may not entirely make sense to the average guy on the street, but painters are a funny bunch - oddly artistic and often eccentric - must be all the fumes... :laugh:

Hmmm I shall remember that then. Heck looking at prices it may just be cheaper to buy NEW nice hard shell saddle bags instead of painting the old ones.

JCGreen wrote:

Hmmm I shall remember that then. Heck looking at prices it may just be cheaper to buy NEW nice hard shell saddle bags instead of painting the old ones.

Most likely.

Just a hunch, but I'd bet that at some point, Kaw considered colored hard bags and dropped the idea because it was cost prohibitive - painted plastic has flex/wear issues, and molding "in color" bags - especially a metallic - would have added more to the cost than was deemed prudent for a cosmetic addition.

That's not to say it can't be done - but oftentimes, what at face value seems a rather simple idea can be a real problem to pull off technically. Pretty much anything can be done if you throw enough money at it - but what's gained at what cost?