Sand Paper

I am thinking of spraying my bike, frame and plastics. I have access to some equipment and think I may do it myself. What is a recommended grit of wet paper I should think about? I worked briefly in a body shop and repainted a truck I had with good results, but it has been some years since I'd done body work.

Thanks! You can see what I am working on here...
home.nycap.rr.com/kz650project

it all depends on how far you want to take your paint.
do you plan on doing graffix or stripes?
solid color or two tone?

for frames,swingarms and other large steel parts i usually just use paint stripper same for gastanks,for tailpiece and sidecovers if they are really wavy,stock ones usually are.id start with 100 grit to get them nice and flat then gradually move up to finer grits as scratches go away:whistle: goodluck,happy wrenching!

I plan on repainting the frame black, and painting the tank and other bits Kawi green. Primer, Single color then clear coat(s). I just want to produce a good finish.

Thanks

for the metal start with 100 grit and sand down all the rust step up to 320 to smooth. if theres no rust just sand through the clear coat to smooth (dust will be blue)theres no need to go down to bare metal unless you plan on using body filler and in most cases depending on your location and humidity its better to not.
for the plastics start with 220 on a block to smooth the "waves" and wet with 320 before primer.

if you were to shoot a metallic paint you would have to jump up another grit because metallics show every tiny scratch.

wet sand the primer with 600. just enought to remove the "orange peel"

wet sand the color with 600 then 800.

wet sand the clear with 800 then 1000.

finish up with a polishing compound and terry cloth rag and a few coats of carnuba.

mykznme:i come from a longline of blacksmiths ,we do not use bondo we use die-grinders and welding rod.all welds are ground smooth and low spots are built using welds no other filler is used parts look like singlepiece of steel including chrome plated parts!i use paint stripper because its a lot easier and faster than trying to sand nicks and scratches and remove rust you know what you have when your done this way !:whistle:

im not saying your wrong im sayin for his application he shouldnt have to strip the metal.
his paint looks decent.
not everyone has the budget,equipment or experience to weld and grind.
and why strip off factory sealers if you dont have to??

now lets say he just wanted to paint it and decided to strip the tank.
he just stripped off any filler that was already there and now has opened a whole other can of worms.

Post edited by: mykznme, at: 2006/01/30 22:01

It is generally best to sand only what is needed to get finish smooth for paint. Factory paint is usually baked on and is a good base to start a repaint from. Best to wet sand and keep sandpaper wet(use a few drops of dishwashing detergent in water). If possible use a sanding block to be sure fingers don't cause "waves" in finish from finger pressure. If you can, sandblast frame and sand the rest, but just enough to get finish you desire. Paper grit mentioned above is good...finer grit that you can use to get job done the better. If you find you can't get everything perfectly smooth, try a primer/filler instead of primer. It's thicker and helps in filling in small scratchs and around feather-edging.

Thanks guys, I have no rust or damage to the body parts. So I will not strip to metal. I basically needed the grit of wet paper for finish sanding a clearcoat, 1000 sounds good.

Thanks home.nycap.rr.com/kz650project