An attempt to paint my GPZ 750 Tank

I could get 2K clear coat. But I heard they are cancerous?

What isn't cancerous? older clear Urethane 4.2 VOC contains polyisocyanate! This shit is bad stuff. I just sprayed it tonight. But small amounts with an HVLP gun, an exhaust fan and good respirator! No problem! I'm 60 and still going!

That is just amazing...!

I was thinking about this 2x spray can. But again really worry about the health effects as I read that isocyanate can even go through skin, and I don't have full overall mask.

www.bunnings.com.au/dulux-duramax-125g-2...spray-paint_p1400741

I checked the MSDS it doesn't seem to contain isocynate though
go.lupinsys.com/duluxgroup/harms/public/...2K_CLEAR-AUS_GHS.pdf

Z1kzonly, how forgiving is urethane? Is it easy to spray and if a gnat or piece of shmutz gets on it, is that easy to fix? Acrylic-lacquer is fairly forgiving. Thanks.

martin_csr wrote: Z1kzonly, how forgiving is urethane? Is it easy to spray and if a gnat or piece of shmutz gets on it, is that easy to fix? Acryllic-lacquer is fairly forgiving. Thanks.

Good to hear that as I will be spraying Acryllic Lacquer (Duplicolor). I was thinking in case of gasoline spill I just respray and re buff.

Gasoline attacks acrylic-lacquer fairly aggressively, so any spill is going to ruin the paint.

Yes basically it seems that I have 3 choices

1) 2 pack paint => most durable and glossy, toxic and better left to the professionals

2) Acrylic Lacquer => Great glossy finish, easy/quick to apply and buff, but prone to gasoline

3) Enamel => Not so glossy and takes forever to cure, But with some durability and resistance to gasoline


As I use the bike for riding and not so much show/concourse I think I'm going with option 3. I've used Duplicolor Engine Enamel with some success for my GPZ900R and they indeed are durable (used them for engine,swing arms and wheels)

gpzninja.blogspot.com.au/2016/11/gpz900r-restoration.html

1) 2 pack paint => most durable and glossy, toxic and better left to the professionals

2-part, not 2 pack. SprayMax 2k clear comes in a special can with 2 chambers. The tank & side covers are small, so it doesn't take much time & the amount of exposure can be cut to zero or almost zero if you spray the parts outside on a calm day and wear an inexpensive & proper respirator.

Hi H M, I did not see you are from Australia! Different regulations and cost's. But I have been using Urethane clear since 1994. Dupont came out with 4700 "HyperCure" dried in 2 hours, could buff in 8 hours in normal conditions. Back then I painted my 75 HD FLH. with old black and metallic silver Lacquer. It dried for about a week. I had my pin stripe "Artist" do his work with enamel. Then I used this urethane clear coat. People said OH NO don't do it! Well that was 23 years ago! Last pic 1994 won a plaque in bike show my 2 kids, they are 32 & 34 today!
This old set of tanks were painted in 1994 along with fenders. Years have past and I redid the fenders solid black.
But nothing like real - auto shop professional clear urethane.
Today it is so cheap! This 4:1 gal / qt. Made by "MATRIX" 5 quarts of sprayable material cost me $79.00. I can do at least 7-8 bike jobs with this clear. But I have not touched any lacquer, even primer for the past 20 years.

OP see all the fine paintjobs here.

Do it right, strip it to bare metal, primer filler coats, flatted then white, then Ford cardinal red. Or do it your way and get a messy job that risks bubbling up within months from a paint reaction.

Old school uncatalised paints will give you good results if you put the time in. Look at some of the early Honda and Kawasaki 'candy' finished for example.

Thanks. Indeed results like z1kzonly above are amazing! I am really tempted to invest in the skills and tools to do things properly.

As much as I want to do that, though, I need to look after my budget ... A proper DIY 2k job would easily set me back $250 for paint and spray gun (I already have a compressor). And as I have no other future project I'd rather pay the $500 to professional painter.

The spray can job would cost me $60 max and the tank scratches are so bad that anything would make it better! ...

Another possibility is to avoid enamel altogether and use Acrylic Lacquer and invest a bit more in 2k spray can (Eastwood/Spraymax) as there are some good experiences reported. That would set me back another $64 as it's hard to get them here in Australia.

I'm not sure if you'll have this in AUS, but in the US we have Adult Education courses at the local Community Colleges. These are typically held in the evening or weekends and at a very reasonable price. If you've got something like this in your area, sign-up. You'll have access to all the equipment and professional painters to offer instruction. You may be able to shoot your tank as your class project.