Need Recommendations for Painting tank and side covers, tail

Hello,
Just had my 1976 KZ900 Tank chemically stripped and now I would like to have it painted back to the original 1976 Brown KZ900 color with decals.
Also the side covers and duck tail will need to be done also.   I checked with Ralph Pitlock at Paintworkz who is a member here and is in Arizona and called a few shops local and they were all at least a couple months out.  Plus the local guy quoted me $1700 which seems a bit high. 
I don't mind paying up for quality work but I'm looking for any suggestions.
Buying the paint from Ralph (Paintworkz) is about $250 for enough to do everything and then the decals are an additional $150 or so?

Tell me more about chemical stripping?  Did you have it coated with anything or is it just raw steel?  I was trying to read up on e-coating directly after chemical stripping.  I can't find many places that do both.

As for paint, I recently had a very good conversation with the Dana from WFO Custom Paint.   www.facebook.com/WFOCustomPaint/

I haven't had anything painted yet, but he posts lots of photos of his work and I came away with a good impression after our phone conversation.  If anyone else here has worked with WFO Custom Paint I'd like to hear your thoughts.

Did you ask Ralph if he was still painting parts?  Or is he only selling paint now?


 

wrote:

Tell me more about chemical stripping?  Did you have it coated with anything or is it just raw steel?  I was trying to read up on e-coating directly after chemical stripping.  I can't find many places that do both.

As for paint, I recently had a very good conversation with the Dana from WFO Custom Paint.   www.facebook.com/WFOCustomPaint/

I haven't had anything painted yet, but he posts lots of photos of his work and I came away with a good impression after our phone conversation.  If anyone else here has worked with WFO Custom Paint I'd like to hear your thoughts.

Did you ask Ralph if he was still painting parts?  Or is he only selling paint now?

There is a place by me called Redistrip in Roselle, IL - they have a website you can look at. 
It was $260 to strip the tank inside and out.  I mainly chose that route because the inside of the tank looked like a NY sewer during a snowstorm (ha ha).
It turned out very clean and also got rid of the body work that was covering up the areas where the emblems go.  They did say there is a coating on there that will last a few months but I want to get the paint on there as soon as I can.
I spoke with Ralph on the phone and he was a very nice guy and very helpful.  But he told me if I sent it to him it would take at least a couple months to even get to it.  



 

I do not have any recommended location but would think there are several paint locations that can do your machine proud in the Greater Chicago area. I would be surprised if not so.

 

Ask some motorcycle shops or dealerships.  $1700 is a "I dont want to do it" estimate.

Well I got a hold of a place called The Paint Spot in Addison, IL.  One of my coworkers recommended the shop and they said they would take it right away.  I ordered the decals from Z1parts.net and the Paint from Ralph at Paintworkz today.  Their price is very fair also $525 to paint the tank, sidecovers and tail.  I will post pics when done which should be about 2 to 3 weeks. 
Thanks for the help as always guys!
 

wrote:

he told me if I sent it to him it would take at least a couple months to even get to it.
 

I didn't focus on the time part.  When I spoke to WFO he also said he had about 3 months of work already lined up. 

wrote:

Ask some motorcycle shops or dealerships.  $1700 is a "I dont want to do it" estimate.

I'm not so sure. I got a quote about 7 years ago to do just a tank, and they wanted $700.  And every experience I've ever had with cars and body shops has always involved shocking numbers. I think paint is just expensive.

As for chemical stripping, I was curious about e-coating as that's what car manufacturers do to bodies before paint.  I want to do a Z1R fender that has some rust on the inside around and under the mounting bracket.  I thought maybe e-coating was a plating process, but it seems to be a different way to apply a powder coating, but better at getting into tiny spaces and giving a thin even layer of paint.  So probably not a great idea for inside a gas tank, but a fender seems like a good application.  Also, the Cathodic Epoxy Coating is not UV resistant, so the top coat needs to block UV.

Here is an example of a process.  Sounds pretty good, but I don't really know.
selectmotors.net/automotive-chemical-stripping-and-e-coating/

There is a stripper near me that also does E-coating. They explained it to me as a paint type product. They siad it is the black coating applied to factory sheet metal parts. 

1700 is high but doesn't seem outlandish for a top quality paint job  - at least where i live. Are you having them apply decals? a second round of clear? polish?

If you want it cheaper you need to be more specific about your expectations. There is a lot more scrutiny over motorcycle paint than cars, and a good painter knows this and take more time to ensure everything is perfect. if you have a small blemish on a car bumper, odds are no one will notice, but if its on a gas tank you will see it right away, this is generally reflected in the price. Paint work is very much a "you get what you pay for" type thing.

Yes, applying the decals and clearing over them is part of the price.

The decals arrived at my house yesterday from Z1parts.net.  They look good and I will be taking them over to the body / paint shop later this week.
They did not , however, come with instructions of any kind.
I did a search here looking for a schematic / instructions for proper placement of the decals.  Any help would be much appreciated.
 

Look at lots of pictures of the bike with the decal in the correct place {google}, and save them, show them to whoever is going to apply the decals. I've seen a lot of bikes where the "painter" put the decals on in the wrong place, they only have to be half an inch off and they look wrong...