Beginner Painting Guide

Hi all,

Before I do any paint work on my Kaw, I'm planning to practise fairing painting on an '85 Honda scooter we have.

As a complete beginner to painting in any automotive sense (have done some minor rattlecan touch-ups to the car and a few small spray gun projects), I'm looking for step-by-step instructions. Couldn't find any with the search, so here I am

Been searching the internet and found many sites that deal with painting, but they all differ in various aspects such as the number of coats, when to sand, what grit, etc. etc. The most informative is probably this one: www.chuckhawks.com/harley_paintin.htm

I'm thinking black with blue lettering and pinstripes, so below are some of the steps I think I know as well as a whole lot of questions, any advice, input, changes, criticism, hints tips or warnings would be awesome

Preparation
1) Using 600 or finer (what is best?), sand off old clear coat, rough up the paint, sand right through places where it's pealing, bubbling or otherwise lacking adhesion.
2) Fill any scratches, wait to dry and sand down the filler.
3) Wipe down with degreaser/dewaxer.
4) Wipe off with soft, clean rag.

Primer
1) Light or dark?
2) How many coats?
3) Sand between coats? Sand after the last coat and before colour? What grit and how intensely?
4) How long to dry before color?

Color
1) Many light coats is better than fewer thick coats. Aim for 3 - 4 coats, waiting 30 - 40 mins between coats?
2) If pinstriping or lettering, give full paint with the strip colour (i.e. 3-4 coats), mask off, then full again with the top colour? So in my case, paint the entire thing blue, stripe and letters masked off, then paint it all black?
3) After the final coat gently remove the masking (I've heard that if you do this while the paint is still slightly wet, you get cleaner edges and less chance of flaking/cracking ... any truth in this?) and add any stickers or decals.
4) Any sanding between colour coats? Any sanding between color and clear?
5) How long to dry before clear?

Clear coat
1) 4 - 5 light coats of clear, 30 - 40 mins between.
2) Wet sand with 1500 grit until uniform dull sheen (ensure no orange peel effects (small ripples or dimples in the surface), dust flecks, bugs, etc.), wipe clean and allow to dry.
3) Spray 2 more light coats.
4) Allow to fully harden (several days).

Finishing
1) Wet sand with 1500.
2) Buff with very fine polishing compound being very careful to keep the polishing brush/sponge moving so you don't burn the paint


So that's all I got ... any help would be greatly appreciated

Thanks

There's tons of info on the web if you Google "DIY paintjob". Alot of your questions can be answered on the back of a Duplicolor can. But it really depends on what type of paint you decided on and what the manufacturer of that paint recommends. Professional paint comes with an instruction sheet, usually. Ask the paint guy you're buying from too.

I'll mirror what Kidkawie says and add some of my own advice. I was just where you are about a year ago. It can be intimidating the first time you try and do a real paint job. The supplies are very expensive these days, and you don't want to screw up. Chances are that you will the first time through, so try and keep the first project simple and small to reduce cost. It seems that you have the basic idea from what you wrote, but keep in mind that sandpaper grit selection, dry times, and proper substrates are all determined by the manufacturer of your paint. In my case I chose PPG, and they provide a tech sheet through their website that you can download. The instructions vary dependent on many variables. I recommend that you select a paint line by consulting with your local paint supply jobber and stick with their whole product line for everything from primer, base, clear, wax and grease remover, general purpose solvent, thinners, hardeners, etc. That will minimize the chances of you getting an unintended chemical reaction between the different layers of primer, base, and clear. Any decent paint line will have tech sheets with very specific instructions on how to prep and paint. Follow those for best results.

I found this website particularly informative on the subject: www.autobody101.com/content/
Personally, I recommend that you sand down to bare metal as opposed to trying to paint on top of old paint. It will yield the best results. You can use a considerably more aggressive grit than 600 to strip old paint. 600 would take forever to sand all the old stuff down. Good luck with your project.

aircraft stripper and a putty knife to remove old paint, just make sure to collect and dispose of properly.

Take your time, work in a well ventilated work space.

If painting in a garage, CLEAN EVERYTHING...physically wipe everything down with a damp cloth.
Do not use plastic to cover anything up as it attracts dust. You don't want dust particles flying around while you are trying to paint or the paint is drying.

as was said before dry time is dependent on multiple variables, humidity, coat thickness, how much reducer was added, paint type, etc...Follow the spec sheets.

Only use compatible supplies, try to use only one complete "line" of products.

I found this post to be incredibly helpful. Although my project still came out like crap. (My fault, not the tutorial's)

www.armbell.com/kz400/viewtopic.php?t=1842&mforum=kz400

First step on plastic parts is to clean with wax and grease remover front and back before sanding. Best to just strip metal gas tank to bare metal. All PPG paint stores have product information sheets that give you all the info you need to do the job right.

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