Motorcycle custom paint - paints and "know how"

[MarcinG]

Dear all,

I’m currently gearing up and training for custom painting my beloved Suzuki Intruder Volusia. It’s factory black.

I’m planning on using AutoAir and Wicked lines of paint. (for no apparent reason other than good reviews and rather poor DIY ventilation to use more toxic paints)

I will not attempt any murals/freehand as I’m way too inexperienced for that but I believe I will be fine with masking the design out and painting it.

What I’m failing to grasp at the moment is how you progress the painting when you want for example a bright blue base with yellow design but both textured.
What I mean would be something like:
- Apply gray base colour
- Apply stencilled textures in shades of grey up to white
- Mask out the main design
- Paint transparent blue
- ...and then what...how do I progress to paint the masked designs yellow?

I’m also not being able to find myself among hundreds of types of paint.
What do I need?
A primer, sealer(?), base, color, clear...
Anything else? Too much?

I’m lost a bit. Please advise.

Kindest regards,
Marcin

 

[Squishy]

I think it would be easier for someone to advise you if you had a reference of the design you want to do, or something similar, or a sketch or something. I first thought you wanted to repaint the bike blue, with a yellow design, but after reading again, realise that's probably not what you meant.

Once we know the effect you're after it will also be easier to advise about what paints etc you'll need. Maybe someone less cranially challenged than me can help you out, Lol. But any refs you have will make it easier.

 

[wickedartstudio]

I'm with Squish on this one... a little more info would help us help you... What condition is the factory paint in? Any repair areas? Give us an idea of your design (a pic would be better even if it's just a sketch) and what you mean with "textured" and we can get you on the right track.

 

[Madbrush]

Just to add to what my friends here above have said, if this is your first attempt at something like this, may I suggest finding an old tank from the scrapyard and practising on it until you are both happy and confident, this might just save you frustration of ruining what could other wise be an awesome bike.

 

[jord001]

Good Idea Madbrush, an old tank or a practise tank is a good idea to practise your designs on before you do the final piece. I have to spray my 1973 honda up when i start to restore it, the old tank is rotted through but is repairable so i can practise on, I have a replacement that i will spray up properly once i get it right.

Lee

 

[MarcinG]

Dear all,

Thank you for madly fast response. I appreciate it.
Allow me to try to make amends to my incomplete set of information:

The tank condition is perfect (it's 10y old but not a single chip) No repair areas too. I could just leave it as is and be happy for years to come if I wasn't bitten by airbrushing bug and love for custom motorcycles.

What I mean by textured? Something like this.

So not really a flat colour but textured, each in its own way.

And of course, as you colleagues suggest, I will not start right away on the bike, God forbid.
I got my test panels ready.

I hope that helps.. anything else just let me know and I will do my utmost to explain.

 

[wickedartstudio]

Very cool! With no repairs necessary, simply prep the factory paint by thoroughly scuffing with 500 grit and use Auto Air sealer white (or sealer dark, might try both on your test panels to see which one you like better... I usually prefer the dark).

I would suggest using an AA metallic base rather than plain white prior to adding the texture. The metallic will make the design pop better in the sun... just something to think about. Cure the base with heat (a hair dryer will work for this). The heat produces a polymerization process called cross-linking which makes the paint capable of withstanding heavy taping and masking. I strongly recommend spraying a solvent based intercoat clear prior to taping out your design. AA paint doesn't lay down as smooth as urethanes, the solvent based intercoat clear will smooth out the surface and prevent paint from bleeding under your tape.

I would mask off the yellow flame and do the blue background first. If you decide to use metallics for your background, mix some metallic silver with a little balck for your texture. After spraying the background, unmask the flame and spray another intercoat clear over the entire piece. Then mask around the flame and shoot it.

The way I do these requires a few extra steps, but the lines will be much cleaner which is even more important if you don't plan to stripe around them. Hope this helps and good luck!

 

[MarcinG]

Thank you for the feedback.

It's starting to be clearer now.

So having the healthy surface means I won't have to prime it, just scuff thoroughly.

In that case, it appears that the process will be as follows:

1. seal with white 4001 or dark 4002
2. paint with base colour - here I will try 4301 pearl white, 4330 Metalic White and some other if I'll find an appropriate base.
3. cure the base with heat (I was lead to believe that autoair cures with air?)
4. paint with intercoar clear - which would you recommend? all I can think of is HOK quality wise.
5. mask off the yellow design (not necessarily flames, more like tribal/foliage patterns) - For that I will need some transparent masking paper with low tack...something I can't find locally for some reason..all I found was frisket film which I don't find so useful as you can't draw on it or print on it. I'd love a recommendation for that too. All I could find so far is Sticky Mickey's masking paper from CoastAirbrush. Not sure how good it is though.
6. paint textures - which would be a mix of paint dabbing and stencils
7. lay blue on top - here I'm thinking 4607 Brite Blue from candy line although I might be badly mistaken (?) Not sure if Wicked Detail would hold a candle to AA candy?
8. another intercoat
9. mask out the blue leaving the designs for yellow
10. lay yellow - 4601 Yellow, possibly mixed with a bit of 4602 Sunset to deepen the colour towards strong yellow/orangey

11. is there any prep required before laying down the main clear coat?
12. clear coat everything with 4 - 6 layers of clear - again, I'm thinking HOK but not really sure which one....there are so many it's dizzying.

I'm all in for extra steps... My last flames peeled in few places when removing masks so I'd love to avoid that by using intercoat clear.

Many thanks for the feedback so far and looking forward to hearing from you all again... with your help I'll get myself a magic recipe for success and then it's just train train train

P.S - I've forgotten...yes, I do intend to pinstripe as well. The choice appears to be simpler here... OneShot paints and either Mack or Kafka brushes. Not sure at which stage these should be applied. I assume just prior to final clears.


All the best,
Marcin

 

[Tufty]

Autoair do a base coat clear you can use as a mid coat. I've used it and it was very good. Just a sugestion some may say otherwise as they may have more experience with it.

regards

tufty

 

[wickedartstudio]

AA does cure with air; however, adding heat will form a stronger bond through cross-linking, essential when you plan to tape over your work.

The only intercoat clears I use are HOK and PPG (DBC500), both are very good.

For this design it would be easier to just mask the design with fine line tape and masking tape in my opinion, but I use Sticky Mickey's frequently and it works great too.

No prep is needed before the final clear, just be sure to start with a medium tack/acclimation coat before hammering it on.

Other than that, sounds like you have a good handle on things! Keep us posted...

 

[MarcinG]

Thank you both.

In that case, it appears that the process will be as follows:

1. sealer - options: white 4001 or dark 4002
2. paint with base colour - options: 4301 pearl white, 4330 Metalic White
3. cure the base with air + heat for strong bonding
4. intercoat clear - options: HoK SG100 intercoat or AA 4004 transparent base
5. mask the design - fine line or Sticky Mickey's paper
6. paint textures - dabbing/stencils/brush
7. paint blue - AA4607 Brite Blue Candy
8. another intercoat
9. reverse mask
10. paint yellow - AA4601 Yellow Candy mixed with a bit of 4602 Sunset to deepen the colour towards strong yellow/orangey
11. clear coat - that one is still up for discussion.... I see HOK USC01 Kosmic Urethane Show Klear ... there's also UCC01, UC35, UFC35, and I'm not sure which ones don't apply... <headache>
I'm not even looking at PPG as their website is terrible...an great example of how a company can shoot themselves in the foot by making it darn hard for customers to find anything... that's at least my experience.

Many thanks for everything so far...

Marcin

 

[wickedartstudio]

HOK UC35 is great for bike parts... it holds up very well to chemicals (like fuel). Just be sure you get the correct catalyst and temp. reducer with whatever you choose to go with.

 

[Talla]

For the masking I would agree with the guys on the fineline tape and masking tape. However you could use application tape (used in applying vinyl signs) If you go for the paper type you can draw over it. This stuff comes in 100m lengths ad width wise 8"- 12" would be a good general size but you can get it wider if you require (I have a roll of 24" wide which is sometimes a bit unmanageable).

 

[Squishy]

Definately go for a silver/aluminium base, will make the whole thing come alive! I use a 2K clear, but that stuff is pretty nasty. If fumes etc are an issue maybe get it cleared by a pro. I have used both fine line tape, and paper type application tape, and tend to prefer the fine line option. I am a bit heavy handed with a blade and always worry about cutting into paint underneath, then tend to over compensate and not always cut heavy enough, duh!

 

[MarcinG]

Thank you for replies.

I'll look into UC35.
As for correct catalyst and temp. reducer I have no idea but will be researching.

I will be trying all sorts of masking but end of the day I will need something that will offer me a great deal of detail.

To give you an idea for what I will be working on (not exactly that complex) please have a look here:
Tank and Motorcycle Parts VN800 "Jugenstil"Unexpected Custom - Fine Arts Unlimited... for Bikers

These guys are absolutely bonkers and are doing an astonishing job.

These are the kind of patterns/texture I will be producing. Very masking intensive job but I have all the time in the world.

 

[MarcinG]

After researching the clear coat paint from HOK, it appears that the process will be as follows:

1. sealer - options: white 4001 or dark 4002
2. paint with base colour - options: 4301 pearl white, 4330 Metalic White
3. cure the base with air + heat for strong bonding
4. intercoat clear - options: HoK SG100 intercoat or AA 4004 transparent base
5. mask the design - fine line or Sticky Mickey's paper
6. paint textures - dabbing/stencils/brush
7. paint blue - AA4607 Brite Blue Candy
8. another intercoat
9. reverse mask
10. paint yellow - AA4601 Yellow Candy mixed with a bit of 4602 Sunset to deepen the colour towards strong yellow/orangey
11. clear coat - UC35 Klear + RC310 Fast Dry Reducer + KU150 Catalyst ; 2-1-1 ratio

I'd very much like to hear about the 2K clears... I see that all over the place. Does anyone have any experience with 2K clears?
I'm also concerned about the drying conditions... as per tech sheets, even with fast dry reducer it still requires minimum of 21C. That will be tough to achieve here in UK so I will look into extra heating or look for someone to do it after all.

Here's the dream come true. It does not matter how close I get to achieving such detail... I will try my best.

 

[wickedartstudio]

There's a wealth of knowledge here concerning 2k clear, but more specific questions would be beneficial. Kind of a broad subject... Looks like a killer project though!

 

[MarcinG]

Hello wicked,
Yes, I'm using search facility a lot now
2K clear appears to be non brand related...as in you get 2K from multiple brands... not sure how it stacks up to UC35.

As for the killer project...yes..it will definitely kill me in the process ;D