gun help

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akapparos

Guest
I am new to painting and I thought I would do some research before I started painting my bike. I've read all the info on this forum and it is very helpful and totally confusing
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. There seem to be as many different opinions as there are questions. I hope someone can help me clear a few things up. 1. compressors- the cfm requirements of the hvlp guns I have looked at seem to far exceed the capabilities of most compressors I have seen. Am I missing something? or are those ratings just guidelines. I have a 5hp 20gal compressor. Should I forget about HVLP and get a standard gravity feed gun or get the HVLP and upgrade the compressor? Money is definately a factor. I am not planning on making painting a business or anything, I just want to do my own custom job on my bike. 2. primer- I have decals under the clear on my vulcan. Is it feasible to block sand the ridge in the clear down without breaking through or should I strip the whole thing and prime it? If I strip it, would feathering be easier or should I sand blast the whole thing? If I strip it, with a sand blaster is an etching primer necessary or is there a primer/sealer that I can apply and save a step or two. I am planning on using PPG bc/cc. 3. Filler- I have some scratches on the front fender caused by a windy day and a door
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. The fender is plastic. I was wondering what the best product to smooth it out would be ? The scratches are about what you would expect if you ran a wood rasp across the fender. I would like to say thanks in advance for any advice and would like to let y'all know that I have already benefitted greatly from this site.
 
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TAZ

Guest
akapparos,
You should have absolutely no problem running a HVLP gun on most compressors. I would say the average CFM for most 5 HP compressors is about 8-9. I have a 6 HP that puts out 14.5 CFM. I'm sure I can run a "siphon" feed gun along with a DA sander at the same time.

2) It is a good idea to strip the areas that contain the decals under the clear. The first thing I do when I get a tank with decals under the clear is take a razor scraper and strip the decals--clear and all. Then I strip and feather the edges in using 180. By the time you do this, you have quite a large area.

3) You might be able to get these scratches out by simply working your way down with sand paper. Start with about 320, then do 1200 wetsand. If this does not work, possibly a little polyester putty will take care of it.
Glad you are making use of the "Flames Board"
 
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Mitchb71

Guest
Sorry scott i have to disagree on the polyester putty on that plastic fender. The reason i say this is because the putty isn't flexible. You would be safer and have better grip if you used an epoxy fusor. Based on what i have run into before and seen this is my opinion. Not saying scott is wrong. If you have anything to add scott that would be great.
 
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rex

New member
Poly putty will work fine for a scratch,but if it's a serious gouge,crack or hole it needs plastic repair material.Depending on the type of plastic it might need adhesion promoter.For a scratch I trim off any 'flap' of plastic like in an angled cut if there is one,then fold a piece if 180 and sand the scratch.Kind of like 'V'ing out a fiberglass crack but on a smaller scale.You can try some putty now,but if it seems to roll back instead of feathering out you'll have to take it all out and use an adhesion promoter.The technical way is put adhesion promoter on the bare plastic,repair with plastic repair and prime with plastic primer-alot of products you won't use again.I've had no problem with cleaning the plastic and puttying it (small nicks and scratches),but if I think there will be a prob I epoxy before putty.The 'slimy' plastics need adhesion promoter,but I don't get too much of that.99% of what I fix is urethane bumpers and a few ABS grilles or something,not much of the slimy stuff.If you go to sand it and the plastic seems to smear instead of sand and there's little hairs of plastic left from sanding,you have the slimy kind and need adhesion promoter.Then prime it,scuff it when dry and scrape the putty over the primer.I'm not into the plastics so I'm no expert on them,but i've never had problems either.Something else that works excellent on the non slimy plastics is JB Weld.Sticks like crazy and sands beatifully.
 
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TAZ

Guest
Yea, Really depends on how deep the scratches are. From the sound of it. It even sounded as though they may sand out. I assumed they were pretty minor.

If they don't completely come out (but very close), you can even get them in primer, then sand them out. If they still don't come out, a little polyester putty applied with a razor will take care of it.
 
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Mitchb71

Guest
ok reread the fender part up top. Id agree on this one he could probably just prime it out.
 
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akapparos

Guest
Thanks a lot for all the help guys! I think you just saved me a whole bunch of work. I looked again at the scratches and I think I can get them sanded out. I might need to prime and sand a bit but I have more confidence in the process now. Thanks again for the input.
 
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rex

New member
Oooops,I did the same thing Mitch did.I read wood rasp and pictured a bondo cheezgrater (rasp) slammed-well,forget it.Listen to Scott.

EZ,ya had a good time sittin' back watching this one didn't ya,buddy
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TAZ

Guest
Originally posted by ezrider:
Rex, lets put it this way . it was tough not getting involved in this tropic
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Click to expand...
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">LOL!
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