K
KCLu
Guest
I just finished my first job with 2 parts, been reading here for awhile, wanted to report back with what I learned.
I just finished my first job with 2 parts, been reading here for awhile, wanted to report back with what I learned.
B
Billy d
Guest
Looks great!! Give us the details on how it went!! Any problems along the way? Tricks or tips you figured out? did you get the layout you wanted the first time? etc... etc...
K
KCLu
Guest
I'd like to say, "it was no big deal, went smooth as glass", but that would be a lie!
My biggest problem with the whole job is that I really like things to look smooth as glass, I'm a perfectionist. The close bud who I was doing the paint job for was, shall we say, assisting me.
Here's what I learned:
Don't EVER touch the primer with bare hands, it sucks up every little bit of oil on your skin... I was working with PPG's NCP... it sanded real nice, but was troubling in appearance as I applied it... looked very "granite". But it smoothed out very nicely. Hand prints reared there ugly heads as I applied the first basecoat... made me speak in foreign tongues. So, I allowed it to dry for an hour, then sanded off the hand prints, washed with warm soapy water and a nice clean shop towel... allowed it to dry and wiped with a tack cloth about 3 times.
The base had a slightly "hammered" appearance, which my jobber assured me would go away with the clear, which it did.
I was trying to save a buddy money, so I shot the mint color over the primer to avoid having to buy sealer... which has to be applied under black. (If anyone knows why, if you'd post the answer I'd appreciate it.)
So, I masked off backwards so I could shoot the black around the mint, worked out fine.
I used Cal-Stripe to pin stripe the edges of the flames, silver 1/8", and was pretty pleased with its flexibility. You can tape nice smooth complete circles the size of quarters with this stuff if you're patient.
My most important piece of advice here is, know when you're fried, stop before you create more problems, know when you need a break and when to stop for the day. I cleared over the mint, then taped off the flames to give myself a safety net and an "end of the day" mark. Its good to work with friends who you can look right straight in the eye and say, "shut up or I'm taping your mouth shut". Course, if they're really friends, it doesn't mean that they will.
I plan to learn how to hand pin stripe, I just can't get use to the looks of taped striping... any place that the tape is going to intersect you should really cut it off flush and not overlap at all... overlapping makes "humps".
I keep hearing that the critical point in the finished paint job is around the two week mark, so I'll be checking on it to see if the paint job blows off the bike the first time he goes 70 mph.
I'm really grateful for this site, for my jobber, for the folks who offered me pointers, and for a buddy who wasn't afraid to go out on a limb and be the first. Ya gotta treasure friends like that! And, I'm also grateful for guys who didn't say, "ya dumb ole girl, you can't paint!"
Ride safe!
My biggest problem with the whole job is that I really like things to look smooth as glass, I'm a perfectionist. The close bud who I was doing the paint job for was, shall we say, assisting me.
Here's what I learned:
Don't EVER touch the primer with bare hands, it sucks up every little bit of oil on your skin... I was working with PPG's NCP... it sanded real nice, but was troubling in appearance as I applied it... looked very "granite". But it smoothed out very nicely. Hand prints reared there ugly heads as I applied the first basecoat... made me speak in foreign tongues. So, I allowed it to dry for an hour, then sanded off the hand prints, washed with warm soapy water and a nice clean shop towel... allowed it to dry and wiped with a tack cloth about 3 times.
The base had a slightly "hammered" appearance, which my jobber assured me would go away with the clear, which it did.
I was trying to save a buddy money, so I shot the mint color over the primer to avoid having to buy sealer... which has to be applied under black. (If anyone knows why, if you'd post the answer I'd appreciate it.)
So, I masked off backwards so I could shoot the black around the mint, worked out fine.
I used Cal-Stripe to pin stripe the edges of the flames, silver 1/8", and was pretty pleased with its flexibility. You can tape nice smooth complete circles the size of quarters with this stuff if you're patient.
My most important piece of advice here is, know when you're fried, stop before you create more problems, know when you need a break and when to stop for the day. I cleared over the mint, then taped off the flames to give myself a safety net and an "end of the day" mark. Its good to work with friends who you can look right straight in the eye and say, "shut up or I'm taping your mouth shut". Course, if they're really friends, it doesn't mean that they will.
I plan to learn how to hand pin stripe, I just can't get use to the looks of taped striping... any place that the tape is going to intersect you should really cut it off flush and not overlap at all... overlapping makes "humps".
I keep hearing that the critical point in the finished paint job is around the two week mark, so I'll be checking on it to see if the paint job blows off the bike the first time he goes 70 mph.
I'm really grateful for this site, for my jobber, for the folks who offered me pointers, and for a buddy who wasn't afraid to go out on a limb and be the first. Ya gotta treasure friends like that! And, I'm also grateful for guys who didn't say, "ya dumb ole girl, you can't paint!"
Ride safe!