1982 CB750F...Better Devil

chickenStripCharlie said:
how? Just 1 can of 2k clear is like 30 bucks up here! :(
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My local paint shop sells Spraymax 2k Clear for $18 per can. US dollars. One can will do the whole bike unless you want a really deep clear. Eastwood sells theirs for $22 and Amazon sells the Spraymax for $22, as well. A Spray Bomb kit from Ed Roth, which is one can ea of base, flake and candy, plus one can of 2k Clear costs $79.
 
irk miller said:
My local paint shop sells Spraymax 2k Clear for $18 per can. US dollars. One can will do the whole bike unless you want a really deep clear. Eastwood sells theirs for $22 and Amazon sells the Spraymax for $22, as well. A Spray Bomb kit from Ed Roth, which is one can ea of base, flake and candy, plus one can of 2k Clear costs $79.
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hmm, ok. Maybe i gotta stop painting outside and wasting paint then. lol
 
Irk knows a shitload more about this kind of thing than me so take whatever I say with a pinch of salt. Plus this is the first thing I've ever painted (apart from a few airfix models back in the day) so no doubt there are other other ways and others paints etc. But as a breakdown, what I bought for prepping and painting this tank (in CAD not US) was as follows. Worth noting maybe that once you've bought a lot of the stuff (tools, bondo etc) you won't need to buy it again for a while.

Bondo, tools (spreaders, tack cloth, glazing putty) and sandpaper - $40
Wax and Grease Remover - $15
3M sanding block - $15
1 x 2K SprayMax primer - $30
1 x Duplicolor primer sealer - $15
2 x House of Kolor cans paint - $40 each
1 x 2K Spraymax Gloss clearcoat - $30

So minus the tools and bondo I'm in it for $155 CAD, that's just over a bill US. No idea what it costs to have a tank painted professionally but you get what you pay for - I have a couple of dust gremlins in the clear which you would absolutely not get with a pro. I used the whole can of clear on the tank - making a can last a whole bike would be doable I guess, but I went balls out clearing this tank. Guess it depends on lots of things, but me I like to have a go at these things myself and the more I can do in the garage the better.
 
chickenStripCharlie said:
That looks great!

Question .... have you done a breakdown of DIY vs paying for paint job? Spray paint cost really adds up. One can doesn't really go that far. How much did you spend for all the 2k paint that you needed and how much would it have been to just pay someone?

I'm going to be painting my tank soon and I hate paint. I'm not very good at it, so investing a lot in expensive paint for mediocre results might not be for me. lol
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I forget that I can normally border hop and get my paint way cheaper than we get hosed for it here in Canada. I get Duplicolor cans when exchange is 30% range for half the price of CT, here I can get 2k clear from my Napa for 25 bucks so I do and like Irk says one can does a whole bike and good coverage and I also paint outdoors.
 
Jim take the tools that can be reused out of the cost for sure and you're well in the under 1 US bill range. I can do my GL1000 tank, side covers and fenders with 1.5 cans of colour and 1 can of 2k and whatever in primer. Good thing too because I use the wrong painters tape last time and had to redo it 3 times until I figured out WTF was staying on the tank after un masking the 2 tone. I used 2 cans of 2K clear on the magna I did because I wanted it deep and lots of room to wet sand cut and buff. but my wing 1 can was plenty.
 
and last quote I got for a pro to paint a tank and side covers was $700 cash. $800 if credit card, he's have to declare the income.
 
There you go ChickenStrip - you can save yourself a bunch of money doing it yourself. Have at it mate :cool:
 
Maritime said:
Jim take the tools that can be reused out of the cost for sure and you're well in the under 1 US bill range. I can do my GL1000 tank, side covers and fenders with 1.5 cans of colour and 1 can of 2k and whatever in primer. Good thing too because I use the wrong painters tape last time and had to redo it 3 times until I figured out WTF was staying on the tank after un masking the 2 tone. I used 2 cans of 2K clear on the magna I did because I wanted it deep and lots of room to wet sand cut and buff. but my wing 1 can was plenty.
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I erred on the side of caution for sure - I followed TwistedWheelz's how-to and ended up using pretty much two full cans of paint on the tank. Lots of coats for sure, but with no experience in this I couldn't say how things would have looked with just 1 can. They emptied pretty fast though - I wonder how much actual paint is in these things? Not a whole lot that's for sure. Paint for dollar - aerosols are not the cheapest option. But our only one - short of a paintbrush or paint gun set-up.
 
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Flop? That's what it's called? Good word, I like that. Yeah, I had no idea the paint would come out like this, won't lie it caught me off guard. The aerosol came from Coast Airbrush in Cali who'll mix up any HOK Shimrin for you - it laid on well but the colour only really popped once the clear went down. The Shimrin line has pearls in it apparently, so I guess the clue was there...
 
There are additives they put in paint to control the flop but its mostly the size of the metallics and pearls - large particles=more flop. Contributing factors are substrate color and how the paint is sprayed. Typically thin, dry coats sprayed from far away produce more flop ats the metalics and pearls will stand up on end when they contact the surface due to static electricity. this allows the light to be absorbed more readily by the substrate when the panel is not directly reflecting light. Matching flop is critical in paint matching. If you've ever seen a panel on a car that was matched and it was the right color but the wrong flop you'll know how important this can be.
 
That I did not know, cheers Doc. Truth be told I'm glad I learnt this after the event - you'd've had me in a knot if I over-thought the flop before the paint flew!
 
wow, that's way too steep.

Guess i'll just stick to my own mediocre results lol.

People want way too much for most services nowdays. Local used parts guy wants more for most parts than i can get on ebay. Asked for fork rebuild. He said $300 ..... I guess i'll just keep doing everything myself. Sure, it's my build and i should be the one doing it myself, but it'd be nice to get things outsourced every now and then, but the prices are just too high.

Again, beauty paint job on that tank. Really! :)
 
Ha, i didn't know the term but I have had metalic look wrong on one panel vs another when spraying and had to go back and change the angle I sprayed to get them matched up. Kool. And Jim Ive found when you buy a custom mix spray bomb they seem to have less paint than an off the shelf colour. Ive had some made for matching a car repair and they never go as far as a can of standard stuff for some reason.
 
Yeah I'm glad I ordered two cans of the stuff. The method I followed called for a lot of coats so maybe that was it, but still each can didn't seem to go that far.

One thing that I've learnt is that you absolutely can not fuck around with 2K aerosols. They've got all kinds of nasty shit in them so you want to make sure you're wearing at least a decent respirator mask (not a dust mask), and ideally some kind of air-fed mask if possible. I have a decent respirator mask, gloves and full overalls so no skin is exposed. No messing - you do not want this stuff getting where you don't need it. No bueno.
 
Most 2K clears have isocynates which are real toxic. they have no odor and can absorb through your skins and eyes as well which makes them particularily dangerous. Depending where you live it can be illegal to spray them in residential areas
 
Let's not forget, all of the above material costs can almost double if the first attempt is ruined. :)

But, achieving something isn't all about cost savings but self satisfaction which can be priceless.
 
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