vinyl striping vs painting

[axeugene27]

I am by no means a skilled painter or a wealthy man probably gonna spray bomb my bike proper like and clear with the spray 2k seems to be the fav around hear. My question is do vinyl decal stripes turn out pretty good if you clear over them. I don't have any desire to get crazy with custom painting but want the bike to look as good as it can. Is this a dumb idea? should i just attempt to spray the stripes as i imagine that would be cheaper by a little but it usually turns into a costly mistake with me having to start over. Also is it best to get the base coat down then stripe if painting or do the striping as an undercoat .. if that makes sense. If using decals should i clear the base coat prior to decal or base coat--> decal--> clear. Or should i just hire the pro painter who quoted me $450 for a 2 tone paint job. <-- is this a reasonable price i just need a tank and cowl painted. It is a scalloped tank job with two stripes on cowl outlined in gold is what he quoted me on.

Thanks fellers.

 

[Swapmeet Louie]

yes! they look fantastic under clear.

 

[Swapmeet Louie]

not as good as some one shot though....

 

[Bellicose]

Not a fan of clearing over vinyl, some times the solvents can loosien the adhesive on the vinyl then over time the decal will start lifting the clear.


What i would do (if i was in your position). Paint the colour of the 'stripes' you want, then mask over that in the pattern you want, paint over that in your final colour, un-mask stripes, clear over the whole lot. That way you won't have any problems at all.


This is what i do, red first, then use tape for patterns, then black (and gold leaf in this instance), pull tape and shoot clear.

 

[cyclefreak]

Re: vinyl striping vs painting

Bellicose: Nice work there, looks great!

Axeugene: I have seen both methods turn out great and both methods not so good. Personally I like spraying the stripes but thats just my preference. Go with what you feel most comfortable with. Just remember don't skimp on any prep work, and follow the paint manufacturers or strip kit makers directions to a T. Good luck and let is know how it turns out!

 

[HerrDeacon]

I'd rather painted but both look nice. You should try painting them on a small test pieice, like Bellicose demonstrated above, just to get the technique down and see if its something you'll be comfortable doing.

 

[johnu]

Not a fan of clearing over vinyl, some times the solvents can loosien the adhesive on the vinyl then over time the decal will start lifting the clear.


What i would do (if i was in your position). Paint the colour of the 'stripes' you want, then mask over that in the pattern you want, paint over that in your final colour, un-mask stripes, clear over the whole lot. That way you won't have any problems at all.


This is what i do, red first, then use tape for patterns, then black (and gold leaf in this instance), pull tape and shoot clear.

Nice. What kind of masking tape do you use?

 

[3DogNate]

Vinyl decal is pretty thick stuff when you start putting under clear coat. You are gonna have a really hard time getting enough build with a rattle can to completely bury the decal. 2K Clearcoat would do it though. I don't know that I'd clear over a decal as big as a scallop though. could be asking for pretty early delam of the clear coat over the decal.... $450 isn't a "bad" price for a "real" paint job on a tank and cowl if they are going to prep the parts, two tone and stripe, clear, color sand and buff out.... It's not bad at all. Plus you get to drop ugly stuff off and get back pretty, shiny things to pet and cherish... which is nice... and while the tins are out for paint you can work on stuff that is in your skill set and save your money there.

Not a bad opportunity to learn how to laydown a 2k finish if you have access to the tools also.... Lack of funds to pay someone pushed me into learning to do my own finishes... I save a ton of money now on paint thanks to having the ability to do it myself.

This is the last bike I painted.