painting

[klutchbuster350]

Hey, I plan on painting some parts on the z, and i want to know which stuff is best, Its all going to be spray paint. Also, should I use a primer first? Any tips on getting the paint ot last longer and not chip?

 

[yamarider]

Definitely start out with sanding it down good, and a coat of primer. Use a good brand name paint like krylon, use enough coats of the paint until you get good even color, then to make it more durable throw on a bunch of clearcoat, maybe like 5 coats or something.

What are you painting? If you are planning on painting the a-arms, i'd recommend you don't, unless all you do is ride track, and well maintained trails. No matter what kind of spray paint you use, it can still get ripped off easily from riding in tall grass and brush, and that kind of thing.

 

[klutchbuster350]

Definitely start out with sanding it down good, and a coat of primer. Use a good brand name paint like krylon, use enough coats of the paint until you get good even color, then to make it more durable throw on a bunch of clearcoat, maybe like 5 coats or something.

What are you painting? If you are planning on painting the a-arms, i'd recommend you don't, unless all you do is ride track, and well maintained trails. No matter what kind of spray paint you use, it can still get ripped off easily from riding in tall grass and brush, and that kind of thing.

Well i plan on painting my hubs, sprocket cover, and I',m thinking about doing my a-arms but I'll powder coat those when i send my frame off to get gusseted/ pc'd.
So use brand names, sand it down, and clear coat.

 

[yamarider]

What's the sprocket cover made out of on the 400? Is it metal or plastic?

On those parts you shouldn't have to worry much about the durability of the paint. If you want something that looks really nice, go to an auto parts store and get some dupli-color metallic paint, and some of their clearcoat. I painted a few parts of my warrior with that, as well as a few parts on my brother's 250ex and it looks sooo much better than a solid color. I'll try to get some pics tomorrow.

 

[bickel76]

i agree with yamarider. the only thing that i can tell you is that black metallic looks great, but it turns out looking like a dark grey. i would also go with a lot of clearcoat. it will help with durability and with the depth of the color as well. i wouldnt paint my a-arms unless they are already shot. like you said, i'd go with a powder coat for that. anyway, i'll post some pics too of what the black metallic looks like.

 

[klutchbuster350]

Thanks guys, i really appreciate it alot!
Any idea how many cans it should take me to do a good job on the parts i specified?
Oh, and i believe the sprocket cover is plastic!

 

[yamarider]

for just those parts i'd say 1 can of primer, one can of paint, and 2 cans of clear.

For the sprocket cover there's one more step you should add since it's plastic. Start out with a few light coats of adhesion promoter so the primer sticks to it good, and doesn't get those little dimples in it from the paint not sticking right.

Give everything a good 15 minutes in between coats to dry, and make the coats light. Not so light that the part just gets a mist of paint, but not so much that it starts to run. And don't paint on a day if it's raining or very humid, or the paint won't dry fast enough, and will glaze over instead of getting nice, smooth, and glossy.

Follow all that and you should be all set.

 

[klutchbuster350]

Ok thanks, I will definetly be referrinf back to this thread when i buy all the paint lol.
I think im going ot have ot wait though, been rainin like hell lately...

 

[yamarider]

 

[warriorguy5]

those aarms look good !i really like the red.

 

[bickel76]

klutch,
i posted a pic of my stator cover and a-arms that are painted metallic black. they arent the best pics because they were taken after a day of riding and i just hosed off the bike. if you click on my webshots link, they are located under "warrior misc" and titled a-arms and stator cover. i'll try and replace them with better pics after i spend the day getting it all cleaned up.

 

[klutchbuster350]

Ok, thanks dude, I will definetly look at that, I just convinced my dad to buy all the primer, paint, and clearcoating for me sine he gets 20% off everything at a pepboys near bye. Any knwo how long it would take for everything to dry? Im thinking one day minimum, two to be safe?

 

[yamarider]

i'd probably wait about a day before I handled them just to be sure

 

[warriorspeed350]

got to love wire mesh and zip ties, it helps anything

 

[boxhead]

Be sure to sand the parts down good to about 600 grit, that'll help the paint to stick the best. The best way to paint with the metallic paints is to add a static charge to the parts. The electricity will draw the paint out in very nice coats. Another way to harden the coats of paint is a heat gun, that'll bake the paint on nicely. You'll want to bake it after the paint has dried for a day or two. Most spray paints will remain softer until they are baked on, they'll dry but still chip and peel very easily.

 

[klutchbuster350]

Be sure to sand the parts down good to about 600 grit, that'll help the paint to stick the best. The best way to paint with the metallic paints is to add a static charge to the parts. The electricity will draw the paint out in very nice coats. Another way to harden the coats of paint is a heat gun, that'll bake the paint on nicely. You'll want to bake it after the paint has dried for a day or two. Most spray paints will remain softer until they are baked on, they'll dry but still chip and peel very easily.

How would you go about staticing the parts? and does it really matter how close i get to the parts with the heat gun? I'm going to have to wait about a week for all this damn rain to stop, its been raining like 5 days straight

 

[boxhead]

Hook it up to anything with a charge, and don't let it ground out. You just need to avoid burning up the paint, but still get it hot.

 

[klutchbuster350]

Hook it up to anything with a charge, and don't let it ground out. You just need to avoid burning up the paint, but still get it hot.

think hooking it up to a battery charger would work?

 

[warriorspeed350]

possibly,........try it!!!!.......doit,doit,doit,doit!!!