Triumph 675 Forums banner

$50 paint job: multiple colors, sharp lines. You can do it!

9K views 64 replies 23 participants last post by  dlk7u 
#1 · (Edited)
Hi everyone:

I just wanted to post up some pictures of my efforts to repaint a second-hand set of sharkskinz I picked up for my new (used) bike.

Here's what I started with:

Here's what I'm going for:

I just finished painting the tail last night (clear goes on this weekend), and I'm really, really happy with the results so far:







The real reason I wanted to put these pictures was to show that it is possible to do multiple colors on a rattlecan job and get sharp dividing lines:

The secret is 1/8" 3M plastic tape (also known as pinstripe tape). Unlike traditional painting/masking tape, the vinyl/plastic tape bends and stretches, which allows you to trace curves while still giving a nice sharp line. After I laid the tape down, I used a knife edge to make sure that it sealed well.

One additional trick that I've heard, but did not use, is to "seal" the edge of the tape by first spraying a coat of the "other" color (i.e., the color on the far side of the tape), then laying down the color you really want. that way, the color that bleeds through is the same as the color on the far side, so the bleeding will not be visible.

I still have a long way to go in this project. the finish is not perfect by any means. there are runs, and orange peel, and lots of other defects. but those are really due to my own laziness in prep, not an inherent problem with the rattlecan method. I'm convinced that any bleeding I experienced was due to poor prep, not the tape.

Bottom line: for something that I spray painted (with no experience) on top of a cardboard box sitting on a dirty street in front of my apartment, especially after doing at most a 5/8 ass job on the prep, I'm pretty happy with the results!

More pictures to follow!
 
See less See more
7
#41 · (Edited)
Sprayed the last of the clear on Sunday. I used 1000 grit sandpaper before applying the clear - this did a nice job of getting rid of all the little things that had fallen onto the paint. you have to be careful about sanding all the way through your paint, but if you have applied enough coats, the 1000 grit is also good for correcting any overspray that slipped through and is sitting on top.

Upper came out great. Lower, not so much. The lower front edge started bubbling when I applied the clear. Generally, the lower looks worse than the upper (which came out wayyy better that I expected), so I'm happy that the defect happened there. I also decided to skip the smaller white stripe in order to finish up this project and make space for the next one (repairing an Arrow can I picked up). I also was concerned that I wouldn't be able to get the edges of the small stripe parallel to each other and to the lower edge of the major stripe without a great deal of effort.

If i'm feeling motivated during the spring, maybe I'll repaint the lower. Otherwise, I'll just ride and be happy.

As for the tank - I picked up a used black tank off ebay. For now, I'm going to swap that one onto the bike. That will leave me with the stock grey tank (which has a dent in the corner) off the bike. I plan to repair and repaint that sometime during the winter, although probably not right away. I did a quick drawing of what the bike would look like with a black tank, and decided that it's not bad as long as I can add the white stripe to the lower edge. I may try to do this with vinyl. In general, I'm less enthusiastic about painting the tank myself b/c I know it'll get gas spilled on it.



I'll mount all the bodywork up sometime this week. For now, here's a pic of the upper and lower together:



And here's the bubbling on the lower corner. I believe this was due to not letting the black paint dry long enough (I only gave it a day) before applying the clear.

 
#43 ·
Thanks! Yeah, i was a little bummed about it when I first saw, but have since gotten over it. Also, it's convenient that the defects are confined to a single panel, so it's easy to just sand it down and give it another go later on if it bugs me. That said, I probably won't. This is a "$50" (more like $100) paint job, after all.

In general, I'm really, really happy with the end result. I think it looks even better in person than in the photos. Really recommend it for anyone who's got the time and space to pull it off.
 
#44 ·
I'll be painting a set or two of track plastics over the winter, but I think I'll be doing the "Rustoleum and sponge roller" paint job. It's cold outside, and spray painting inside isn't an option. I spray painted the plastics in my avatar and they came out ok, but I should have cleared them.

I've been inspired to do something similar to what you have instead of just white/black and stickers.
 
#45 ·
Cool- good luck with the project. I tried the foam roller method first. Two observations:

1. Foam roller seems to get a slightly better finish, but man does it take a long time. Also, remember to use a spray for the edges before you roll- otherwise you won't get sufficient coverage. After initially trying to do the tail via roller, I went back to spray the edges. I was so shocked at the speed difference - along with the similarity in quality - that I went back and sprayed the whole thing.

Interesting note: roller paints all seemed to come out the same. For sprays, the white and red come out (for me), much better than the blacks. The white in particular is really, really good. So, the relative quality of roller vs spray depends on which colors you're using.

2. Thanks for reminding me about this, since I meant to make this point before: the crisp dividing lines might only be possible with a spray. I think that even if you're careful with taping, rolled-on rustoleum will likely bleed under the tape due to the thinning (via mineral spirits). Not positive, but that's my concern.

I can think of two answers to this, if you're intent on using a roller:
(A) use pinstriping tape on the dividing lines. This looks nice and is worth doing anyway, but had the nice side effect of covering up mild bleeding.
(B) "seal" the tape edges by rolling on a coat of the "other" (far side) color first. That way, the color that bleeds through is the same as the far side and won't be visible. After the first (other color) coat, the tape edges should be solid with no bleeding, regardless of how thin the paint is.

Good luck with your project!
 
#49 ·
Cool- good luck with the project. I tried the foam roller method first. Two observations:

1. Foam roller seems to get a slightly better finish, but man does it take a long time.

Yeah, but it's still cheaper, no fumes, no overspray and the finish is less dependent on your abilities. My skills are crap with a rattle can!

I've just finished my second set of body work using the Rustoleum roller method, so that means it's only cost me $25 to do the job. I reckon I can get one more set of body work out of what's left in the paint tin, so that will mean each set only cost $16.66!!! Bargain.

2. Thanks for reminding me about this, since I meant to make this point before: the crisp dividing lines might only be possible with a spray. I think that even if you're careful with taping, rolled-on rustoleum will likely bleed under the tape due to the thinning (via mineral spirits). Not positive, but that's my concern.

Good call. My mate found this a problem with the roller method. I didn't as I just used one colour: Blue.
Well done on the paint job. Don't worry about the bubbling. That area is gonna take a hit from track debris anyway, so it's gonna get chipped. And if it looks great from 3ft away, then that's perfect as the only people 3 ft away from you will be travelling at the same speed on track and won't be looking at your paint job!
 
#46 ·
Good points. I will try the method you described for sealing the edges. I did get a little bleed through on my last set like you described even with spray paint. I was happy over all with the spray, but wondering how much nicer it would've came out if I sprayed a layer of clear over it?

I've got all winter, so 7-8 coats with the roll-on shouldn't be a problem. That's what I've read it can take for sufficient coverage.
 
#54 ·
Thanks! I'm surprised by how close the final product looks to what I imagined. Usually my plans go way worse than this.

Here's the outline. I think the reason you had trouble using the fill tool before is that the previous mock-ups may have contained unintentional shading/transparencies, which aren't registered as a single color for purposes of the fill tool. To try and correct for this, the image below uses an all-white fill (with grey borders, so the boundaries are preserved when you use a black fill) and saved it as a lower res jpeg. if it still doesn't work for you, i'll just e-mail you the original file.



Happy photochopping!
 
#58 ·
Thanks. I think it worked out to 2 cans each of primer, black, white, red and clear. All rustoleum brand.

Don't really remember the number of coats for the paint, but it was probably in the neighborhood of 6. I just hung out outside, sprayed a coat, relaxed for a few minutes, sprayed another coat, etc. More thin coats get better results than fewer, heavier coats. Remember to start your spray-stroke before (and finish after) the panel itself - this is like the "follow through" on your swing to make sure paint doesnt pool at the edges. There are 2 good videos on YouTube from a guy who repainted his car and his scooter (both red) using the roller method for one and a spray for the other.

Same deal with the clear - only difference is that the clear dries much faster, so I was able to start with the next coat almost right away.
 
#62 ·
Swapped on the black gas tank and mounted the tail today! Tank makes it look a lot better, I think. Still have to add the black pinstripe to the tail, and also the white stripe to the bottom corner of the tank. I'm using 3m auto vinyl for the tank stripe- cant bring myself to start rattle can painting a perfectly good tank.

Pics:









 
#65 ·
Thanks guys. FRide rents the garage space and we've got it split between a few riders, so the cost isn't too bad. I've been hoping to add some more lighting and turn it into a proper workspace - but we always wind up wrenching on the bikes instead! Having two 675s is convenient (and awesome!) too, since we only need half as many tools and spares :)
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top