Post your paint questions here!!!!!

[wedge]

Originally Posted by Hippysmack

Yeah, or what's left of it.
All my tins are cracking.
They had a good six months to cure before I installed them.
I used rattlecan duplicolor engine paint (ceramic) sprayed into my airbrush bottle.
Did everything but clear with it.
The tins weren't made for my bike and were under stress when installed.
The cracks came and I just smiled about it.

My dad painted his tank with a paint brush, got it real thick and it later cracked.
Looked badass actually.
I'll wait until the cracking subsides and fill them in with white then clear coat that.
Spiderwebbed tins in honor of my old man.

That may be a good look.

[zo718]

Hello,

I recently purchased a BikersChoice Sportster 2016 3.3 gallon bare metal tank.
I'd love to paint it myself but I am not even sure where to start. Should I seal the inside of the tank? Do I need to smooth it with sandpaper first? I've looked around for tutorials but no one really shares much info about what to buy, where to buy it. What are the prelim steps before painting? Where can I get paint that matches Harley colors? etc, etc.
I am sorta looking for straight forward instructions with a list of the materials I need to buy for the project.
I hope this is not too much to ask.
Anything helps! thank you all!

Zo

[Hippysmack]

I can't answer all those since the possibilities are endless.
Best from memory, all the aftermarkets I've looked into actually state to seal the inside.

The outside on a bare tank is never round or perfectly contoured.
Most use Bondo for that on bare metal to smooth the rounds especially at the front sides.
Not the whole tank though, just to get the shape right.

I used JB Weld around the 'joint' at the filler caps.
Built it up into a smooth round form the neck onto the tank surface.
Otherwise most will tell you not to get much paint in that area.
Spilled gas and water will settle in there and start the peeling process from there on.

[wedge]

I don't like sealing a tank, but depending on the welding involved, you may have no choice. I would test it to look for leaks and if I didn't find any I would bypass that step.

Are you well set up for painting Zo? In general, the paint and supplies to paint one tank can get very expensive fast if you don't do this regularly and have some of the things you need already on hand.

Prep is 80% of the job, so don't expect to run a little sandpaper over it and get straight to painting. Like Hippysmack said, you will need to rough sand the tank first, then you will undoubtedly need to do a little Bondo work on it. Always use paper (wet and dry) that is coarse enough to do the shaping fast and do not continue sanding once you hit metal in the area you are working on. If you do continue, you will remove Bondo that needed to remain in place. If you use paper that is too fine the job will be lumpy due to never being able to clear the excess without running into the metal and having that cause you to cut the Bondo too deep. So you end up spending a lot of time and getting nowhere.


Once you get it roughly shaped, then you prime it with a sanding primer that will allow you to go to finer paper in stages. Look back at what I wrote in here a few posts back, you need to work the finer paper quickly for each stage. Just remove the bigger scratches from the last coarser layer, then move to the next finest paper. cross hatch the grits, meaning, sand with the 36 grit to shape, go to 220 to get rid of 36 grit scratches, and make sure you don't hit metal and get lumps into it. Once you hit metal, further sanding takes away the Bondo faster than the metal, so the surface will get bumpy. Best to stop there and use some filler coat or thick primer to give you a buffer from the metal. It's a process and if you do go to far, you will start over and over until you get the feel for it and know when to stop. With Urethane base coat clear coat you only need to get the finish to 400 grit before the base coat. Lay down the base, and then lay down a couple of clear coats so that your finish sanding doesn't cut through the clear and take out the thin base coat. Clear it again if you think you are getting close. Then once it's nice and smooth at 400 grit again, lay down more clear and then light sand and buff.

Here in Southern California, I know where to buy small quantities of the paints I need, and it's still expensive but better than buying quarts when you need a tablespoon.

Let me know if you are in Southern Cal. I can give you a place to buy from if you are local.

[Hippysmack]

As wedge said, 80% is prep.
While you are shaping, stop every now and then and run a water hose stream across the tank.
That will reveal certain areas that are low or more gritty than others.

Once you get the rough shape in, start with the progression of sanding grits.
Again run water over it to test the shape and grit of the finish.
Once you feel comfortable with the shape, spray a light coat of primer, let dry and run water over that.
Wet sand, then run water over that. etc.

Each piece is different and no two tanks are exactly the same.
Weather plays a huge role also.

I'd like to try to write out some general procedure.
But, honestly, it would be in the form of a novel.

I'm no expert but I know what I do from practice and research.

Wedge has asked about your tool setup.
The air compressor can be the heart of a good paint job.
Too little capacity and you run your tank out of air before finishing a pass.
Or not enough pressure and you gunk up the gun and splatter your finish.
The guns usually come with a minimum CFM requirement from the air compressor.
So it gets technical to pair a gun with a compressor.

Gun type and nozzle size are also big issues.
As well as ventilation.
You'd be surprised what you accomplish with a rattlecan also.

Using a spray can on a BBQ grill is pretty straight forward.
But painting tanks and fenders are a whole different animal.
But it all depends on the finish you are wanting.
I'd think if you are looking for HD factory colors and finish, call the dealership or a good reputable sprayer.

Otherwise practice, practice, practice.
And also as wedge mentioned, it can get very expensive really quick.
That's why I used rattlecan paint sprayed into my bottle.
I payed out the tail section for my training and I used the cheap way to do it.

And no matter what you screw up, it can be removed for another shot at it.
That's another area where it can get expensive.

Professionals will give you advice from a professional use perspective.
Shade trees (like me) will give you more everyday use perspectives.

So how can you build a 'how to' list with so many different variables?

[zo718]

This is all great information. I am already working on a list of things I should look into with more details.

Very helpful! keep them coming.

thanks!

[Rollbar]

Does anyone know what the color name/color code is for this tank?
Bought it some yrs ago and I need some touch up paint for it.
Use to have the decal with 5 on it.
Below are some pictures of the OEM look, and some out in the sun and shade to help give you an idea.
You can probably tell by the sticker, I can’t.
Thanks again.





Direct sun.




Shade:



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Hippysmack]

If I'm seeing the colors right, black and orange in the certain sticker is from a 92-93 883.


From the Sportsterpedia history section:
http://sportsterpedia.com/doku.php/s...ection19901999
1992 colors:
XL 883 (all models): Vivid Black, Bright Candy Ruby, Red Voyage Metallic, Candy Sapphire Sun-Glo.

1993 colors:
XL 883 (all models): Vivid Black, Mandarin Orange, Scarlett Red, Bright Victory Red Sun Glo, Bright Aqua Sun Glo, Bright Aqua Sun Glo, Bright Victory Red Sun Glo, Scarlett Red.

[Rollbar]

Ok thank you very much!

Originally Posted by Hippysmack

If I'm seeing the colors right, black and orange in the certain sticker is from a 92-93 883.





From the Sportsterpedia history section:

http://sportsterpedia.com/doku.php/s...ection19901999

1992 colors:

XL 883 (all models): Vivid Black, Bright Candy Ruby, Red Voyage Metallic, Candy Sapphire Sun-Glo.



1993 colors:

XL 883 (all models): Vivid Black, Mandarin Orange, Scarlett Red, Bright Victory Red Sun Glo, Bright Aqua Sun Glo, Bright Aqua Sun Glo, Bright Victory Red Sun Glo, Scarlett Red.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[SLW210]

The Sticker with the 5 is a 91-92 as best I could tell.

Candy Ruby Red is the tank color.

http://www.eharleyparts.com/cart/tou...uch-Up_98600JA