Has anyone had any experience with painting old fairings? Ive got some real scrappy units on the ZXR. Was wondering how much hassle is involved in complete sand-down and respray with rattlecans (dont have compressor). Ive also considered plastidip; how durable is this option? Any feedback would be great.
rub down involves wet n dry with detergent in water and wrap on a rubber or cork block. start with 320 grade and finish with 600 grade and final rub with a worn out 600 grade.time and patience are essential. the better the preparation the better the final job.
The fairings on my zxr are in pretty poor condition and seeing as it's my first bike I'm going to fill all the scratches and gouges and prime them and vinyl wrap them.
mate, a good rub down and a spray of undercoat and a further rub should get a smooth finish. avoid spray putty as can shrink. bog the imperfections and rub and spray again. if you cannot afford automotive 2 pak look at industrial 2 pak. a litre of paint plus harderner should give a good cover. industrial 2 pak comes in standard colours.you will be much happier.
Your local paint shop will be able to do you colours in a spray can, not sure what they use but as long as it's not enamel you'll be ok. Sand your fairings back to the plastic then get a can of plastic primer & sand after the first coat then do a second, light coats or it'll run. Prime with a compatible primer to your top coat paint & light sand between coats to fill any imperfections. Get a small tin of spot putty for any small scratches & imperfections & sand again & prime again, light coats. Control your urges to lay on the colour, get the undercoat as perfect as you can cause the colour will show up all the mess underneath, there will always be a mess your prep will minimise it. When you've had enough of priming & waiting to dry & sanding then put a light coat of colour on & walk away, don't try to get a rich glossy coat on in the first hit or you'll get runs & you'll be sanding for the rest of your life. The more light coats you put on the better you'll get at it. Put your stickers / decals on after plenty of drying time. like day's. Get a can of compatible clear & do it all again with a couple of light coats. You might as well give it a go, it's the only way to learn. Weve got a bloke here in town that sandblasts metal items like the tank for $50 incl a primer coat. Extreme sandblasting at Heatherbrae, bead blasting as well. No sanding back tanks anymore, heaven.
you can also blast yr plastic items i have them done regular for customers ////// if the blaster knows what he is doing///// but be warned iv seen blasterd compleatly knacker steel items like doors and bonnets and car bodys cos they over heat the parts with the blast
