Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Hi,

A friend's returning from the US so I was thinking of getting him to bring me back a couple of cans of automotive clear coat. The kind that comes in rattle cans (they don't sell automotive paints in spray cans here)

What brands should I look at? Something that's reasonably priced and good. Does not necessarily have to be top-of-the-line (it'll be a rattle can job after all!)

thanks!

Shu
Singapore

It's actually likely that he won't be able to bring them back for you, as they are pressurized cans and can't be taken on a plane.

Products in spray cans have to be transported by cargo ship for safety reasons.

The only rattlecan clearcoat I can recommend is the Duplicolor High heat clear coat. If you can get it to you, that is. The rest I've used aren't Gas-proof, including Duplicolor truck van and SUV paint. I would think the epoxy-based wheel coatings would be good, too. I'm not sure you can rub them out, though...never tried...not worth it on a wheel. Even though it's just a rattlecan job, you don't want gas to eat it. For example...This is a rattlecan job...Still alot of work.

Aaagh! I did it again! I can't stop...Help me Gene!

WhyteGryphon wrote:It's actually likely that he won't be able to bring them back for you, as they are pressurized cans and can't be taken on a plane.

Products in spray cans have to be transported by cargo ship for safety reasons.

hmm that's a good point. Almost forgot about that.

Maybe he brings them onboard in a carry-on? I'll see what the airline says.

thanks for pointing that out to me!

ronboskz650sr wrote:The only rattlecan clearcoat I can recommend is the Duplicolor High heat clear coat. If you can get it to you, that is. The rest I've used aren't Gas-proof, including Duplicolor truck van and SUV paint. I would think the epoxy-based wheel coatings would be good, too. I'm not sure you can rub them out, though...never tried...not worth it on a wheel. Even though it's just a rattlecan job, you don't want gas to eat it. For example...This is a rattlecan job...Still alot of work.

Aaagh! I did it again! I can't stop...Help me Gene!

awesome looking bike! Wouldn't have guessed it was a rattle can job!

I'll look into duplicolour paints...thanks for the heads-up!

Ron,
I'm still amazed how well that looks! I'm thinking of spraying clear-coat on my KLR. I kinda like the color, I'd just like it to look a little deeper and have more shine. The PO didn't say but it looks like fairly fresh paint... I don't see any nicks or scratches. Do you think I need to prep it in any way, and if so, what do you recommend?

If it's factory paint, you should be able to use anything on it after a good scuffing. If it's unknown paint, Don't use lacquer. If it's lacquer, positively, you can put anything over it, unless it's really fresh. If so, it should cure a minimum of 30 days to get all the solvents evaporated out of it. 60 days if it's humid.

Enamel is a safe bet, but can run if you put it on too heavy. Still, you can wet sand it smooth if it runs, but you have to wait longer before you sand. We used lacquer on Chris's bike because of the short working times, and we had alot of painting/masking/sanding/fading/etc. to do. Just to put clear enamel on wouldn't be that time consuming, so waiting longer probably wouldn't be a big deal. After you wet sand it smooth, you buff it with 3m super duty or other like compound to get the shine. It will really look nasty after wetsanding. If you can spray real clearcoat with a gun, it can be applied heavier without running, and will flow out to a gloss as it cures. That's really the ultimate.

Gene, is there any way to find out if the paint is lacquer? If so you can use the Duplicolor high heat clearcoat after scuffing with 320 or 400 grit sandpaper and tack clothing it clean. I think there might be some high heat enamels, too. Any of the high heat paints should say Gas resistant, or highly resistant to gas, oil, etc. Another thing to thinkabout. The "metalcast" paint we used said it was resistant to gas. We never got to find out, because we used SUv clearcoat over it. We do know the SUV paint is NOT gas proof, now. Because the clear was thick, we can't tell if the damage extended into the red color or not. We just buffed it out and used a high polymer polish over the whole thing. The polish is gas-proof, but I would have preferred not to find out the other stuff wasn't. Just passing that on. The clear wheel paint is also reported to be gas proof, but I don't know if you can buff it.

So...sand with 320-400 and tack cloth. The rest depends on the paint itself. If you put lacquer over enamel, you'll know it right away! If you have a spot on the bottom of the tank for testing this, it might save you some time and heartache. It will bubble and blister unmistakeably if the paint isn't lacquer underneath the new wet paint. If it is lacquer, all will be well, as the new paint eats into and attaches to the old, becoming one with it. Long answer...it's alot easier to start from scratch.

ultimax wrote:
Maybe he brings them onboard in a carry-on? I'll see what the airline says.

Not a chance.

They don't generally let you bring anything potentially explosive in your carryon, especially anything in a pressurized container.

Maybe check with a local automotive paint shop and see if they can get anything in for you, or barring that, take a road trip to the next country over and see if you can find anything there that you can bring back.

Awesome paint job!

You won't be able to carry or have any item such as spray paint on a plane, even in your luggage. Nor will you be able to send it in the regular mail. I don't know about Fedex or UPS but... maybe some could be ordered and shipped via the internet. Just a possibility.

I have a fairing I want painted and I want to do it myself. I considered metallic spraypaint and clearcoat. I was told that I should get a professional to do it. Yeh, I know but I am an artist and I do know about paint and besides that stuff is expensive if you pay someone. I want to get away with $20-30 and be done. I can always get some one to do it if it gets akward on me...

I'm putting a pic of the fairing and my bike. The fairing is ABS plastic and glossy black. Do I need to prime it first for the best results or will straight on plastic do? Do I sand the primer... and the paint... and the clear coat before the final clearcoat?

What should I use to wash the Item before starting?

Usually the abs is painted to protect from UV deterioration. You can probably wetsand lightly with 320 grit to scuff the paint for adhesion. If you do this and it appears not to be painted, use Duplicolor adhesion promoter, prime, sand with 400, paint. It's your choice on sanding between colors and clear. If you use a base/clear system (not usually spray cans) there is no sanding between coats. On Chris's bike, we did it both ways. I believe the parts we sanded before clearcoating were easier to sand and polish after the clear. The problem is drying time. If you choose to sand between color and clear, you go outside the window for clearcoat application and have to wait a week to avoid lifting the paint. I did manage to get one of his pieces painted, sanded, dried and clearcoated in just an hour. The next day I sanded, and polished and it was done. The day was very hot and dry..humidity will kill it. Most days, this won't work. I think next time I will paint the color, followed in half an hour by the three coats of clear and see how it turns out. Then just sand and buff the topcoat. Y ou can always redo it if you don't like the result. Live and learn, it's just paint.