Motorcycle and chopper painting tutorial

PAINT AND PREP SUPPLIES
Thinner
Plastic Filler
Flowable Putty
Primer and hardeners
Epoxy Sealer (Optional)
Base color Paint
Clear and hardener
Sandpaper by grit: 80,120,400,600,1500,2000

PAINT BOOTH IN A PINCH
If you're like me, you don't have the luxury of a down-draft spray booth in your garage.
Here's what I did. I emptied out a storage area that's attached to the back of my garage.
I covered the walls with white poly, and stuck a variable speed fan in the window.
I then went around with a roll of insulation tape and sealed the edge of the fan to the surrounding poly on the walls.
Now onto the lights. After the first time you try painting something, you'll quickly learn just how critical a well lit paint area is.
In fact when it comes to lighting, the brighter your paint area the better.
A buddy gave me a couple four-tube florescent light fixtures, which I hung on either sides of my new spraybooth. It's good to have reflective walls. Lining the walls with white plastic not only saves your walls, but it's also quite reflective.

SAFETY
Before I continue, I want to stress safety. It's a really bad I idea to paint in a room that's attached to your home. In fact, it may be against the law in some municipalities. furthermore, paint fumes are not only super toxic, they're highly flammable. Make sure your lights are wired properly, and that your fixtures are completely encased with lens covers in place. Last but not least, be sure you have a good quality respirator with the correct filters for the type of paint you're using.

PAINT EQUIPMENT
For tools you'll need at least two spray guns, a air regulator with a water trap, a compressor, and of course some air line. As aforementioned you'll need 2 paint guns... one for painting primer, and another for painting base and clear coats.

PREP FOR PAINT
Be sure your fuel and oil tanks are pressure tested and leak free before you begin.
Ideally, it's good to sandblast your steel parts, especially if they have old paint on them.
If you choose not to sandblast, be sure to sand them really good and wipe them down with a non oil-based degreaser before starting the job.

The next step is to apply filler to the low spots and any trouble areas. It's a matter  of personal preference, but I prefer to spray a coat of epoxy primer prior to spraying on the base coat. This gives a nice base for the filler to stick to.  prepare your filler in small amounts (it cures fast) and apply it smoothly and  evenly onto your work piece.

After the filler has dried, sand it smooth with 80 grit and look it over for any low spots or chips, then fill and sand again. After the necessary rounds of filler and sanding are completed, it's time to spray on the primer.

Spray on a couple of coats of epoxy primer. After the primer is dry, grab a
spray can of black paint and very lightly spray it on your work piece. This is your guide coat.
The light black spray will show any ripples, low spots or defects in your handy work. To repair the  trouble areas that the guide coat exposed,  you'll want to use a light finishing putty instead of filler.  Put on the putty in nice even coats, then smooth it off with 80 grit sandpaper (wrapped around a foam sanding pad). Once you get the high spots leveled down, smooth it off even more with 120 grit, then completing it with 400 grit.  You're now ready for the last coats of primer.
Once the primer has dried, sand it thoroughly with 400 grit  to give it a roughed surface for the base coat to adhere to. I like to lay down a coat of epoxy sealer  just before applying the base colour coat. In addition to providing a really nice surface for applying the color coat, it also helps stop any solvents from popping through and causing bubbles in the clear coat. Be sure to follow the paint manufacturers spec sheets with regards to time between coats, mixing ratios and painting temperature. Not following the guidelines will cause you much grief...trust me.

BASE COAT/CLEAR COAT
Now comes the color coat. Spray on the colour coats as per your paint manufacturer's tech sheet.
Now comes the clear. After the first round of clear has dried, wet sand it smooth with 600 grit.
You'll notice ripples appear in the clear as you sand. Keep sanding until the clear is even and the ridges have disappeared. If you are painting graphics on, now is the time to put them on. After applying the graphics, cover them with another round of clear. It may take one or more coats of clear to completely bury the graphics. Be sure to wet sand down with 600 grit between rounds of clear.
After the last coat of clear is on, sand it down flat with 600 grit like before. When it's nice and smooth, finish it off with 1500 grit. If you want to get it even more silky smooth, go for a final session of 2000 grit.

POLISHING
Now for the rewarding part. The final step is to polish it to a mirror finish. You'll need a variable speed polisher, a buffing pad, and some buffing compound. There are many different brands of buffing compound available. Your local automotive supply store will be able to recommend something.

This little tutorial is meant to give you a basic idea of the paint processs. For more indepth guide visit the link below.
<a href="http://www.torkypig.com/paint/">http://www.torkypig.com/paint/</a>

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Motorcycle and Chopper tutorials by Torkypig.com
<a href="http://www.torkypig.com">http://www.torkypig.com</a>