What I did yesterday

[JB1290]

Some more progress today....
I finished up the body work so, I sprayed the filler primer. I'm happy to see that There is only one high spot on the tank that needs to be sanded a bit more. Better to see it now than after the color is on it. I still need to do some wet sanding before the white sealer primer goes on anyways. After talking with a buddy of mine, he advised me to wait at least a week to put the color on it. This is because the body filler will shrink a little after the primer is on and if you spray the color on before it has settled, it can mess up your paint. I'm no expert so I figure, why take the chance? I can wait another week.
Here is a few "before" pics.




And After...







I just realized I still have the front fender to do yet...
Time to get back to work.

[fishball]

That is some very meticulous work JB.  Did you have to strip the paint off the tank and other panels before priming them?

[JB1290]

No, I didnt strip it. I just sanded it really well and used body filler to fill in the dings and low spots. It is very tedious work.I'll be glad once its done.

[RIDERED]

very nice job, jb cant wait to see it all together

[JB1290]

I took 1 step forward this morning and then took 3 steps backwards this afternoon.

  I got up and wet sanded all of the body panels this morning. Everything was perfectly smooth and ready for the white base coat. Got everything prepped, wiped down and cleaned up the garage so there would be less chance for dust. mixed up a batch of Omni MP 171 white sealer primer with the MP 175 catalyst and started laying it down. Had to make several adjustments to my paint gun and thought it was correct but, the primer layed down really thick and started looking like a spray in bedliner in a pick up truck. I should have stopped after the first panel was painted but, I thought that it would settle once the tank and panels were completely covered. I was wrong.  Now, I have to let everything dry enough so I can re sand everything down again and make it smooth. 

  I called my painter buddy and asked him what could have caused this. He said it could be that the gun wasn't clean, the air pressure was too low or, I was unlucky enough to get a bad batch of paint from the supplier. Now, I thoroughly cleaned the gun before I started and was shooting the paint at about 40-45 PSI which, ironically, is what my buddy uses when he paints so, I'm going with the last option. I got a bad batch. Either way, I have to pretty much start all over before I can lay down the color. Something told me yesterday that once I finished the filler primer and got everything smooth, I should just run to AutoZone and just buy a few rattle cans of white paint for the base. Some advice for everyone here, when your gut tells you to do something (or not do something), trust your gut. Sorry for the rant. I'm just a little frustrated.
Its hard to see in these pics but, heres what everything looks like now..

[RIDERED]

i can feel your pain, i started mine monday, was ready to paint tuesday then i cut thru the paint so i had to start over, very frustrating but very rewarding in the end,

my guess is low pressure it looks uniformly textured? but thats my uneducated guess , keep at it you'll get it

[luckylindy]

 I hear on the frustration of painting(and prep).  My attempts at painting make me wonder why I want to do it.

[JB1290]

I figured out what went wrong with the paint. It was MY fault. I needed to reduce the primer a little more. It is supposed to be the consistancy of milk or a little thinner. What I sprayed was the consistancy of chocolate milk. Chalk it up to a learning experience. I'll get it right this week and the plan is to get the color on by next weekend.

God, give me strength!   

[RIDERED]

you don't measure it out??????????

[JB1290]

Of course I measured it out. The problem is, the tech sheet only calls for 2 parts primer to 1 part catalyst. What it doesn't tell you is, it should be reduced a little. Even the guy at the paint shop told me all I had to do is mix the primer and catalyst. It just boils down to misinformation.

[JB1290]

Got everything sanded smooth today and got the basecoat sprayed. Once its totally dry, all I have to do is do a light wet sand and I can finally spray the green. Looks like we will have some decent weather this week with low humidity so, I told my wife I plan on spending my evenings out in the garage. Next weekend looks like rain so, I have a small window of opportunity to get this paint finished.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel now. 

[Brittles]

Got everything sanded smooth today

Dude, the thread is titled "What I Did Yesterday" and you did this stuff today!!

Just messing. Good luck with your project and don't forget the pics!!

[B83550nighthawk]

I always use a viscosity cup to check the thickness of my paints, especially the base coat. Are you using different nozzle sizes on the gun, or are you using separate guns for the primer, base and clearcoat?

[RIDERED]

Of course I measured it out. The problem is, the tech sheet only calls for 2 parts primer to 1 part catalyst. What it doesn't tell you is, it should be reduced a little. Even the guy at the paint shop told me all I had to do is mix the primer and catalyst. It just boils down to misinformation.

oh im sorry i misread ya or something, i never add more than they say, thats why i asked, good luck

[JB1290]

Yeah, Brittles...I thought about restarting this over in the Project Logs thread but, it seemed like a lot of work. 

B83550nighthawk, I only have the one nozzle for the gun. And, I only have 1 gun to spray all of my paints with. I don't know exactly what size nozzle it is off the top of my head. (I'm at work) Like I said before, I am definitely no expert at painting. I'm basically learning as I go along. Since I kinda screwed up the basecost the first time, I am taking no chances and taking my time with the color. I'm going to do a "test coat" on something else to be sure I have the mixture right and the gun settings correct. I really don't want to start over again. I'll post more pics when I start the color.

[JB1290]

I got off of work yesterday totally amped about finally spraying the color. I got everything prepped, hung up and wiped down with pre clean.

I started laying down the paint in light coats and all I could think is how nice this House of Kolor paint lays down. Everything was going great. I did everything that the tech sheets said to do. Start off with light coats doing a 75% overlap and letting it "flash" for 15 minutes in between coats.
The color looks alot lighter in these pics than what the end result will be since the coats are so thin.




Like I said, everything was going great until in between coats, I saw this....



There must have been some contaminant on the tank that the pre clean solvent didn't completely take off and the paint started "veining".
Ok, so I know I have to start over on the tank so I figure I may as well finish everything else. Until...all but one of the side covers starts veining as well. 

Frustration is setting in so, I think its time to step away from the bike for a week or so and clear my head. If I don't, something else is going to get messed up. I am determined to not let the Gods of failure get me.

Come to think of it.... Maybe green is unlucky. 

[gammer]

That veining can sometimes be caused by other factors too...
Like compatibility between primer and paint, air temps, humidity...etc.

Before I put on a base coat, I wet sand the primer with a bucket of warm water and a drop or two of sunlight dish soap. It helps clean the primer up. Then rinse and completely dry and paint.

[fishball]

That green was starting to look real good JB.  Time away is usually a good thing, hopefully you will resolve this.  You are far more patient than I.

[JB1290]

Thanks for the tips, Gammer. I'm going to go back to the drawing board and do some more research on what went wrong. Maybe the primer and basecoat I used wasn't compatible with the paint. The temp could have been a factor too.

Fishball, thanks for the encouragement. I won't let this get me down. I WILL get it figured out. I have to admit, my patience is wearing thin. Thats why I'm taking a small break from it for a while. I think I will work on some other aspects of the bike and I will come back to the paint issue in a week or so.

[gammer]

How old is the green paint you are using? Has it been stored out doors for a long period of time?

[JB1290]

The paint is a fresh batch. I had to have it ordered directly from House of Kolor from the shop I went through.

[highwayjamin]

Stick with it.I really like the green  Cant wait to see the finished product.

[Munkey]

I think any contaminant on the surface would have caused more of a fisheye problem. What you have is more likely caused by incompatability with your primer vs your paint which cause the paint to soften and lift the primer like a paint remover would do. 

[JB1290]

Munkey, I think you're right. I'm going to get a sealer primer and my brother has a new quart of PPG white basecoat I'm going to use before I respray the green.

[gammer]

Another tip...
Whenever I paint a tank, I strip the paint off...down to bare metal. I go at it a few times with paint stripper. Whatever is left over after that (usually small spots) gets taken off with one of those wire brush attachments on an electric drill. Clean it up with soap and water and prime it.