FF: Forks Best Paint Finish for Girdraulics?

[Jim Bush]

Regarding what spray guns to use when painting small parts, frames, etc.

The most versatile is a small HVLP gravity feed, TOUCH UP spray gun. You don't have to spend too much money on these. Get a couple with different nozzle sizes, a large one (1.8mm) if you plan on using sanding/high build primers and (1.0 to 1.4mm for other paint).

Set the spray pattern to a circle, not a fan.. Using a circle pattern avoids wasted paint and allows much easier control on round parts etc. You can revert to a fan for the flat parts.

I find with 2pak paints, the gun needs full disassembly and thorough solvent cleaning after each use - removing the needle, nozzle and spray cap, not just running through the cup and out the nozzle. Nothing worse than picking up a gun that is clogged when you are ready to apply paint.

 

[bmetcalf]

I powdercoated my blades and I recommend against it. The surfaces that mate up to links, etc. have to be bare metal to obtain the right clearances and that is a big challenge. Find a way to get them painted.

 

[Bill Thomas]

Powder coat black can be a different colour too,
I saw a bike once , Some powder coat and some normal black paint,
Not nice.

 

[Magnetoman]

No one will see the terrible bodges inside your engine, but every mistake made with paint or plating will be all too obvious.

The choices when rebuilding, or having rebuilt for you, an engine are fairly limited. Irrespective of whether it will be your daily transportation, or only will be ridden on occasional weekends, most people want their bikes to go X-thousand miles before any major mechanical work needs to be done. Although those same people also want their paint to last X-thousand miles, for some of them half of those miles will be on salt-covered roads of the Midwest in winter, others in salt-laden air near oceans, and others in the intense UV and sun of the desert. Further, some people are happy with black paint from a rattle can, while others want paint whose chromaticity and gloss match as closely as possible the paint the bike had when it left the factory.

After investigating in a fair amount of detail both paint and professional painters (and having had bad experiences with several such "professionals"), I recently spent a lot of time (and money) constructing my own insulated, air-conditioned, air-filtered 6'×8' spray booth to do it myself. This includes a supplied-air respirator, gun, filtered and desiccated air supply, etc.

That said, I have yet to actually paint any part of a Vincent so everything in this post should be totally ignored. I should add that, done properly, researching paints (which includes identifying all the compatible chemicals) takes considerable time. That is, unless all black paints look the same to you, in which case the job would be much faster.

My observation is that most professional painters have arrived at some combination of paints and chemicals (thinners, catalysts, solvents, etc.) that produce results that are "good enough" for most of their customers, after which that combination is their hammer, and every paint job is a nail to be hit with that hammer. The same is the case for people who have had years of experience running automotive paint stores, so you would have thought they were experts on the topic. However, since essentially all their professional-painter customers only apply clear-coated two-component paint, that's what they know. Is that the paint you would want on your Vincent? Possibly, but possibly not.

I'll be getting back to painting soon, so will end this post here, after having offered no useful advice whatever…

 

[Jim Bush]

There are several big issues conspiring against would be home painters to be aware of:
1 - local by law compliance, Even if you build a lovely booth like Magnetoman exhibits above and have all the right air supplied respirator, exhaust and heat, you are dealing with potentially flammable substances, chemicals in the paint that can potentially cause harm to others (neighbors). Local government frown upon home painters for doing this. Worker Safety Boards also. All it takes is one neighbour to get a whiff of paint fumes and call it in, to put an end to it. I often paint in the middle of the night, or winter when there is no one in the yards around.
2 - the best commercial paint products and systems are not generally available to the general public. It usually takes getting alongside a local automotive paint supplier to be able to order the right products. Our local auto-parts stores have many rattle cans of semi-good stuff for that quickie coat as a stop gap. One way around is go to an internet source. For the USA there is the TCP GLOBAL site that will ship your order without question. I buy my House of Kolor paints from them and have it shipped to a mailbox near the Canada/USA border and go pick it up. The black epoxy system I use is local, when I buy it, I get the "hairy eyebrow" look as I am not a commercial account, I am only buying quarts at time, not 5 gal buckets. Some shops have signs on the outside door "We Do Not Sell to the General Public". Tricky stuff.

I don't what the future will hold with these endeavors, meanwhile paint goes on....

 

[Magnetoman]

There are several big issues conspiring against would be home painters to be aware of:

All true, much of which also applies to the solvents, containers of fuel, cases of oil, etc. we have in our garages, which typically are in excess of what normal people consider to be, um, normal. Luckily, my paint booth is 95 ft. from the nearest corner of the nearest-neighbors' house, and it's a second home for them so they are elsewhere a good fraction of the year. Still, one complaint to the Stasi can be all that it takes. Hopefully, though, we're on good enough terms with them that they might directly raise with us any issue they have before going thermonuclear. Actually, the second-nearest-neighbor also is part time, is a bit further at 130 ft., and the garage itself sits between the paint booth and their house.

I worry more about annoying neighbors with the sound of a Gold Star at the crack of dawn, which emit more dB than any reasonable ordinance must permit. Luckily, I'm a night person so rarely have even seen the crack of dawn, let alone am dressed and ready to start a bike at that unholy hour.

 

[Jim Bush]

I worry more about annoying neighbors with the sound of a Gold Star at the crack of dawn, which emit more dB than any reasonable ordinance must permit. Luckily, I'm a night person so rarely have even seen the crack of dawn, let alone am dressed and ready to start a bike at that unholy hour.

Starting the Vin or the Inter at crack of dawn Sunday morning is one of the few pleasures in life.. gets back at neighbours dog barking all hours at times...