Touch up painting ?

[chameleon]

I have a few scratches on the fairing and was lucky enought to get a set of genuine touch up paints with the purchase. They were old and a little thick so I added some thinners and applied one colour low on the belly. Now even thinned the paint went on in sort of "Blobs" and although the colour is perfect it looks like... well lumpy? I was thinking of using a teeny sanding block/stick and some 600 wet-n-dry to smooth them out but I thought I better check here first to see if anyone has the "technique". I'm gonna wait a few days for the paint to harden in any case.

Any ideas on how to apply this sh*t and how to get a mint finish would be much apreciated by this perfectionist.

[ttc]

Shit don't look at my bike then, i color it in with texta

[chameleon]

"TEXTA" How could you!!! That's... That's... SACRILEGE

[red_dave]

"TEXTA" How could you!!! That's... That's... SACRILEGE

I agree... It's called a NIKKO pen!

[chameleon]

well that's fine if you got a black bike! mine has more colors than a 5 year olds crayon box

[jeff_villa]

Can you get a hold of a newer paint of the same colour?
If not then what you have will do, but first you must make sure that you get that can completely shake to take the blobs out.
Next is get a clear coat from a paint shop. they should be able to advice you about the type
Depending on how much paint you have, it is best that you sand back the area evenly with wet/dry sand paper (1400-1600 grit) make sure that it is wet while you are doing it at all times.
Sand it evenly as you don't want dibbets or lumps.
You dont want to go too deep. Use metho to get oil and dust off the area
Tape the area you want to paint. give yourself a little bit of an allowance for the spay.
Next using a spray gun (you don't have to get the industrial type, even those hobby types that go for $90 with compressor will do) light spray the area with the paint at about 20cm away. You just want to have enough to colour the surface. You don't have to make sure that it is perfect as you will be spraying another coat anyway. Do this about 2 or three time. Let it dry overnight atleast to give the paint time to dry completely. Make sure that it is somewhere dry and warm.
Get your spray gun and spray the bit with the clear coat three times. First fine mist coat, medium coat and then a wet coat. Let it dry overnight.
Wet sand the area again making sure that you keep it wet at all times during the sanding and respray again as previous an let it dry for a couple of days.
Now for the tricky part, using you will need to smooth out the surface so using 1500 grit of more, wet sand the area making sure you keep it wet at all time. You know that you are doing the sanding right because instead of a water beading, you are getting a sheeting result. All you want to do is to smooth out the surface. Once you are happy use a buffing compound and a buffer (use a buffing machine), buff the area lightly because you might end up burning the coat. If this is done well you should have a glass finish.
Tell me how it went.

[zx9r]

Great reply jeff, some useful information here.

[Gosling1]

I'll say - good work Jeff .

Here is a tip for owners of black bikes with black steel frames ( like, say a Z1000...... )

for a few years now, I have been using black nail polish.......the kind that goths use for their fingernails , now it sounds *weird* and *perverse* (heh, thats the kind of fellah I am), but it works a treat for small stone-chips etc. Its enamel, and the nail polish has its own built-in applicator.........

it works really well for plain gloss black (not metallic).

[chameleon]

Yes, good rundown on the whole process there Jeff, you must be a spray painter there. I don't know how I'll go with spraying though, I tried it once and made a total mess of a mates car. Mind you, it was his fault because he gave me my fee -"a bottle of bundy"- before we started I'll get something sorted though. Thanks for the detailed answer.

[jeff_villa]

The best way is to practice on a piece of wood just to make sure you get the confidence. The trick is you spray no closer than about 20cm depending on your spray. Go side to side first coat then up and down next coat. You will get the hang of it, or practice on the next door neighbours cat, then blame it on the bundy.
And no, I am not a spraypainter, I just enjoy sucking in those paint fumes.
P.S.
For people who have basic colour (ie black, blue, red) and want to put decals on, the way to make it look better and protect the decals is to put a couple of coats of clear coat.

[chameleon]

I was at repco today getting some sealant and they had these little spray cans where you add your paint to a reservoir in the bottom and then use it as you would a normal spray can. Do you recon you could get some acceptable results this way jeff?

[jeff_villa]

Depending on the size of the area you are trying to paint but you will need constant pressure when spraying so the larger the area the more constant the pressure has to be. Do you know anyone that use to or still do model painting because you should still be able to use those small spray kit that they use like a pen. The best thing about them is that they are great for small details, less waste on paint as well..
With the theing you had a look, why don't try on a practice paint and see how it goes.
Jeff

[chameleon]

Depending on the size of the area you are trying to paint

It's only some chips and very small scratches on the lower fairing + the usual rock chips up front. Yes I do believe my brother has one of those airbrush kits in his stuff, that would be a better solution than a full spray gun cause the areas are pretty small. I'll let ya know how it pans out.

[jeff_villa]

Do a before and after photo of your bike. I find that it is very mentally rewarding even with paint jobs.

[chameleon]

good idea!