Custom paint job
Moderator: Modern Buddy Staff
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schroncc
- Member
- Posts: 44
- Joined: Tue Sep 12, 2006 1:28 pm
- Location: Las Vegas, NV
Custom paint job
Does anyone know the best way to re-paint a buddy? What kind of paint? Is there a different procedure for the mat finish compared to the glossy finish? Any suggestions would help.
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x-mojito50mod
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- Joined: Sat Oct 28, 2006 2:34 am
- Location: Los Angeles
You CAN use the Krylon Fusion stuff I think (well, it works on ABS, not sure about injection-molded plastic), but you have to be pretty good with a rattle can to get good results. I would imagine the process to be: disassemble and do a light sanding first, then multiple layers of super-thin coats, followed by a wet sand with light-grit, then a gloss-coat or two. It's difficult, but can be done...or you can just bring it to someone who paints bikes for a couple hundred bucks...
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Bryce-O-Rama
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- Joined: Wed Jun 14, 2006 5:01 am
Are you going to DIY it or have it done professionally? Figure out what the composition of the plastic is. It should be marked on the back side of at least one of the panels. X-mojitomod was close to a really good point when he started mentioning that. However, injection molding is a process, not a material.
Basically injection molding is squirting molten plastic into a steel mold at very high pressure. ABS plastic is one of many types that can be injection molded. Acrylic, polycarbonate (aka Lexan), and many others can be processed this way. As mentioned, ABS is known as one of the more paintable plastics. It is used often in automotive applications and is painted. However, often those paints will have slightly different formulations for improved adherence and flexibility than paints intended for harder and less flexible substrates (the base material). My scooter uses painted ABS plastic body panels. The same goes for the Malaguti Yesterday that one of my friends owns. He painted stripes onto the painted plastics.
Many other plastic bodied scoots have the color molded directly into the plastic. This is a significantly cheaper way to add color. It also is more environmentally friendly on a large scale. Many scooters with color molded in have panels made of polypropylene or polyethylene. The markings will say PP, PE, HDPP, or HDPE (HD = high density). These plastics are known for being highly resistant to chemicals. Automotive paints are basically a chemical, and PP, PE, HDPP and HDPE will resist being painted. Krylon Fusion has properties that make it bond with a variety of plastics. There are also rattle can primers that do the same thing. One of my friends bought a bunch of extra panels for her Vino 125 and painted them with white Krylon Fusion and then put them onto her scoot.
My advice to you is to figure out exactly what material you're painting and then devise a set of post paint job goals. Only then should you attempt a custom paint job. If you want something with beautiful metal flake and a mirror like finish, you're probably going to want to have a pro do the job. It's possible to do a pretty nice job with a spray can, but it's time consuming and it's really a lot of work. You need to do some learning on how to prep the surfaces for paint, how to wet sand, how to properly apply paint (many thin layers as opposed to one thick one) and how to add clear coats for that deep gloss and shine. It's a process, and the prep you put into it really determines the quality of the result. I've done enough appearance models for my design projects back in college to know how not to do it, and I'm sure I could spend a lot of time learning how to do much better at it.
If you want the matte areas to be shiny, you will have to find a way to make those surfaces smooth and untextured before painting them. Again, how you go about that depends greatly on the material it's made of.
No matter what, you will want to be sure that the bodywork is all removed before doing the job. It will be very easy for the painter (you or a pro) to work on individual panels. You won't get overspray on other parts and you'll have a really clean looking paint job.
Basically injection molding is squirting molten plastic into a steel mold at very high pressure. ABS plastic is one of many types that can be injection molded. Acrylic, polycarbonate (aka Lexan), and many others can be processed this way. As mentioned, ABS is known as one of the more paintable plastics. It is used often in automotive applications and is painted. However, often those paints will have slightly different formulations for improved adherence and flexibility than paints intended for harder and less flexible substrates (the base material). My scooter uses painted ABS plastic body panels. The same goes for the Malaguti Yesterday that one of my friends owns. He painted stripes onto the painted plastics.
Many other plastic bodied scoots have the color molded directly into the plastic. This is a significantly cheaper way to add color. It also is more environmentally friendly on a large scale. Many scooters with color molded in have panels made of polypropylene or polyethylene. The markings will say PP, PE, HDPP, or HDPE (HD = high density). These plastics are known for being highly resistant to chemicals. Automotive paints are basically a chemical, and PP, PE, HDPP and HDPE will resist being painted. Krylon Fusion has properties that make it bond with a variety of plastics. There are also rattle can primers that do the same thing. One of my friends bought a bunch of extra panels for her Vino 125 and painted them with white Krylon Fusion and then put them onto her scoot.
My advice to you is to figure out exactly what material you're painting and then devise a set of post paint job goals. Only then should you attempt a custom paint job. If you want something with beautiful metal flake and a mirror like finish, you're probably going to want to have a pro do the job. It's possible to do a pretty nice job with a spray can, but it's time consuming and it's really a lot of work. You need to do some learning on how to prep the surfaces for paint, how to wet sand, how to properly apply paint (many thin layers as opposed to one thick one) and how to add clear coats for that deep gloss and shine. It's a process, and the prep you put into it really determines the quality of the result. I've done enough appearance models for my design projects back in college to know how not to do it, and I'm sure I could spend a lot of time learning how to do much better at it.
If you want the matte areas to be shiny, you will have to find a way to make those surfaces smooth and untextured before painting them. Again, how you go about that depends greatly on the material it's made of.
No matter what, you will want to be sure that the bodywork is all removed before doing the job. It will be very easy for the painter (you or a pro) to work on individual panels. You won't get overspray on other parts and you'll have a really clean looking paint job.
- Bryce
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ericalm
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Decent plastic painting tutorial:
http://sportbikeguy.com/garage/floor/painting.html
I think most of those painting their whole scoots or large panels are having them professionally done.
http://sportbikeguy.com/garage/floor/painting.html
I think most of those painting their whole scoots or large panels are having them professionally done.