Paintwork

[davidmccord]

Any paintwork professionals/experts on here? I'm fishing for advice, not for the BMW the paintworks mint. I have a Kawasaki that I'm sick of being the never ending project so having a big push to get it sorted before summer comes... The thing that's killing me is the paintwork. I'm doing it myself regardless of what it ends up looking like! The fairings are a mix of a plastic rear end and fibreglass front end. All were completely ****ed so I've been sanding down and repairing slowly. So far I've learned how to fibreglass (first I learned how not to) and have honed down my plastic welding skills. A combination of determination and a tight wallet stopped me from sourcing new fairings along with a lack of availability of a decent set. Anyway I've just about finished the repair work and hoping to paint in the next few weeks. I've taken all paint off, there was a lot as it appears to have been several colours in its life. I have plastic adhesion promoter and 2k primer and top coat (green of course). Do I need etch primer for plastic/fibreglass? The guy in the paint shop recommended it but I've also been told not to use it on plastic or fibreglass. Obviously I have some anyway for the tank. I've also since found out I should have some flex additive for the top coat on the plastic/fibreglass parts. Does anyone know anything about this? Any advice is much appreciated. Even if you can tell me how not to do it will be a help. I've only ever painted things from aerosol tins before, small things. Cheers guys

 

[baz]

Use the plastic adhesion promoter on the plastics and the etch on the fibreglass.If you have large filled areas on the plastic then spot prime only the filled areas with 2k primer,allow to fully dry then apply the adhesion promoter concentrating on the plastic,rather than the primed area.Once fully dried,apply 2k primer over the whole panel.When fully dry,wet flat the primer to achieve a suitable surface for the topcoat.

You do not necessarily have to use etch primer on well-prepared fibreglass but it certainly won't do any harm.Finish with 2k primer and wet flat as above.

Flexible additive is,as it's name suggests,for flexible panels.If the panel has little flex then it is not really necessary.Normally they are used on soft,deformable plastics at a percentage ratio relevant to the flexing.Fibreglass panels do not usually require it.If the panels are extremely flexible,it is also necessary to add the additive to the primer.However,on the bike panels,IMO I would probably not use it,although,if I had some laying about(!) I would probably add a small amount,as it won't do any harm-but you may find it slows the drying time a bit.

 

[davidmccord]

Thanks baz. I've bought plenty of everything so I have room for mistakes... I'm going to finish the prep work on everything then I think it's time to do a test piece, probably one of the huggers and see how that turns out.