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Login to post Forums » Sprockets » Bike repaint FAIL or, who here has used bedliner paint?

Jan. 22, 2012 7:49 p.m. ddavidv SuperDork

For the last few weeks I've been repainting my ugly, tri-colored, 1980s schemed Kawi KLR650 with Krylon Fusion. I was trying to paint it orange for a faux KTM look. Well, it ain't workin' out. Aside from the silicone someone once sprayed on the fender and cowl and the resulting fish eyes, none of the parts are matching. The fender and cowl were blue plastic, the tank metal (primed that) and the other plastics white. I've now got parts in 3 distinct shades of orange. I've put on multiple coats and am reaching the point where it's getting to be too thick. It's not like I don't know how to wield a spray can.

FAIL

I'm through dicking with the orange. To salvage this project I'm thinking of falling back to the Wal-Mart spray can bedliner, which seems to be fairly popular (and no doubt more durable). I guess my question at this stage is, does anyone see a problem with spraying this stuff over the existing paint (once prep sanded and cleaned, of course)? Any experience with this stuff? I've read you can alter the texture by the distance from the surface being sprayed...is closer more or less texture?
Jan. 22, 2012 8:43 p.m. Mitchell SuperDork

A friend of mine had a bike that was sprayed in bedliner. It looked good enough, certainly no worse than any bad paint job, and it held up for the few years that he had it (the previous owner painted it).
Jan. 23, 2012 6:54 a.m. minimac SuperDork

I would think that the texture would trap dirt more easily and make it harder to clean. Did you primer all of the parts? If not, you WILL get differing shades. You rollered the E-30, why not the bike?
Jan. 23, 2012 9:14 p.m. ddavidv SuperDork

The cowl piece and front fender aren't really roll-able. Too many contours. Trapping dirt isn't really a concern; it's supposed to be dirty, being a dual sport.
Jan. 24, 2012 3:50 p.m. Rusnak_322 HalfDork

Are you trying to guarantee that you will lower the values of the bike and make sure that you will never be able to sell it? Then use bed liner. Degrease everything, wet sand the old paint off, degrease everything, use a plastic primer, wet sand, degrease, paint.

It isn’t the bikes fault the paint looks like crap, it isn’t paints fault, it isn’t the previous owners fault. It is the painter and the prep that was done prior to painting it. Make it look nice. Even crap bikes are more fun if they look nice.
Jan. 25, 2012 5:51 a.m. ddavidv SuperDork

It's a $1200 motorcycle. Resale value isn't really a consideration. Every piece I'm painting save the fender is damaged in some way.

BTW, thanks for pointing out that I'm the problem. Had I known two of the parts were covered with silicone before I sprayed, or had I known how transparent Krylon paint is on dark plastic I could have dealt with these issues up front. My magic 8 ball is currently in the shop though.

You'd probably tell me roller painting my race car was a stupid idea too.
Jan. 26, 2012 8:34 a.m. minimac SuperDork

How about tractor enamel like they sell at Tractor Supply stores? It's inexpensive and covers well. Same with Rustoleum, but you already know that. That, and a cheap Wagner power sprayer($20 or so @ HF) should do the job better than rattle cans.
Jan. 26, 2012 10:05 a.m. Zomby woof SuperDork

Rusnak_322 wrote:

Are you trying to guarantee that you will lower the values of the bike and make sure that you will never be able to sell it? Then use bed liner. Degrease everything, wet sand the old paint off, degrease everything, use a plastic primer, wet sand, degrease, paint.

It isn’t the bikes fault the paint looks like crap, it isn’t paints fault, it isn’t the previous owners fault. It is the painter and the prep that was done prior to painting it. Make it look nice. Even crap bikes are more fun if they look nice.

And I'm the one who gets called nasty names around here

I was going to start a thread on painting plastics about a month ago, shortly after you mentioned painting your bike before. I've been experimenting with old fenders from parts bikes, and had excellent luck with Duplicolor perfect match automotive touch up paint. It isn't cheap, but I've sprayed plastic fenders, made them look like factory, and have NOT been able to make them chip, crack, or peel. I've painted a lot of things with bedliner, and I would definitely not paint plastics with it. A frame, yes, but plastics, no. I've never had a lot of luck with fusion paint. It sticks OK - just OK, but never usually looks very good. If you get some gel paint remover and spread it on with a brush, it will take the paint off quickly and easily, and not affect the plastic. If you're interested in what worked for me when prepping plastic fenders, etc., I'll gladly post it up.
Jan. 26, 2012 12:10 p.m. Rusnak_322 HalfDork

Sorry, I didn't mean it to come out that way. I hate the look of bed liner and it really isn't very hard to do a good looking paint job even with rattle cans. It is all cleaning and prep work.
Jan. 26, 2012 12:53 p.m. ddavidv SuperDork

Apology accepted. I'll call off the hit men.

I test sprayed the Rustoleum bedliner last night and it's not that evil, ultra-thick, utlra-grainy crap they put in truck beds. This winds up being somewhere between a sandy and crinkle finish. I actually don't think it looks all that bad, but I'm letting it dry and I'll try beating on it with a tool or something to see how durable it is.

Aside from the silicone contamination issues, I think the real problem with the Krylon is it just doesn't cover very well. It seems too transparent. I sprayed the Fusion on first for adhesion, and followed up with plain 'ol Krylon of the same color. Neither covered some dark spots even after multiple coats. I'm now of the opinion Rustoleum is a superior paint. Pity; I used to use Krylon on everything years ago. I'm a good spray can painter; multiple model car kits and car parts attest to it. The paint lays down decently smooth, but because it's got a transparency the base color (or darker blemishes) bleed through. Thus, my white plastic parts look pretty nice while the blue plastic parts look like ass.

My side panels are all gouged and nicked to hell, the headlight cowl is broken along the bottom, the fender has multiple old holes drilled in it, the side cowls have broken mounts and the gas tank has a couple of noticeable dents. Trust me, I could paint this thing with watercolors and it would look better.

I'm wondering if vinyl graphics will stick to the bedliner stuff? Maybe I have some to try...
Jan. 26, 2012 2:35 p.m. Appleseed SuperDork

Stickers will not stick, as per the bedliner Audi articles. At least to the produce he used.
Jan. 26, 2012 3:20 p.m. ddavidv SuperDork

Sprayed the inside of the cowl piece, and I'm getting paint 'crackling'. Now I'm afraid to try the outside.

Sorry I ever started this stupid project.
Jan. 26, 2012 3:27 p.m. nocones HalfDork

Only one option now. Time to bust out the fur fabric!

Plastic sucks to paint. I would try sanding it down back to near nothing. Use a high quality bumper paint primer and then your chosen color should cover over the top. The silicone spots may cause you problems for any paint even the bedliner stuff.
Jan. 26, 2012 3:28 p.m. Zomby woof SuperDork

nocones wrote:

I would try sanding it down back to near nothing.

Don't do that.
Jan. 29, 2012 4:49 p.m. minimac SuperDork

nocones wrote:

Only one option now. Time to bust out the fur fabric!

Don't do that either.
Jan. 29, 2012 5:51 p.m. aeronca65t Dork

I'm going to suggest tan, green and black spray paint in a camo-motif

Like this

It's the sort of thing that looks OK even if the paint looks bad.
Jan. 29, 2012 6:52 p.m. ddavidv SuperDork

Bedliner paint FTW. The Fusion caused all kinds of problems trying to paint over it. I'd get truly random areas of paint lifting shortly after spraying. Sand those off to bare plastic, respray. Eventually I got coverage everywhere and it all seems to be like cement now. The only pieces I'm painting with 'normal' paint are the fuel tank (metal, and thus not contaminated by Fusion) and the two cooling duct 'wings' that bolt to the tank at the front edge. They look a bit too integral with the tank when attached and the bedliner to black paint transition would be too abrupt. I'm spraying those a satin black. Whatever failures I have on those pieces will get covered by some creative vinyl usage.

I'm anxious to get it put back together and see what it looks like. It's not the bright orange beast I envisioned any longer but it's still got to be better than Petty blue/white/lime green with dents and gouges everywhere.

Oh, and vinyl won't stick to the bedliner stuff.
Jan. 29, 2012 7:05 p.m. ddavidv SuperDork

What I started with: What I was hoping for: What it will likely look like:

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