Painting Stock Buell Plastic

[TerribleTim]

Anyone have any experience painting the stock plastic bodywork? I need some tips. Whats the secret?

 

[buellxb]

Maybe BPG can answer this question. I met a fellow Buell rider here in Indy that tried to paint the factory plastic three times. Each time the paint would bubble up. He took it to a professional body shop that painted motorcycles. They called House of Colors and even the paint they recommended bubbled. I have the ability to have the parts replicated in carbon fiber and fiberglass so that they could be easily painted. I need some feedback from members so I know if it's worth the effort. I could sell a complete, ready to paint fiberglass body kit for about $300. I will add these parts to the store if anyone out there responds to this and wants a body kit. Full development would take about 2-3 months.

 

[BuellPartsGuy]

I have a bike in the shop right now that has painted bodywork. I will ask the customer who painted it and find out the proper procedure. Ill do my best to hunt down the right info.

 

[TerribleTim]

Cool, I look forward to hearing your answer. Reason I'm trying to figure it out is I ordered a full body kit from Hal's and would like to repaint everything the same color so it all matches. I snagged my bike for a great deal, but the color was not really what I wanted. Now I have an opportunity to change it.

 

[BuellPartsGuy]

Well Hals bodywork is a different type of material than stock buell stuff. Hals is basically a fiberglass.

 

[TerribleTim]

Yea, I know. Thats why I need to know a good way to repaint the plastic parts to match. Anyone had success getting paint to stick to the plastics? What type of paint? What procedure. I run a fiberglass racecar, I got that part handled, it's the plastics that I need help with.

 

[garage31]

brand new in the forum here, I'm a custom painter/ airbrush artist and just got an XB12, painted it just like anything else that's plastic, you have to scuff and clean, then spray adhesion promoter then base coat then clear, adhesion promoter is key, if you don't use it the paint won't stick

hope this helps....

 

[BuellPartsGuy]

Thats what I was thinking was a lot of adhesion promoter and not skimp on the prep. The one that comes in the shop all the time has been painted since 04 and it still looks great.

 

[TerribleTim]

Hmm, thanks for the tips. Will give it a go and see what happens. I have a friend who works in the paint dept. at Boeing, I think he has some stuff they use on plastic parts. Any reccomendations on prep? What grit sandpaper, or something else, etc.?

 

[g3stripes]

when i painted my xb it was a hurry up job i took it apart prepped it using red scotchbrite pad and a sanding paste like scuff it.then used standox plastic primer in spray bomb(kinda pricey) jet black dupont base freehand truefire then ppg soft touch clear.let dry put back together in morning. looks great holds up fine no waxing just hose it off.i would normally use an epoxy primer such as ppg dp line, but i was in a hurry. also any clear would do i just wanted to see how this new clear would do i use it as a showcase for my customers. ps i dont baby my bikes either ride rain or shine rarely wash them it still does fine.

 

[badbandit12]

I haven't used any of the soft touch yet how is it and does it holed up to fuel?

 

[bamaxb12r]

I know this thread is prolly long dead, but due to my ignorance and my desire for a rustic look to my buell, I cleaned my plastics, spray painted, the used acrylic to add details, the spray painted a clear enamel over it. I applied boo-koo coats each time. I am still in the middle of my little project, and if anyone is interested in reviving this thread I will post before and after pics when I'm done.

 

[bamaxb12r]

And apparently the paint fumes have taken it's toll on my ability to spell correctly. Lol

 

[Neal98]

I for one would like too see what your up to.... I just bought a black 09 firebolt that needs some plastic repair and a re paint, so looking for ideas!

 

[Henderson44]

Just bought a 08 firebolt was lookin for good ideas. Would love to see how it came out.

 

[TTownBuell]

ill throw in my experiance with my 07 firebolt platics. was yellow when i bought and the kid i bought if from layed it down doing a wheelie. so the very ass end of the tail was ground off about .75 of a inch and the airbox cover was scratched heavy on one side. i used some epoxy resin for platics and formed the missing tail section from the epoxy and filled the in the heavy gouges with the same epoxy , sanded smooth. applied adhesion promter, primed and then painted with a single stage black. it looked good enough for me. not showroom quality but its a backyard paint job. had acouple bugs fly into the wet paint. other than that it went on smooth. just plan on taking your time, alotttttt of hand sanding, due to the curves in the fairing. also a good quality paint gun and water sepertor helps too

 

[BuellBoy2012]

i painted my plastics twice.. the first time i spent two days sanding them down and priming and sanding and primed and sanded again then used rustolium high temp spray paint, i hated how it dried so i did a light sanding and then i used plasti-koat spray paint and wet sanded and sprayed another coat, it turned out pretty good and so far its lasted, since i painted it over a year ago.

 

[BuellyBagger]

Here fellas, check out my painting thread. Maybe they'll be something useful to you in there and shoot me a question if you need to. Always here to help with the paint

 

[Neal98]

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[chevy42083]

You only need the IMG tags and the address...
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Is that the same bike, or you sold one and went to another...