TOPIC:

Outstanding Bruce. Thanks a lot. A good step by step breakdown there.Exactly what I need.Ill post the results on my main build thread when its done.
And thanks everyone else for your input.Every little bit of info helps.

P.s. Im still struggling with the colour scheme though. I layed down a base coat of white for the pinstripes this morning,now Im thinking I dont want pinstripes! Doh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

martin_csr wrote: Thanks. Your method is basically the same way I did a fuel tank using only acrylic-lacquers. For the last step I used Meguiar's mirror glaze swirl remover to polish the final coat. It came out nice but wasn't fuel proof. doh. .... green tank in photo. the blue tank was done at an auto body shop pro bono.

Great job!! Scuff with 1500 and let it breathe raw like that for a while, clean it well and shoot a thinner tack coat of Spraymax 2K on it.... then sand and shoot another... wet sand and polish... should be good to go.

That tank was done several years ago & salvaging it isn't an option now. The green is kinda ugly in person anyway.
I think it was forest green pearl & not even close to a Kawasaki color. hee. The blue tank is on the bike.

Purdy
Steve

I don't know what kind of base coat materials you guys are using but I've never sanded on a mist coat of clear before. Typically, when using automotive type base coats you spray out of a gun, you lay down the base coats and let them flash off for up to 24 hours, then you start in on your clear. The first layer of clear goes on dry and light, but as soon as it flashes off (10-15 mins), you come back with a full wet coat after that. If you are worried about the under layer lifting, such as when spraying on top of old paint of unknown origin, then you want to dust on several of those light dry coats before moving to the full wet coat. The idea is to get a little film build over the old paint before hitting it will a full wet coat that has a heavy solvent load that may cause lifting of the old paint. At any rate, that's what I've always done. The only time I've ever gotten lifting is when there was some crap paint underneath that should have come off in the first place.

Thats pretty much what the Spraymax guy and my painter friend were saying,so thats the plan.Though its in the laps of the gods whether the base coat holds up or lets go. Im making this up as I go along and many things could go wrong. Also, Im planning 3 maybe 4 colours with all the masking and other prep involved twixt the different coats. I just sprayed the second colour on tonight and the house stinks. (why I waited for the family to leave)

I just ordered 2x cans of Spraymax high gloss. And I pressed the 'did nor recieve' button on the ebay for the tank stickers which were meant to be here 2 days ago and arent!!!

As I said, a lot could go wrong! We will see what we will see.

davido wrote: Thats pretty much what the Spraymax guy and my painter friend were saying,so thats the plan.Though its in the laps of the gods whether the base coat holds up or lets go. Im making this up as I go along and many things could go wrong. Also, Im planning 3 maybe 4 colours with all the masking and other prep involved twixt the different coats. I just sprayed the second colour on tonight and the house stinks. (why I waited for the family to leave)

I just ordered 2x cans of Spraymax high gloss. And I pressed the 'did nor recieve' button on the ebay for the tank stickers which were meant to be here 2 days ago and arent!!!

As I said, a lot could go wrong! We will see what we will see.

Once catalyst is mixed, the Spraymax has a rather short life span so be ready to clear coat everything you want clear coated. Using just one can, I think I had left over and couldn't think of anything else to clear.... tossed it.

Thats why I ordered 2 cans. Let the first go off fully,apply the decals then use the 2nd to finish the job. I will have to have a look around the house and see if theres anything else needs a bit of clearcoat. Come to think of it,the cats looking a bit scruffy!!!!

Well,Its done.
I put the last top coat on 2 days ago and kept the heating on almost constant since then.This morning,I prepped everything and (nervously) sprayed on a first,thin tack coat of Spraymax 2K. Everything seemed ok,so I went ahead emptied both cans onto it.
First impressions,Looks good. No apparent reactions with the acrylic.No runs,minimal orange peel.Minimal dust specs.and it looks quite nice.
Its now touch dry buit very much uncured so Ill put it in the bathroom (warmest room in the house) for a few hours and have a proper look tomorrow.
Sticky fingers crossed.

davido wrote: Well,Its done.
I put the last top coat on 2 days ago and kept the heating on almost constant since then.This morning,I prepped everything and (nervously) sprayed on a first,thin tack coat of Spraymax 2K. Everything seemed ok,so I went ahead emptied both cans onto it.
First impressions,Looks good. No apparent reactions with the acrylic.No runs,minimal orange peel.Minimal dust specs.and it looks quite nice.
Its now touch dry buit very much uncured so Ill put it in the bathroom (warmest room in the house) for a few hours and have a proper look tomorrow.
Sticky fingers crossed.

Good. it will cure better with heat.
After my final clear coat, I rotated my tank every ten to fifteen mins, with it sitting about three-four feet in front of a 750watt quartz heat lamp for about two and half hours. Then I just set a side for few days.
When hard ... get ready for some tough wet sanding... that stuff is not soft like fresh lacquer. But when done, it is great stuff and extremely resistant to fuel spills and splashes.

+1 to everything Nessism wrote.

Also, if you're worried about the Spraymax ruining your paint, you'll be worried every time to go to the gas station using something else.

Ok. Pretty sure everything is cured by now but Im starting with the front mudguard just in case.(Its a solid gloss black). So I started with 1200 wet&dry then up to 2000.Thats the highest I can find.
The slight orange peel has been knocked down and all the shine has gone. I bought some (Very expensive) 'Maguires ultimate polish' (for deep reflections and high gloss. Eliminates fine swirl marks) and have been attacking it by hand.There are no instructions on the can,so I dont know if Im meant to put it on,let it dry and polish it off or keep it wet and just keep rubbing?
Anyway it looks like crap! Any ideas where Im going wrong here? I want to get this worked out before I tackle the tank and tailpiece