Fender paint

[Clawhammercycle]

Just curious how people get away with fender painting. Will a professional paint job hold up to various dings and shit?

I just painted mine with rattle cans but auto quality cans. Primed multiple layers, sanded, multiple base coats, and then a 2k clear coat.

Let it cure for days and then i get a chip the size of a crack rock right on the edge… fucking sucks.

I guess i just want to know if its worth the money to have someone paint it or is it gonna chip immediately also.

For what its worth, my oil tank came out primo so far. It dosent have a sharp edge like a fender does.

[7and7is]

If its black personally I would take some fingernail polish and touch it up, if its the front fender I would just toss it bike looks way cooler with out it, but thats me.

[Clawhammercycle]

If its black personally I would take some fingernail polish and touch it up, if its the front fender I would just toss it bike looks way cooler with out it, but thats me.

Nah its the rear. Ditched the front a while ago.

Im not tryna baby the bike but i was just like damn…. Fresh paint already done fucked her up a tiny bit haha.

Nail polish was my plan. Guess ill run it for the summer and if its chipped to all hell come next winter ill figure it out then.

[47str8leg]

I cure paint by my oil burner now.
Even when it’s already dry you’ll smell it baking in.
When it stops smelling, I let it cure for one more day than handle it with cheap brown cotton work gloves.
Even it was professionally painted.

[ExplodingCoffinEmporium]

Honestly you’ll never get or will be very hard pressed to compare a pro shot finish done with good materials and gun to a rattle job. Good 2K clears in a can won’t have the thickness or hardiness, it’s hard to achieve without proper mix, pressure, and technique. I mean if you want I can go deeper in explanation but from someone who has spent much of their life in an auto shop doing body and mechanical work while also fucking around with cans at home and in instances at work, you just can’t compare the two. If every classic I sent out of the shop over the past few decades chipped paint every time a small rock or piece of debris hit it, we’d be out of jobs real quick. Just my 0.02

[DoomBuggy]

You have to have a clear that is tough enough for road wear. Back in the day I would shoot Imron, which is a two part polyurethane enamel clear. You can throw rocks at it from a close distance without it chipping. With the "new bike" I have been using House of Kolor's Show Clear which is also a two part polyurethane enamel.

When I had my accident last year, the paint is the one thing that still looked good, lol!

[Tater66]

Even a pro job can chip given the "right" conditions.

Case and point...my tanks were painted black w silver stripe and clear coats. Multiple times before they got it right. I have no idea how far down it was sanded before it was shot again. I can tell you that the paint started swelling around the filler neck and that paint was on thick. They used and old trick of super glue/activator to keep it in place. 3 years later I inadvertently tapped the side of tank with blunt metal object and clear flaked first. I poked around w fingernail and color flipped out as well. A couple of dabs with paint pen and I can quit sweating the paint job. Fuck it. Its only money, right?

[Clawhammercycle]

Right on thanks for the replies. Sounds like professional paint will be less likely to chip, but still sounds possible…

No doubt would be better then my rattle can job but we will see! Only one small chip so far. I have higher hopes for the oil/gas tanks.

Might have that vintage patina sooner than expected. I dont mind rust in the right places. Frames powder coated so i wont be worried so much about that.

[golfish]

Have you given any thought of powder coating?

[docmel]

Rattle cans do not have hardener, the key ingredient for durability in automotive grade paints. Spill gas on rattle paints, it will stain. Baked on rattle can paint tends to be harder, but again, hardener, an additive, is what gives auto grade paints its durability

I have taken rattle can paint jobs and cleared over them with clear auto grade paint with good success, but again, auto grade paints still chip. Nature of road wear. Powder coating, another option, is very hard/durable. But it can still chip

[Clawhammercycle]

Rattle cans do not have hardener, the key ingredient for durability in automotive grade paints. Spill gas on rattle paints, it will stain. Baked on rattle can paint tends to be harder, but again, hardener, an additive, is what gives auto grade paints its durability

I have taken rattle can paint jobs and cleared over them with clear auto grade paint with good success, but again, auto grade paints still chip. Nature of road wear. Powder coating, another option, is very hard/durable. But it can still chip

Thanks. The 2k auto spray cans/clear do have a hardener dont they? Im pretty sure. Im shooting house of kolor black but its in cans. Then 2k clear.

I would powder coat the fender but its got a little bondo work so im pretty sure powder coat is off the table

[DustyDave]

You could replace the bondo with lab metal then powder coat
Dusty

[TriNortchopz]

You could replace the bondo with lab metal then powder coat
Dusty

yup,

Hi-Temp Lab-metal
Permanent repair compound - withstands 1000ºF. Hi-Temp Lab-metal is ready-to-use right from the can. Developed for difficult repairs subject to excessive heat, Hi-Temp Lab-metal withstands temperatures as high as 1000ºF

Hi-Temp Lab-metal adheres to most metals. Once hardened, it can be machined, ground, filed, and sanded. Buffed to a satin smooth finish, Hi-Temp Lab-metal leaves an undetectable repair. Hi-Temp Lab-metal is impervious to the attack of rust, rot, and mildew. It is not affected by varying climatic conditions, and the hardened metal can be painted over -- even powder-coated."

https://www.alvinproducts.com/Product-Line/agentType/View/ProductID/6/Hi-Temp-Lab-metal

[DoomBuggy]

The 2K clear has a hardener of sorts, the difference is that the 2K cures by solvent evaporation and so is always subject to some degree of softness and vulnerability to solvents. The 2 part polyurethanes, those you mix and then spray, cure by a chemical reaction between the two parts. This leaves a much harder, and solvent resistant coating over your paint.

The downside to the 2 part, is once you mix it you must use it within a pretty short period of time before it hardens and you need to be really meticulous cleaning your equipment afterwards or your spray gun becomes bench art once it sets.

The primer / sealer I use, also from HOK, is a 2 part poly as well so once it sets you have a strong base to start from.