I'm thinking of getting my bike painted plain black. No pinstripes or tank decal like it currently has. I'd like to hear your experiences with local custom paint jobs.

Have you had a local guy paint your bike? If so, any regrets? Did it equal or surpass the original Harley paint job? Two shops I talked to said their "guy" that they refer to would put his paint job up against any factory finish. Just talk? What about durability? bla bla bla

Thanks for your input

 

It really is hard to compare any to the quality custom work from the factory. It is an amazing finish. My father owned a paint and body shop for years. As you can get a great paintjob. Fatory custom work is custom. A straight up solid black should be clean cut. A good painter can get you a great finish. As I said its not a custom factory paint so it should be equal in comparison black vs black.

 

Sometimes Harley dealers will use the same local guys. Cut out he middleman and ask the dealer who they use. Then go check them out

 

My father paints and they have done a few harleys. They mainly do cars but there is really no difference. I know that when the do a harley they wet sand and buff it when it is don and the shine is awsome. So for a plain black paint job I would say go with a local painter if it is cheaper.

 

If the local painter has a good rep for quality output, there's no difference. The only thing I have noticed in regards to custom local jobs is paint bubbling around fuel openings which is caused by "poor prep work". In all the ones I know of, the painters all made good by re-shooting. I recommend dealing with someone that specializes in "Custom Painting", cars bikes, it doesn't matter. I wouldn't just go to any auto-body shop unless you know what they can do. I see orange peel car jobs leaving shops all the time and worse, people accepting them.

 

I've had both of my bikes painted by a shop, instead of buying from the MOCO. As mentioned before, plain black shouldn't be a problem. I'm not a big fan of HD's "custom" paint sets. How "custom" can you be, when you're 1 of 250? I'd prefer my custom to be 1 of 1.

 

You're comparing apples to oranges. Your local paint guy is not the same as mine or anyone elses.

 

+1. the outcome is only as good as the painter and the prep.

 

I would say find a good local guy and use him ... your not only going to get a more personal experiance but your giving coin back to your comunity ...

 

Very hard to beat the finished product of HD's custom program, but I've seen 1 local guy here whose work was equal to HD. I've had him paint 4 of my bikes and am always happy. I've also used local painters whose work turned out less than impressive. I'm sticking with my painter until he hangs up his gun.