I posted this in the paint and powdercoat section but i feel like not many people check that forum out lol. Anyways I'm on a basically non existent budget right now so powdercoat is out. I'd like to try my hand at spray painting parts. Gonna go with john deere blitz black and plan on painting the levers, cam cover, tranny cover and primary. Everything is polished aluminum

Not much experience so I'm looking for advice on a few things:
Tips on prep work?
Primer suggestions?
I'm curious about hd's texture black rattle cans, has anyone used this?

Any and all help would be appreciated as I'm pretty nervous about doing this!

 

Low budget paint is the one thing that has come up on here that I got tonnes of experience with,,

Prep. if the parts are in good shape Scotch Brite pads and patience are your best friends, stay away from heavy sand paper thats seems to be quicker, in the long run it wont be (swirl marks suck)
Self etching primers )I use Krylon or Rust-Oleum, comes in both black and grey and has almost a sealer finish and provided a good bonding agent. I will say that if its on anything that gets warmer then what you can hold in you hand its gonna peal, covers close to exhaust etc.
For finish paints, Good old Trem Clad is tough as nails but if you have to sand it is a huge pain in the A$$, it tend to clump up paper super fast. The Rust-Oleum and Krylon paints are pretty good and have a nice finish, sanding for any runs or can spits is easily taken care of.
For a final finish I would highly suggest a flat clear, if you cant find it at the store you local paint shop should beable to put some in shaker cans for ya, 14.00$ a can up here but it hold up just as good as anything I have used out of a gun.
If you want a super quick semi textured zero prep option that comes out super clean (or it has for me anyway) rubberized bumper paint, its touch as nail, covers small dings and dents, and seems to stick to every thing out there that you could ever spray. This stuff depending on what you buy is as tough as rocker guard and on the rocker guard note, its great for the back side of side cover panels (if they are cracked or beat up this is a cheap way to sure them up).
Hope it helps, best of luck.

 

Thanks Mill908! Great advice and that rubber bumper paint has actually got me thinking. A big concern for me is paint toughness and I'm wondering how some rattle can bed liner would work. I used it on a tailhitch for my jeep and it makes a slight texture and the color is similar to the blitz black... hmmm

 

Spray paint can get expensive.
http://compare.ebay.com/like/1810668...Types&var=sbar
an infrared heater + powder coat you can do small things like levers and such.

If you do spray same thing the previous poster said. scuff up with scotch brite so it gets a good surface to adhere.
When you spray do light coats and let it dry 15-20 minutes between coats. First coat you dont wanna coat completely. Coat so its semi transparent. Dont spray till it runs. Multiple light coats are better than little heavy coats.
Dont rush the drying between the coats. You will get anxious and want to spray earlier dont do it.
One tip ... have a bucket of warm to almost hot water and let the spray paint sit in there and warm up... Shake the crap out of them until before you spray. like really really shake.
You can leave the cans infront of a heater to keep em warm (better than constantly changing out warm water form a bucket).

Good luck P.s. ive done this and after its all said and done it was so much cheaper to pay the 100 bucks to get it powder coated than buying primer... paint...clear...

 

I'll have to try that heating the can trick. The way ive priced it for paint, primer, etc it shouldnt cost more than 25 bucks. If this doesnt work out its only gonna be for the summer anyways. By the next service the funds will hopefully be there

 

I would wait and have them Powder coated... you would be surprised .....if you do all the parts at once it can be very well priced...check first...buddy and member here did it and look awesome....call several powder coating places and you will get different quotes...well worth it in my opinion...Member is DJAudette...look at his post for blacked out Ultra...

 

The best price i got for the 3 big items is 150. But i actually just decided im gonna bite the bullet. Called the pc place and told me they will do the outer primary for 65. Gonna just do that but im still gonna try rattle can on the levers and mirrors. They're small enough that even if i screw up the first time i can quickly remove the paint and try again.

 

My Son bought a Craftsman powder coating gun through Amazon for $50.00 and a used toaster oven at a thrift shop for $10.00. He did a bunch of parts for my three bikes, anything that fits into the oven. It only cost me the price of a bottle of powder. I'm getting myself one of the small self contained powder kits too, they're awesome for the smaller parts!

 

Glad to hear that you went in for power coating. Many rattle can paints react poorly to ga and other solvents, een years after the paint has dried. You would not want to wreck your paint job the first time you dribbled some gas while filling up.

 

Thats a good point too. I wouldnt have thought about the gas effecting it. Shouldnt have to worry about that way up on the levers and hopefully with a base coat a 3 coats of the rattle can the should stand up for at least the summer. The paint is made for tractors after all haha