I am wanting to flat black some stuff on my bike and was wondering if anyone has done it themself and if so what tips do you have? What kind of paint used? I want to paint flat black my lower fork sliders, probably my handlebars and my exhaust. I am also wondering if anyone has painted their heads themself and if so tips on that. Any knowledge would be greatly appreciated.

 

Hmmm...getting a little energetic huh? Ok, first the sliders. Not a big deal at all. Can be done with them on the bike. Remove fender. Remove wheel, and caliper. Sand slider with 220 grit wet/dry paper. This will give your primer something to stick to. Prime with a good quality primer of your choice. Sand and reprime until sliders look as smooth as glass. Should be sanding with 400 or 600 grit wet/dry paper. I am partial to House of Kolor paint. Do you have a spray gun? If not, and you don't know how to paint, try some Dupli-Color. Actually is pretty good stuff. Mine are done in HOK. Works great, lasts a long time. Really cheap. If it chips...oh well. Just fix it.
Bars. Do you have access to a sandblast cabinet? If so, blast all the parts to get the chrome off. If not, get out the grinder with a COARSE sanding disk. Sand the hell out of them. Remember, paint doesn't like to stick to chrome. Sand them until you think you're ready to paint, then sand a little more! Prime, sand smooth, prime again, until all sand scratches disappear. You're ready to paint. Follow above suggestion for the sliders for paint.
Exhaust.....follow above suggestions for the bars, but DO NOT prime. Instead find the highest temperature heat paint you can get your hands on. J&P Cycles sells some that's good for 1400 degrees. Good old stove paint also works. Remember, it won't last forever on the exhaust. It's just the way it is.
Heads. Gonna remove them, or do them on the motor? Again, not a big deal. This time you can prime them. Personally I would prefer to use regular base coat/clear coat systems. It will stick fine to the engine. Even with the high temps. Do a little research. Buy yourself an "affordable" spray gun and learn to paint. It will be one of the best investments you'll ever make.
Pm me if you have any questions. I'll be glad to help answer them if I can.
Good luck
Joey

 

Where can I get the Dupli-color and is it in a spray can? Just wondering because im lacking a spray gun.

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Any of the major auto parts retailers have it. Look in their "body" repair area.

 

Jchildress21, great painting tips. I need some work on my bike and going to follow your direction. What is Anarchy Custom? I am in Chantilly, va and nevr heard about id. Is it for cars or bikes?

 

what about having them powder coated??? this way they wont chip on you...

 

Indecis, it's my company. I do mostly custom paint and fabrication. It is a part time thing for me. There's not enough work in this area to do it full time. I do either bikes or cars, basically anything that can be painted, although I prefer to stick with the bikes. As to powdercoating. Yes, it is way more durable. However the cost is the only thing and the down time. I probably have 15 bucks in my sliders. So even if I have to do them every summer, it's no big deal. Took me a total of about an hour to do mine.

 

Beautiful bike, very nice paint job. Did you do that Phat tail kit to get that wide tire or just different fender? Do you have your front end raked any? It looks like you have something under the front of your frame, is that a light or something? Thanks for the great paint tips.. On the wet/dry sanding, do you do it wet or dry?

 

its a chin spoiler I believe, and I agree with chidress about the down time on the pc'ing. My option was down time or getting take offs from e-bay and send them out to a local harley guy, who does pc'ing on the side.

Oh and your gal there looks like she's very happy with your stylin' ride...

 

Ya,we had a fun day of riding and drinking. Drank a little too much that day to be on a bike though.. I have that same problem of down time and the price of PC. I think I am going to try the painting of my lower fork sliders and maybe my triple trees as well. We will see what will happen..