months ago contacted Rail, fellow forum member, and he encouraged me to do it myself...well i didn't think i could do a good job so...paid $90 for paint (black base and matte clear + additive), matched to original denim paint, and took it to a local body shop (butcher...fckr)...turned out really bad cause of drops and uneven layers, so no $ for the fker...but the paint is really close to stock...
so now i'll do myself...

would appreciate if i can get advide as far as the equipment need:
1. hvlp gun...been suggested binks touch up with 1.0 needed...which model??
2. air compressor...what psi is required?...hp??...anything else?
3. paint thinner...why?...only to clean paint gun?
4. primer
5. respirator
6. have many diff grades of grades of sand paper, which should i use?

...anything else needed?

 

forgot to mention that after the body shop mess, i went ghetto style and rattle canned the front fender...could not get a good finish on it...if can't do a good job with a rattle, could i do better with the "pro" equipment?

 

harley sells DENIM black in spray cans for 20 bucks and its a dead match... Im a full time painter at a bodyshop and ive seen the spray can HD paint and its amazing... Dont wayste your time with all the other products and tools, this will give you what your looking for...Good luck..

 

you running clip-ons??...got more pics of your ride?..link?

i've painted the fork sliders and small parts with rattle can and turned out decent, but paints where semi-gloss and wrinkle...
i'm willing to give the rattle another try...
whats the trick to get the flat paint smooth? i did some wet sand with 2000 grit and it left marks on the paint...please advise on the technique...
just don't want to pay $500+ for painting a fender and fuel tank a solid color

 

The trick is in the preperation, you must sand all surfaces with 500 or 600 wet. Get ur surface clean with prep solvent or a good alcohol. Dont spray in the sun, but a clean enviorment as best as you can. Paint in the garadge and wet the floor is best. If you have bare metal you must prime it first with a good primer. If your on a budget ppg makes a real good rattle can high build primer... spray a few coats to get the parts covered with the black then let it dry, wetsand with 1000 grit wet and do a final coat. Should be a beautiful turnout as long as you make a good effort to keep it clean in your work area and follow these steps... any more questions im here every day, ask away! And yes i had clipons , i made them from some hyabusa parts and some machining and time on a lathe... that was my old 07 streetbob in my sig pic....Now im running a FATBOY LO. hope i could help... Later!

 

I managed to get excellent results on my old bike doing it on the cheap with rattle cans.
But like blacktop said its all the prep. I wanted to go all the way down to the bare metal and used Go-Jo hand cleaner with water and a sponge.
But you don't have to go that far if you want to. You can use it to clean off the grease/wax/dirt and rough up the surface for paint without resorting to other chemicals.
When you do get to the painting part make sure you use light even coats with a little overlap. Its better to put on three light coats than it is to do it all at once.
Put on too much and you'll have drips every time and they are a bitch to get rid of later.