Harley loves their paint!
Road Warrior
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 1,929
Likes: 301
From: moved to Florida!
Back in 2005 I bought HD paint to match my sinister blue. Still didn't match! Good thing my painter (the third one) took the time to adjust it to match. Just because it's HD doesn't mean it will match exactly.
Road Master
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 915
Likes: 29
From: SE FL & Black Hills SD
I'm going to buy a new RG over the 6-8 months and plan on keeping the same 10 year old tour pak I have used on all my touring bikes. Will need to get it painted, time for something other than vivid black. I have wondered what a paint shop would charge to match and finish it if I strip it so all they need to do is sand and spray. Any idea what I'm looking at for that?
Road Master
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 1,170
Likes: 14
From: washington dc
Afishinado asks about cost to paint a tour pak. I recently paid $350 for 2 saddle bags and rear facia. TP should be less.
I'm not sure I would mess with stripping, unless you somehow know there will be compatibility issues. You may gouge the soft plastic, which the painter would need to fill, and if there are no compatibility issues then why bother.
I'm not sure I would mess with stripping, unless you somehow know there will be compatibility issues. You may gouge the soft plastic, which the painter would need to fill, and if there are no compatibility issues then why bother.
Advanced
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 57
Likes: 1
From: baton rouge la.
I did some bodywork and painted a few pieces on my new streetglide and wound up buying my paint from colorite to get the match I was looking for. I work for a very large body shop that buys a huge amount of paint and supplies a month.($100000) and after 2 weeks of both our suppliers try to match it and our own paint mixer using the shops paint camera we found out that the pearls Harley uses are not released to aftermarket suppliers. We could get close but the side tint or flop would be off. I know the Harley paint seems high but its about the same as colorite and they will match by spraying a test panel and if you have a 3 stage adjusting the number of pearl coats to match before clearing. The solid colors and non pearls you can probably get away with aftermarket paint but save yourself the trouble if you have a 3 stage with pearls and buy the Harley or colorite paint. Good luck
Road Master
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 940
Likes: 3
You can still purchase a bike with the color, but the HD dealer says it's obsolete. Go figure.
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Advanced
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 67
Likes: 23
From: Pa
paint is all high like others have said . I recently bought a 3 stage paint for a GM color and it was the tint coat which cost the most it was every bit as expensive as the harley paint in quart quantities . but you get what you pay for and i wanted the tint as seen with the 3 stage . the showed me a sample of a much less expensive single stage and it wasn't the same. i opted for what made me happy , paid the bill and forgot it . every time its out in the sun I fall in love with the color all over again - money well spent for my own personal satisfaction.
Road Master
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 992
Likes: 2
From: TN
Got some 3 1/2-4" extended saddle bags last week (Drag Specialties) and dropped them off at my painter. I told him the color (Midnight Pearl) and went out of town for the week. Got back expecting to see finished bags. Bags hadn't even been started
He said he was afraid to spend that kind of money without me giving the thumbs up. How much could it possible be.......to my surprise $199.00 plus shipping per quart. Holy cow......I'll have as much in the painting as I will the bags. Might be cheaper to change the color of the whole bike.....LOL
He said he was afraid to spend that kind of money without me giving the thumbs up. How much could it possible be.......to my surprise $199.00 plus shipping per quart. Holy cow......I'll have as much in the painting as I will the bags. Might be cheaper to change the color of the whole bike.....LOL