Painting the Valkyrie

[RonHolly]

Thinking of painting my Valk this spring with a new color scheme.  Has anyone done a spray can paint job on their Valk?  I have paint equipment but am just wanting to see if anyone has done theirs with paint cans with any kind of sucess?  I've watched a couple of YouBoob videos and they look pretty good.  That being said I'm wondering about durability and fade out, even after clear coating.  

[Bighead]

I wouldn't attempt it personally I think it would look like a turd.

[Valkpilot]

I wouldn't attempt it personally I think it would look like a turd.

Here's the tank from my Spirit 750, repaired after an unfortunate get off.  It's a rattle-can paint job with a decal under the clear coat.

Very un-turd-like, if you ask me.

[Tundra]

Nice job Valkpilot, looks good from here
 
 I've seen a few rattle can paint jobs that look great. I guess it depends on the quality paint, painter skill, prep work and the environment it's painted in.
  One that comes to mind is a member here, Dennis "Defragger" his Valkyrie is a one of a kind sharp looking bike and he did rattle can paint work with detailed narrated photos.
 Maybe search his posts, haven't seen him here in quite some time.

I believe Grumpy rattle canned his custom hand made motorcycle trailer to match his Valkyrie's paint theme. Looks darn good too.

[98pacecar]

When lookin,,, to buy mine....

I immediately,, ruled out,,,,,,,,,,,,,, bikes, with non factory paint......... 

[RonHolly]

On the top of my right hard bag, some old fart had to learn how to mount up and got boot scratch marks all over the top.  I plan on rattle can painting the top and see how it comes out.  Gonna buy some racks and install them on top to prevent re-occurence.  Went I start I'll post some pics of the before and after.

[Tundra]

Have you tried a light compound and buff/polish?

[RonHolly]

Lot of old touch up painted blotch marks, from the previous owners, plus the new ones I put on there from my boots.  I guess I'm really just looking for an excuse to paint it.  I'll go see if there's enough light to take a picture to post.

The underlined ones are former owner touch ups and the circle is scrapes from my boots.

[RonHolly]

I guess the lines and circle will show up after Photbucket updates the original photo.

[Bert AKA,Valkaholic]

I would try rubbing/buffing compound and waxing with a  Sponge Buffing pad on a drill before painting them with a spray bomb, Especially if they are Black ABS Plastic and have not already been painted . They should clean-up pretty easily. I took a Sponge Pad on my drill and used Buffing Compound on mine then I waxed them the same way and they turned out Beautiful. I would Definitely Try This First, Before Attempting To Paint Them.
 Just My .02 Cents Worth.

[R J]

There is a gentleman in oHIo that goes by the name of KCK.

He redid all of his Valk with a rattle can.    He had a lot of Harley parts on it and if I remember right it was kind of an Orange Black bike.

Looked real good, in a picture and up close.

He posted on here one day he was selling his ride.   Several of us didn't take him serious and he let it go to a party in Texas for a little bit of nothing.

Had I of known he wasn't kidding, it would have been setting in my garage now.

Only place I have seen him posting is on the oHIo board lately.   Ya might post over there asking the same question and ya might get a response.

Also he might have a picture of the bike before he sold it after being painted with a rattle can.

[RonHolly]

I would try rubbing/buffing compound and waxing with a  Sponge Buffing pad on a drill before painting them with a spray bomb, Especially if they are Black ABS Plastic and have not already been painted . They should clean-up pretty easily. I took a Sponge Pad on my drill and used Buffing Compound on mine then I waxed them the same way and they turned out Beautiful. I would Definitely Try This First, Before Attempting To Paint Them.
 Just My .02 Cents Worth.

It has been painted before.  It's not the bare ABS plastic.  Just for "grins" I'll try buffing it out "butt" I'm pretty sure it won't end up being something I will like.  But who knows I've been wrong before and will be wrong again.

[Bighead]

I wouldn't attempt it personally I think it would look like a turd.

Here's the tank from my Spirit 750, repaired after an unfortunate get off.  It's a rattle-can paint job with a decal under the clear coat.

Very un-turd-like, if you ask me.

VP kudos to you but I was just saying if I did it that it would look like a turd. Wasn't saying it couldn't be done but I think I will stick with a Painter if and when I need it done.
And yes that Yellow looks nice,looks in the pics as you did a very fine job.

[Valkpilot]

VP kudos to you but I was just saying if I did it that it would look like a turd. Wasn't saying it couldn't be done but I think I will stick with a Painter if and when I need it done.
And yes that Yellow looks nice,looks in the pics as you did a very fine job.

Thanks for clarifying and thanks for the compliment.

It was a ton of work, mostly in the prep.  I had to pull out a baseball sized dent on the upper cheek, then smooth and prime (and smooth and prime and smooth and prime and...) I was able to get away without wet sanding or buffing the paint and clear coat though.

Since then, given the choice between doing it myself and taking stuff to a painter, I've picked the pro every time.

[Pappy!]

Apparently a good rattle can job can be done but.........the make up of the two part urethanes is such that the rattle can paint cannot come close to the hardness and durability the mixed urethanes can.
Nice job Valkpilot!!

[proimage1]

I wouldn't attempt it personally I think it would look like a turd.

Here's the tank from my Spirit 750, repaired after an unfortunate get off.  It's a rattle-can paint job with a decal under the clear coat.

Very un-turd-like, if you ask me.

That looks darn good - I'm terrible with paint !  The very few times I've tried it DID look like a sprayed turd - think it has a lot to do with patience which I'm usually quite short on !
You know what the old buzzard said ' Patience my ass, I'm gonna kill something !

I had a tiny nik on my Triumph - attempted to fix with a rattle can and it looks 5 times worse now !
Guess it's all about knowing your limits and talents !

[RonHolly]

I think touch up is more difficult than painting the whole part. 

[YoungPUP]

Check with your local auto body/paint supply house.  The one I use can make/mix paint to match and then put it in a 2 part spray can.  paint in a bottom jar with spray and hardener in the can. its pricy ($30 ish ) a can but if you're just going to do the lid it may be worth a shot.

[Valkpilot]

Apparently a good rattle can job can be done but.........the make up of the two part urethanes is such that the rattle can paint cannot come close to the hardness and durability the mixed urethanes can.
Nice job Valkpilot!!

Thank you.

One thing I did learn was to make sure to use the same brand clear coat as the base color.  The different brands aren't always compatible and you can get bubbles and lifting of the paint.