standout Posted February 16, 2011 Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 Just ordered some hotbodies race plastics for my bike. My question is what are u guys experiences with getting them painted. I'm just weighing my options between the three. They all have there positives and negatives but maybe there's something I'm overlooking. Paint: really have no clue what it costs to have them painted professionally. I emailed attack painter a few days ago but have yet to hear back from him. The pro for paint of course would be looks and durability. The con I think would be price. Who have u guys used and about what does it cost for a simple 2 color paint job?Vinyl wrap: pros would be awesome durability, much less prep work and much easier repairs in the event of a crash. Cons would be cost again and difficulty of installation. I've seen it range anywhere from 3-500 for a full bike just for the vinyl. I assume a paint job would run a couple hundred more. Have any of u used the vinyl stuff and if so did u install it yourself and how hard was it. If your not sure what I'm talking about. www.trackwraps.comRattle can: pros CHEAP. From what I'm reading depending on how good u want it to look can be anywhere from $30-$150. Cons: hard to make look good. Lots of prep work wich equals time. Gas isn't it's best friend. Has to be redone every cpl years. Is it worth the extra 100-200 to get vinyl instead of spray painting? Can I get a professional paint job for sub 500? Most of u guys have been doing this way longer then me so any opinions are appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkow97 Posted February 16, 2011 Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 i vote rattle-can.Everything else is just soooo expensive by comparison; and for what return? I will say that the wraps seem to help keep things together a little better in a crash, but repairing a wrap means total replacement. repairing a rattle-can job is $6...professional paint costs as much as a weekend at the track. Where would you rather spend your money; looking good, or actually riding?personal choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkow97 Posted February 16, 2011 Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 the prep work for painting NEW bodywork should be pretty minimal for rattle-can or a wrap.i have spilled gas on my rattle-can job numerous times, and it's never really messed it up. The only problems I've had are some cracking (the tail section flexes with my weight on it), and my top-coat has been rubbed off by my boot in a couple of places.track bikes get beat up. They're hitting bugs and bits of rubber from other bikes at 130+ mph, going on and off a trailer a few times a month, etc. - they get scratched. I'm much less upset about having my $40 paint job messed up than I would be about scratching an expensive paint job, or wrap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
APCh8r Posted February 16, 2011 Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 Paul (Attack Painter) can do race bodywork for cheaper than you will find that vinyl wrap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbot Posted February 16, 2011 Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 or if your bodywork is black already, and you have bits of oem bodywork cause you didn't feel like changing it out and it happens to be yellow, you can pretend like you did it on purpose and call it "giant retared bumblebee" paint scheme.bitches love that shit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reimbrandt Posted February 16, 2011 Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 From a pro painters point of veiw...... rattle or vynil. Myself personally wouldnt do even a single color set up for less than 500 and thats no frills (sanding, buffing, bodywork) I gotta agree with the other that repairing/painting would be so much easier if its rattle canned and being a track bike your gonna rough it up. The other thing I see that is a down to vynil is if you wreck and damage a fairing. you will have the pain of removing whats left of the vynil before you can even work on it. the speeds you guys run who cares if it looks perfect. (unless you have a sponser that requires a clean look) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TSB67 Posted February 16, 2011 Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 I ended up rattle can using about $36 worth of paint, and that ended up being primer/color/clear. Of course I also bought sanding sponges and tack cloth for prep, a fan to exhaust my "paint booth", a HEPA filter for the shop vac for cleanup, and I *should* have bought a respirator. It looked good new but it sun faded to after about 4 days. Of course I'm still running that paint job over 3 years later.I'm not interested in a high dollar pretty paint job - hell, I'm afraid to do a repaint on these plastics for fear of bad luck. I would however definitely be willing to pay a pro or otherwise a little bit to just shoot some solid color over another set of primered plastics so I could avoid the hassle.I *am* a cheap bastard. I was going to run in the primer they came in, but was afraid it would rub off on everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moto-Brian Posted February 16, 2011 Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 Paul (Attack Painter) can do your stuff for VERY reasonable and make it look WAY better than rattle can and oftentimes, the vinyl stuff... The vinyl stuff has a matte finish and looks like shit up close. Paul will get you in under that cost, also. 614-394-2195. Tell him I sent you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted February 16, 2011 Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 rattle can. put the money you save towards new tires or another track day or other more important stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkow97 Posted February 16, 2011 Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 (edited) If Paul's pricing is as low as it sounds, it's at least worth a call to him.Otherwise, I haven't had any problems with paint fading. There IS an intermediate option that no one has mentioned at this point...buy your own harbor freight spray gun and air compressor. then you just buy automotive paint, and spray it yourself.It will NOT be as good as a pro job (chances are you will get drips, and "orange peel" that would drive them bonkers), but it will be automotive grade paint to resist gasoline better. Like I said though, i've gotten a fair amount of gas on my bike and it's never been an issue.I will agree with Brian that the wraps can look very "eh" close-up, but I've seen several that are very good.www.hixracing.com has their bikes 100% wrapped, right down to the NESBA "C" sticker on the fender. I did a double-take on that before realizing it was part of the wrap, and I was standing right next to the bike - is it as 'sharp' as paint? No, but it looks damn good from a couple yards away, and definitely in pictures.This is 100% wrap. (That's BuckyBadger btw) Edited February 16, 2011 by redkow97 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted February 16, 2011 Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 bed liner resists gasoline very well. or wrenches that get dropped on the bodywork Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natedogg624 Posted February 16, 2011 Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 paul is extremely busy these next few weeks finishing up AMA stuff, so you'll have to be patient or persistent but he will get back to you. paul does awesome work and at a price that will for sure be a lot lower than you had in mind.and as far as the rattle can statement of it'll need repainted every few years, while this is true I'm betting you'll have crashed well before your rattle can needs to be repainted. this isn't to single you out as a poor rider, we all do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2Wheeler Posted February 16, 2011 Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 I used ratlecan pait and covered with automotive clear. Held up nicely against everything except asphault. Nice shine too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwiztedRabbit Posted February 16, 2011 Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 i vote paul if you you wanna have it look baller for a cheap price he has painted a lot of stuff for the wife and I... our track fairings all rattle can! and they look good for being Rattle canned.. and again its a track day not a bike fashion show.. theres no prize for LOOKING the fastest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ducati guy Posted February 16, 2011 Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 I like quality, so I vote paint job. I had my track plastics painted on my zx10. My ducati has a professional paint job on the race plastic and I wouldn't go any other way. I may not be the fastest on the track but I still like my bike looking good on and off the track. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
standout Posted February 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 lots of good info as always guys. I figured paul would be busy around this time of year but depending on his price i may just go rattle can. Seems to be what the majority of us low budget guys do. I've seen a couple that looked real nice. i've still got a few months until the first trackday so thats plenty of time to do a decent rattle can job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
APCh8r Posted February 16, 2011 Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 Yeah I would say Paul is going to be busy with Attack stuff until Daytona, so after that would be your best bet in getting into him if you need paint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkow97 Posted February 17, 2011 Report Share Posted February 17, 2011 lots of good info as always guys. I figured paul would be busy around this time of year but depending on his price i may just go rattle can. Seems to be what the majority of us low budget guys do. I've seen a couple that looked real nice. i've still got a few months until the first trackday so thats plenty of time to do a decent rattle can job.I just hear sooooo many of us saying things like, "i'd do a trackday if it didn't cost so much," or "I'd race if i could afford tires/transponder/etc." you get the picture. spending hundreds of dollars on something that's unnecessary just seems like a bad call when there are so many other things that will make you safer, faster, or both...If you can pay $500 for a paint job and still have enough cash in the budget for 12 trackdays and 3 sets of tires, then I say go for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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