Need a race bike painted?

[GregR6]

Many of us rattlecan our own bikes, but part of the reason may be because getting a decent paint job costs so much, and it will/might get banged up anyway.

Well, what if it were a bit cheaper? My dad wanted me to get a feel from the "racing community"  what the interest is in getting a professional-like paint job for your race bike at a reasonable price He has been doing bodywork/paint off and on for his entire life, so he's no slouch. All he'd need is a detailed pic and explanation of your scheme, and the bodywork.

He said a 1 to 2 color, somewhat simple scheme would run around $500. I've seen some guys charge 600-800 for a 1 color, base/clear coat paint job. I think he could do that for half that.

Please just post here with your thoughts and ideas and/or questions. Oh, he is also very good with fiberglass, so minor/mild repairs would be no problem. And of course tanks are no problem.
A link w/ pics: (yes, the blocks are painted, not decals)
http://pub114.ezboard.com/fyamahar6messagenetracing.showMessage?topicID=1754.topic


thanks.

[spyderchick]

Wow, Greg. Dude. If your dad can do whole bikes for 5 bills...wow. Guys, seriously, this could be a real deal. If I didn't have a painter extraordinaire as a spouse, I would consider it.

[r6_philly]

greg is going to hate me,

but we have been offering painting service for bodyworks for around $325 2 colors + number plate or $300 1 color + number plate. Anyone saw my bike down at daytona can see how nice it was done. 3 coats plus clear.

I even made up a flash thingie that you can choose your own scheme to get body painted... I am making it live right now.

[GregR6]

I don't hate you... You used the word "around", meaning, obviously, price is determined by many factors, 1 being type price of paint. Pops spent well over 200 JUST in materials for my bike. But that's 4 colors and alot of pearl. He estimated a "paint shop" would have charged about a grand for my paint job. He's got 8 hrs just in the lower...

I think he can meet or beat the price though. i.e. a solid color bike with plates could be as low as 250-300. Of course, you pay shipping.  ;)

[r6_philly]

my paint job as is in daytona $325 no extra anything. We paint a lot of them, maybe 2-3 a week, seen all the nice TPM bikes out there ;)

https://www.shopphilly.com/promotionpartsclub/paint.php

[james-redsv]

Doesnt make sense to put a bunch of money $350-$500 in a paint job when the first time out the lower gets all rock chipped and cuncks of rubber all over it. There is also a good possiblity all that pretty body work is gonna get taken off in a crash too. If you already have an aircompressor and spray gun, go buy some paint and clear coat and do it yourself for less than $125. You can even rattle can it, then put the better auto clear over it and it looks even better. I would rather put the extra cash into tires than a cool paint job, but if money wasnt a factor?? ;D

[Super Dave]

Doesnt make sense to put a bunch of money $350-$500 in a paint job,,,I would rather put the extra cash into tires than a cool paint job, but if money wasnt a factor?? ;D

LOL, that's starting to sound like me...

Even with my lack of funds, I usually find it less expensive to have my body painted.  $300+ sounds very reasonable.  My paint, body, and decals are all now whacked after Daytona...Time to get out the black Sharpie....

[GregR6]

My paint, body, and decals are all now whacked after Daytona...Time to get out the black Sharpie....

LOL! I just had deja vu!
did that about a week ago. My stuff was fuged up from Daytona. Needless to say my dad, who was my pit crew that weekend, wasn't too happy...  :-/

It's really not a bad deal IMO. But I can't really give concrete prices. I was just throwing a number out there. I know he is not looking to make a lot of money, but he can't do it for free either.

If anyone is interested, you can shoot me an email with your idea, and I'll ask him what it'll cost. Of course, the more interest/business he gets, the cheaper it will be. Buying materials in bulk saves the customer money, not just him.

[SliderPhoto]

Greg, there certainly is demand around here. If not racers, even track-day riders looking to get their skinz painted. Maybe offer various level of services. Some just want color, others want a factory level job. Doing it as cheap as the next guy isn't always the answer, people will appreciate having options and being able to select different quality levels.

Shipping and turn around time is always a concern.

Right now I've been waiting on a friend's brother to be able to do it, sitting on the fence whether I should rattle can or go over another friends and F it up myself. I want this one to look good.

Anyone in the Milwaukee area have a good hookup? I want this one to look factory. 2 colors, wheels and tank. Basecoat with clear over decals.
e-mail jackb@sliderphoto.com

[Jeff]

33 gallon compressor ~$250
HVLP gun $90
Feather edger $45
Misc equip (hoses, plastic, vents for spray booth) $75


Just add single stage paint...

Primer $40/qt
Black $35/qt
White $35/qt
Red $35/pt
Reducer $15/qt
Catalyst $45/qt

That's what I've got invested, and it's enough to paint over and over and over again...  You could probably do 10+ sets of bodywork with the above amounts of paint.  A pint will easily do 2 sets of bodywork.  I just buy quarts since it's cheaper.

The hassle would make it worth my while to have it done in the $200 range, with me prepping everything, but by the time I've paid round trip shipping it's just not worth it for me.

Rattle can didn't work well, so I went with auto grade paint.  However, I went with single stage paint because base/clear was a bit of overkill.  The bikes are looking better every year and I'm saving money along the way...  

I built a 10x10 vented spray booth in my basement (which will be moved to my toy-garage this summer), so I can spray year-round with no problems.

So, now that I've digressed, let me get back to the reason for my response...  8 hours work into a lower alone is absolute insanity.  I could see it if you were doing something for OCC or WCC, but not on a racebike.  Hell, I'd bet that you won't find a factory team that spends that much time.

8 hours into a whole set with prep time is more like it...  Anything else is anal-retentive overkill.

[Super Dave]

Anyone in the Milwaukee area have a good hookup? I want this one to look factory. 2 colors, wheels and tank. Basecoat with clear over decals.
e-mail jackb@sliderphoto.com

Jack, I've been going to Gillette Body & Paint in Waukesha.  He's into racing as his young son races shifter carts.

Talk to Todd.  I don't have the number in front of me, but he's in the Yellow pages...  They are located just south of 59 near that new PDQ...kind of near All Pro.

[GregR6]

Ya, so maybe he was a little anal retentive overkill on mine. But there are 3 colors and pearl and the checker which is faded into the white on the lower. That is why it was so much time. Most factory team/bikes have 1-color lowers.

That is some cheap paint, which is probably along the lines of what most people would want. The blue he used on mine was $64/pint.

Speaking of "levels of services." That's certainly doable. I plan on doing the setting up and running of all of this, while he does the labor. But I'm not going to spend hrs and hrs of setting it up if no one wants a good looking bike at a decent price.  Granted, I understand many already have a local acquaintences/friends who do it, but not everyone.

Just a note on shipping. You pay to have it shipped to your house, right? Well, if it's sent straight to him new, you pay it that once. We'll cover the shipping to you.