Motorcycles are much smaller than cars and have less surface areas to paint. This means more time can be put into the paint job and better quality paint can be used on a motorcycle. There are many paint companies that offer special paints, but are expensive and too costly to use on large vehicles.
Choosing Paint
When choosing paint for your motorcycle, keep in mind the design you want to use. Specialty paints like chameleon colors, chrome paint, glow-in-the-dark paint, prism paint and other expensive paints can be used to create a very unique and one-of-a-kind custom paint job on your motorcycle. These paints can be used by themselves or on top of a regular base coat of paint.
After choosing the paint for your motorcycle, get the primer, clearcoat paint and reducer to go with it. All of these materials should be made from the same manufacturer, not mixed with any other company's products. Mixing brands could possibly cause unwanted chemical reactions and imperfections in the paint's finish.
Prepping the Motorcycle
When painting an entire motorcycle, remove the parts that will be painted. If this is not possible, remove or cover surrounding parts that won't be painted. Use masking tape and paper to completely seal these parts so overspray from the paint can't reach them.
Use 120 grit sandpaper to sand the old paint and primer off of the motorcycle. A dual action sander may be used, but some areas must be sanded by hand because of the angles and size of the parts. Wipe the sanded areas with wax and grease remover and a microfiber cloth. Spray two thin coats of primer on the sanded areas, allowing each coat to dry for thirty minutes before applying the next. Once the primer is dry, sand it smooth with 300 grit sandpaper. Wipe the area several more times with wax and grease remover.
Painting
Wipe the areas covered in primer with a tack rag to pick up and remaining particles of dust or dirt. Spray the parts with three or four thin coats of paint. Allow each coat to dry for 30 to 60 minutes before applying the next coat. Once the paint has dried for an hour, spray the parts with four thin layers of clearcoat paint. Allow the paint to dry for a full 24 hours before touching or moving the parts. Wait two full days before putting the parts back together if they were taken off of the motorcycle.
