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On 18th may 2011 i got a black pulsar 220 and i have done a couple of long rides on it.
the longest was Bangalore-leh- Bangalore , it was during this ride the shiny paint faded away and also there were a couple of scratches due to a nasty fall.
i am very much attached to my bike and regularly used wax polish after cleaning to avoid minute scratches.
After the leh ride that shiny appearance of my bike ,which was also a reason for many envious faces seemed like a matter of past now.
Immediately after leh ride i had to join a ship for an year, that not only forced me to take the bike from garage while it was undergoing plastic surgery , but it had to stay like that for an year till i came back from sailing.
that's how my bike looked like.
one year passed , i got down from ship , busy with exams and i heard about TRUE WANDERERS 3 .
All excited about the contest , and unable to find anyone willing to do a paint job at reasonable cost i decided to do it myself.
so here's what followed.
i did some research online on paint jobs and bought
1. bosny clear coat - 3 cans
2. bosny glossy black- 1 can (for fairing)
3. 3M masking tape
4. finest 3M sandpaper (dnt remember the grit size)
5. bosny glossy silver - 1can
as the deep scratches on fairing were already filled with putty , i dint have to purchase putty.
Precautions
1.Make sure the room where you carry of painting job is clean.
2. Wear a mask , as the gases released from paint cans are injurious to health, a very fine powder is also released along with the paint.
3. Wear a shower cap (i am serious) , to avoid any strand of hair falling on wet paint and spoiling all your hard work.
THE PROCESS
1. i started with side flaps. wet sanded them by soaking sand paper in water and them rubbing it over painted surface.
after sanding is done clean the paint surface thoroughly and cover the non-painted areas using masking tape & newspaper.
shake the can well before spraying , spray from a distance of 1-1.5 feet at least, if paint is sprayed too close to the surface it will drip.
apply more thin coats and avoid thick coats of paint.
once the side flaps were done i repeated wet sanding process on fuel tank after removing scratch guard and tank cap.
i tried removing the pulsar logo but the glue holding it was adamant . didn't force further
AFTER PAINTING
same procedure repeated for grab rails and rear cowls(after covering 220f sticker with masking tape).
now it was fairing's turn.
started with wet sanding the putty work (done at the paint shop in Bangalore).
as this was my first paint job i was nervous
and nagging from my parents as they occasionally peeped into my room reminded me that my bike HAD TO LOOK BETTER THAN BEFORE !!!
after wet sanding the fairing , i slowly moved my fingers over the paint with eyes closed. just to be assured of fine finishing and evenness of surface.
once satisfied ,i painted the fairing with black spray paint, and applied a layer of clear coat once the black paint dried.
once done with painting the main parts of bike , i painted the silencer guard plate next and assembled the bike after few hours of rest .
SUMMARY
I COULD HAVE IMPROVED THE APPEARANCE FURTHER BY AVOIDING 2 MISTAKES I DID.
1. CHOOSE PAINT OF EXACT SHADE AS THAT OF YOUR BIKE'S.
2. USE HARDENER AFTER CLEAR COAT.
the longest was Bangalore-leh- Bangalore , it was during this ride the shiny paint faded away and also there were a couple of scratches due to a nasty fall.
i am very much attached to my bike and regularly used wax polish after cleaning to avoid minute scratches.
After the leh ride that shiny appearance of my bike ,which was also a reason for many envious faces seemed like a matter of past now.
Immediately after leh ride i had to join a ship for an year, that not only forced me to take the bike from garage while it was undergoing plastic surgery , but it had to stay like that for an year till i came back from sailing.
that's how my bike looked like.
one year passed , i got down from ship , busy with exams and i heard about TRUE WANDERERS 3 .
All excited about the contest , and unable to find anyone willing to do a paint job at reasonable cost i decided to do it myself.
so here's what followed.
i did some research online on paint jobs and bought
1. bosny clear coat - 3 cans
2. bosny glossy black- 1 can (for fairing)
3. 3M masking tape
4. finest 3M sandpaper (dnt remember the grit size)
5. bosny glossy silver - 1can
as the deep scratches on fairing were already filled with putty , i dint have to purchase putty.
Precautions
1.Make sure the room where you carry of painting job is clean.
2. Wear a mask , as the gases released from paint cans are injurious to health, a very fine powder is also released along with the paint.
3. Wear a shower cap (i am serious) , to avoid any strand of hair falling on wet paint and spoiling all your hard work.
THE PROCESS
1. i started with side flaps. wet sanded them by soaking sand paper in water and them rubbing it over painted surface.
after sanding is done clean the paint surface thoroughly and cover the non-painted areas using masking tape & newspaper.
shake the can well before spraying , spray from a distance of 1-1.5 feet at least, if paint is sprayed too close to the surface it will drip.
apply more thin coats and avoid thick coats of paint.
once the side flaps were done i repeated wet sanding process on fuel tank after removing scratch guard and tank cap.
i tried removing the pulsar logo but the glue holding it was adamant . didn't force further
AFTER PAINTING
same procedure repeated for grab rails and rear cowls(after covering 220f sticker with masking tape).
now it was fairing's turn.
started with wet sanding the putty work (done at the paint shop in Bangalore).
as this was my first paint job i was nervous
and nagging from my parents as they occasionally peeped into my room reminded me that my bike HAD TO LOOK BETTER THAN BEFORE !!!after wet sanding the fairing , i slowly moved my fingers over the paint with eyes closed. just to be assured of fine finishing and evenness of surface.
once satisfied ,i painted the fairing with black spray paint, and applied a layer of clear coat once the black paint dried.
once done with painting the main parts of bike , i painted the silencer guard plate next and assembled the bike after few hours of rest .
SUMMARY
I COULD HAVE IMPROVED THE APPEARANCE FURTHER BY AVOIDING 2 MISTAKES I DID.
1. CHOOSE PAINT OF EXACT SHADE AS THAT OF YOUR BIKE'S.
2. USE HARDENER AFTER CLEAR COAT.
. i bought everything i required from local shops, cant trust online stuff blindly specially when everything has to be precise.
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