Tweet
Hello my two wheeled brethren!
This post is about how to mess with your bike's paintwork.
Over here I have shown my first attempt at custom painting a fuel tank. I got a Bullet tank off olx so that I could practice my hand. Once perfected, I will attempt the same on my Hyosung ST7 tank.
A lot of things need to be analyzed from this attempt with regard to colour quality and longevity which I will come to later. So here goes.Hope you all enjoy it as much as I have.
1. Equipment needed:
.An airbrush
.Airbrush compressor
.airbrush paints.both opaque and transparent.
.Waterproof Sandpaper. 320, 800 and 1500.
.Bondo putty.
.Bosny automotive primer /one can
.Bosny automotive top coat /one can
.Urethane clear coat/ one big can or maybe two.
2. Precautions.
. Work in a well ventilated area.
.Use a dust mask
.Use surgical gloves
.cover work area well with newspaper
3.Process:
Depending on the condition of your tank, sand it down completely. Apply bondo to fill the dents and chips etc. Cover the opening. After the bondo dries, wet sand it starting with 320 sandpaper and progressively applying up to 1500 sand paper till you get a smooth surface without any dips or recesses. Your finger tips are the best judge of this.
Clean the tank thoroughly with soap and water. Then with thinner.Use a lintless cloth to wipe down the tank.
Apply a good quality primer that will cover the tank surface.give it atleast 2 coats with 20 mins between coats. Then apply a top coat of your choice. In this case I went with black.Sorry I don't have photos of the primer coat. Primer was grey.
This passion of my has been completely fuelled by Youtube videos.In fact my other passion of wood working has also been fuelled by Youtube videos. All you need is passion for the subject and the will to invest some money in your hobby.Its the best kind of therapy in the world apart from riding ofcourse.
So check out a few videos on how to paint your fuel tank. Please note that I did not just get up one day and decide to do this.I have been airbrushing off and on for a couple of years now. I have been practicing on paper so that I could paint my bike one day.I am in the middle of my learning curve and wanted you guys to be a part of it.
Cut out the stencils that you want.Position it where you need on the tank.It helps if you visualize your composition in your head before starting. I wanted a big skull smack in the middle of the tank with flames all over. So apply your stencil and paint it using the airbrush.once it is dry, cover with urethane clear coat. I have used multiple colours to build up the depth in the skull as well as give depth to the flames. Please give clear coats after every colour so that they don't mix.I will not go into details of painting the flames as there are good videos of the same available on youtube. Once you are done, give it a couple of coats of clear.
Use a lintless tack cloth to wipe down the tank before applying each clear coat. Try and work in a dust free environment unless u want dust particles to be on your tank forever.
4.Review at some point in the future.
As I said earlier, I am on a learning curve here. I have used water based acrylic airbrush paint for the image since they don't need any thinners or volatiles.
Though I have covered it with urethane clear coats, I have to see how long the paint lasts under constant sun exposure.So have kept the painted tank in my balcony so that it gets sun exposure all day long.Will let all know how well the paint ages. I will try enamel based paints the next time.
Thanks for reading.
This post is about how to mess with your bike's paintwork.
Over here I have shown my first attempt at custom painting a fuel tank. I got a Bullet tank off olx so that I could practice my hand. Once perfected, I will attempt the same on my Hyosung ST7 tank.
A lot of things need to be analyzed from this attempt with regard to colour quality and longevity which I will come to later. So here goes.Hope you all enjoy it as much as I have.
1. Equipment needed:
.An airbrush
.Airbrush compressor
.airbrush paints.both opaque and transparent.
.Waterproof Sandpaper. 320, 800 and 1500.
.Bondo putty.
.Bosny automotive primer /one can
.Bosny automotive top coat /one can
.Urethane clear coat/ one big can or maybe two.
2. Precautions.
. Work in a well ventilated area.
.Use a dust mask
.Use surgical gloves
.cover work area well with newspaper
3.Process:
Depending on the condition of your tank, sand it down completely. Apply bondo to fill the dents and chips etc. Cover the opening. After the bondo dries, wet sand it starting with 320 sandpaper and progressively applying up to 1500 sand paper till you get a smooth surface without any dips or recesses. Your finger tips are the best judge of this.
Clean the tank thoroughly with soap and water. Then with thinner.Use a lintless cloth to wipe down the tank.
Apply a good quality primer that will cover the tank surface.give it atleast 2 coats with 20 mins between coats. Then apply a top coat of your choice. In this case I went with black.Sorry I don't have photos of the primer coat. Primer was grey.
This passion of my has been completely fuelled by Youtube videos.In fact my other passion of wood working has also been fuelled by Youtube videos. All you need is passion for the subject and the will to invest some money in your hobby.Its the best kind of therapy in the world apart from riding ofcourse.
So check out a few videos on how to paint your fuel tank. Please note that I did not just get up one day and decide to do this.I have been airbrushing off and on for a couple of years now. I have been practicing on paper so that I could paint my bike one day.I am in the middle of my learning curve and wanted you guys to be a part of it.
Cut out the stencils that you want.Position it where you need on the tank.It helps if you visualize your composition in your head before starting. I wanted a big skull smack in the middle of the tank with flames all over. So apply your stencil and paint it using the airbrush.once it is dry, cover with urethane clear coat. I have used multiple colours to build up the depth in the skull as well as give depth to the flames. Please give clear coats after every colour so that they don't mix.I will not go into details of painting the flames as there are good videos of the same available on youtube. Once you are done, give it a couple of coats of clear.
Use a lintless tack cloth to wipe down the tank before applying each clear coat. Try and work in a dust free environment unless u want dust particles to be on your tank forever.
4.Review at some point in the future.
As I said earlier, I am on a learning curve here. I have used water based acrylic airbrush paint for the image since they don't need any thinners or volatiles.
Though I have covered it with urethane clear coats, I have to see how long the paint lasts under constant sun exposure.So have kept the painted tank in my balcony so that it gets sun exposure all day long.Will let all know how well the paint ages. I will try enamel based paints the next time.
Thanks for reading.
Comment