Suzuki 2 Strokes

Hi GUYS
I am about to put the gypsy red candy on my tank and side panels and need advise..DO I PUT THE DECAL ON THE RED then clear coat or should i give it a coat of clear coat then add decal followed by more coats of the clear ?? DECAL ARE OK TO CLEAR THEY SAY

CHEERS STU

I do a clear coat before decals so as to be able to clean up and\y goobers in the paint and not get in the color coat. And do some fog coats on the decals and let set a bit, as to not lift the decal adhesive.....

bondspyguy wrote:Hi GUYS
I am about to put the gypsy red candy on my tank and side panels and need advise..DO I PUT THE DECAL ON THE RED then clear coat or should i give it a coat of clear coat then add decal followed by more coats of the clear ?? DECAL ARE OK TO CLEAR THEY SAY

CHEERS STU

I'm no professional painter. But, I do know for the best finished look you would want to clear over the decals. Decals with no clear covering them look very cheap in my opinion. Some cheap vinyl decals react badly to clear in that they will curl once the clear hits them. But, as long as you have purchased decals that are made of descent quality vinyl. Than I wouldn't worry the slightest about that point. It's rare, but supposedly it happens. Just something to consider. Because if the vinyl isn't a descent quality. Than you may want to consider just applying them with no clear over the decals after you clear the tank. That's what I've learned from my painter that has been doing this for an extremely long time at a professional level. Please, remember to share your paint job when it's finished.

Hi,

I have a friend who is painter, and i have watched him many times. Here is the way he do it:

Make sure the base is really ready.. It is now you want to be critical!

1. Base paint, usually silver metallic of some kind.

2. Check for dust caught in the paine, if any objects use fine grit sanding paper.

3. candy color, numbers of layers accuired to get the correct tone of color. The more layers the darker..

4. Check for dust caught in the paint, if any objects use fine grit sanding paper.

5. One layer of clear coat.

6. Check for dust caught in the paint, if any objects use fine grit sanding paper.

7. Apply decals

8. Mist spray the decals slowly and let the rest for a while.

9. Clear coat layers until satisfied result.

Hope this helps.

This was done base coat (the color), vinyl decals, then clear. There is a thing called a brayer. It's a rubber roller used in the rubber stamp hobby. Wife had one. I went over and over the decals to make sure every square mm was adhered, Let it set 2 days before clear.

That's the only thing I don't like about vinyl decals, it take a million coat of clear to smooth them out........

ja-moo wrote:That's the only thing I don't like about vinyl decals, it take a million coat of clear to smooth them out........

I understand your point. But, my tank has 2 coats of clear only and the transition is smooth. I think that mainly boils down to how thick the vinyl is. With a candy paint job, you want to minimize how much clear you use.

pearljam724 wrote:

ja-moo wrote:That's the only thing I don't like about vinyl decals, it take a million coat of clear to smooth them out........

I understand your point. But, my tank has 2 coats of clear only and the transition is smooth. I think that mainly boils down to how thick the vinyl is. With a candy paint job, you want to minimize how much clear you use.

Hi Pearljam, why do you want to minimize the clear on candy? On my Aztec candy gold GT380 the painter gave it one under the decals, and three over to smoothen out the edges....

Looks great....

dyrberg123 wrote:

pearljam724 wrote:

ja-moo wrote:That's the only thing I don't like about vinyl decals, it take a million coat of clear to smooth them out........

I understand your point. But, my tank has 2 coats of clear only and the transition is smooth. I think that mainly boils down to how thick the vinyl is. With a candy paint job, you want to minimize how much clear you use.

Hi Pearljam, why do you want to minimize the clear on candy? On my Aztec candy gold GT380 the painter gave it one under the decals, and three over to smoothen out the edges....

Looks great....

Same amount of coats on mine. When I said minimize. I was referring to, the people that think a 100 coats of clear is what you want.

well i got my clear on but ran out so will just put the decals on in a week when all is set,i must say i like these new paints the last time i painted it was cellulose on a british hillman hunter car.i think its turned out really good for my first time tell me what you think guys.and thanks for all the help everyone

having a problem it wont let me upload will try again tomorrow

You're right, it's amazing what the "average joe" can do in his basement. I went out and bought an oil-less compressor, a couple of different paint guns all to get ready to learn how to paint. I ended up going to the local paint supply house, selecting the color, having them inject that color into custom rattle cans, then after I painted the tins, I wetsanded each piece, painted a second coat, wetsanded again with 2500 paper and wiped super clean. Then, I applied my decals right onto the milky-white surface left from wet sanding. After the decals had dried, I misted with clear using a two-part (red button), then ten minutes later applied a heavier coat and they came out looking they had been dipped in glass! Amazing finish!

It really took a leap of faith to clear over the milky white finish left by the wet sanding but the instructional I had read said the the paint color would show through but not the "milky white"....and they were right. It came out excellently. They had recommended misting with the clear first just to let the decal get "set", whatever that meant. I took it to mean they didn't want me immersing the decal with a load of chemicals that would cause it to bubble.

I've painted several more since then and it's no fluke, they all come out very nicely and with the two part clear, gas & oil doesn't ruin them either!

jeff

This is my 380 painted candy gypsy red by a bloke in the UK who operated under the name "Toxic Crow"

i cannot post any pics i am getting board quota reached ??

Here's a pic of my completed and cleared H1 tank:

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Liquid glass that stuff is.....


jeff