Pretty good for rattle cans if you ask me

Looking good putho.

nice

Nice job!

What brand paint did you use?
Any pointers/tips for people like me who can only make paint look like shit?

Oh man, its all about the prep and getting a real smooth surface.

I used duplicolor lacquer (I think lacquer will be easier to shine than enamel will)

Shot it with maybe 3-4 coats of primer to smooth it down, 220-320 grit between coats.

then shot it with 2 coats of color, 600 grit between coats. Key is to get it as smooth as possible.

Then shot it with 3-4 coats of clear coat. I tried two ways here:

1. shot all the clear then sanded....
2. shot clear, but sanded 1000 between each coat...

both ways net the same result......2000 grit on final clear coat, which is a BITCH. Gotta do it enough to get rid of the orange peel. The key is to get it to the point where ALL of the finish gets dull. AND you should use a foam pad behind the 2000 grit so you apply even pressure. look up "color sanding" on google.

Anyway, I bought an 8 dollar foam buffing wheel that you can attach to a drill.

I started with rubbing compound, but I found that polish works best.

its all about the buffing. I dampen the foam pad, then I apply a layer of polish on the paint with another applicator. Then I go to town with the foam pad.

It looks good, but I have to figure out how to get the little swirl marks out. I have a feeling its because I haven't let the clear fully cure yet.

Thanks!!!

u need finishing compound. i have 3m compound you can try. just remind me when you come pick up the trailer

COOOOL.....hmmmmm finishing compound, does it matter what kind of applicator I use?

Just crash it once. Then you won't care about the swirl marks any more.

you should use a buffer with the egg carton like foam

so mean, what if I actually do crash

Headmuffs has a buffer and he is anal enough where he will make it look nice and smooth.

the problem with that logic is
1. muff's doesn't hold a jap bike in as high regards as a german car, and
2. it's not muff's

Muffs always does an excellent job washing my bike. He just can't stand the sight of a dirty bike.

Wow nice one Ron!

at least he's good for something

that's some shine from a rattle can, damn.

are you going to paint a # plate on it?

Muffs is a good kid. He just needs better time and money management.

I was going to just paint a white number plate on it (since I was already masking for white), but I figured people would give me flack about it since a white background means "expert"

so I figured if I needed one, I'd just do it with vinyl.

dudes on CLSB were already crackin jokes on the #1 I had on the back from my stock mladin fairings

they're just jealous