Motorcycle Color

Here’s how I painted this thing…

First, I disassembled it down to the frame. Then I cleaned everything with Simple Green, brake cleaner, and a power drill with a few metal bristle brushes. When pulled off the bike, most parts were pretty nasty. Before I painted, everything was clean and shiny.

It would have been better to powdercoat everything, but I didn’t want to spend the money or remove any bearings. For most parts, I used black Krylon primer and Krylon Satin Black for the top coat. For the seat I used Krylon vinyl stuff (works great for all unpainted plastics). For the motor I used Duplicolor High-Temp (500 degrees F) gray primer and black semi-gloss paint. The semi gloss was a bit glossier than the regular Krylon Satin black. If I did it again, I’d use low gloss.

Anyway, painting parts and motorcycles is pretty well covered on the internets.