Whether you have an older motorcycle or just want a change of color, you can do it easier and cheaper then you may think. Sure you could go spend between two and three thousand to have it done, or buy a thousand dollars worth of tools (compressor, paint gun, etc.), but why would you? There is no point in buying the tools unless you are going to make a career or hobby out of painting. No point in spending hard earned money when it’s not necessary either. After reading this three part series, you will be able to paint a motorcyle and have it look as good as the day you bought it.

There are nine steps to follow when you are goint to paint a motorcycle.

1. Gather all materials necessary to paint the motorcycle
2. Remove all pieces that will be painted
3. Drain and prep the gas tank
4. Remove old paint
5. Prep pieces for paint
6. Apply primer
7. Apply paint
8. Apply clear coat
9. Wet sand-Rub out-Wax

Step 1 – Materials Needed

Here is a list of the basic materials needed, the quantity however will vary depending on how much surface area your motorcycle has that needs painted. You can buy any brand of materials and get the same quality if you are willing to do a little more work in the end. I prefer to buy name brand products to save my self a bit of time and hassle. One rule though, if you are buying paint, you should buy the same brand of primer and clear. Most of what you need can be found at stores like AutoZone, Napa and even home improvement stores like Lowes.

• 400-600-1000-1500-2000-2500 grit sand paper wet/dry
• 5 cans of sandable primer
• 5 cans of acrylic lacquer paint, you choose the color
• 5 cans of acrylic lacquer clear coat
• 2 bottle of rubbing alcohol
• 1 pack of breathing masks
• 1 razor knife
• 1 roll of masking tape
• 1 bin, bucket or tub for wet sanding
• 1 fine grit can of rubbing compound
• 1 can of swirl mark remover
• 1 can of wax
• 1 can of lacquer thinner
• 1 can of Goof Off
• 1 heat gun, or hair dryer

Again, you choose the brands you want to use. The more expensive brands usually work better and require less time and work on your part. A few brands that are top of the line would be 3M, Mothers, Turtle wax and Meguiars.

Step 2 – Remove All Parts That Need Painted

I can not tell you how to take your specific motorcycle apart since every bike is different. But I can tell you to make sure your motorcycle is supported safely and whenever you work on your motorcycle you should take the battery out. The service/repair manual that came with the motorcycle will tell you how to properly do both to avoid injury.

If the motorcycle you are painting has sticker decals you can remove them using a heat gun and peeling them off. After they come off they may leave a glue like residue that can be removed using the Goof Off you purchased. Some motorcycles have plastic decals that are held on by a very strong piece of double sided tape. To remove those, pour Goof Off behind the decal. After letting it sit for a few minutes you can take a razor blade and carefully slide it behind the decal to remove it without breaking it.

Step 3 – Drain and Prep the Gas Tank

It is very important to remove all of the gasoline and fumes from the gas tank before going any further. Gasoline can ignite and catch on fire while sanding which could injure you or destroy the gas tank. The fumes, if not properly removed, could destroy the paint once it is applied. After you paint your motorcycle, if you see bubbles around the openings in the tank, that means there were fumes left behind that got under the coats of paint. This would result in repainting the entire tank.

The first thing you need to do is remove the gasoline. This can be done by draining it into a proper container through the petcock on the bottom of the tank. Don’t have a petcock? Unbolt the fuel pump from the tank and drain the fuel through the hole. Try to get as much out as possible, this will make the next step easier. Keep in mind that if you removed the fuel pump or anything else that goes into the tank, you will need to buy new gaskets to insure proper sealing when re-installing.

Now that the gasoline has been removed, it is time to remove the all fumes. There are a few ways of doing this safely. The first and most easy way is to allow the gas tank to sit (outside, but out of rain) and air out for a few days. A little bit faster of a way is to take an air hose with an air gun attached to it, put the tip of the gun in the tank and let it blow into the tank for a few hours.

Step 4 – Remove Old Paint

This is the first time consuming step so far, but one of the more important ones. If you don’t remove the paint properly and leave a nice surface for your paint, it will look like garbage in the end. Before you start, you need a good work space. An old table or garage work bench work well, but make sure it’s a surface you don’t care about because when you are done, the surface will be covered in the color your motorcycle was. It is also a good idea to find an old blanket to lay down over your work surface to avoid scratching the parts of your motorcycle.

You may want to use an automotive paint stripper on the metal parts of your bike, which is fine, but under no circumstances should you try using it on plastic because the stripper will eat through it. The tride and true way is to do it old fashion, wet sanding by hand. While wet sanding, make sure you rinse the sand paper and the piece being sanded very frequently to avoid clumping up the old paint and wearing out the sand paper pre-maturely.

Start with 400 grit paper working in one direction only. It is best to sand down past the clear coat, paint, and primer to get to the bare metal/plastic. Do not sand to rough, slow light strokes are best to insure you don’t accidentally leave deep scratches which will show in your finished product. After you are done using the 400 grit, move on to using 600 grit. This time sand perpendicular to the direction you used with the 400 grit. Every time you switch grits, switch direction. Work your way to 1000 grit then 1500 grit, there is no need to go past the 1500 grit sand paper now.

Inspect all pieces that you sanded for deep scratches and uneven surfaces. If scratches are found, you can fill them with a light coat bondo and sand smooth in the same matter you sanded prior.

Step 5 – Prep for Paint

Now that all the pieces to your motorcycle look dull and cloudy, you must clean them. First rinse them off to get all of the paint dust off, and then dry them using a towel or blow gun. Take the rubbing alcohol and pour it onto a towel and clean the parts. Make sure they are completely free of dust and oil from your hands otherwise the primer will not stick properly. If you are not sure they are clean, clean them again.

Step 6 – Apply Primer

Finally, most of the hard work is done, time to get spraying. It is best to hang all motorcycle parts by wire so you can paint all sides of the pieces in one session. You can hang them from rafters in your garage or anything else that is convenient. Make sure the humidity is low and the temperature is at least 60 degrees before starting. If at any time you see a run in the primer (or paint later on) do not try wiping it away, let it dry and you can later on sand it away.

To apply the primer, hold the can 8-12 inches away and spray in steady swift motions from side to side. Apply the primer lightly, you do not need to cover the entire piece in one step, you can apply multiple coats to cover the area. After applying a minimum of three coats, let the primer dry completely. Take your 1500 grit sand paper and very lightly wet sand until the pieces are smooth. Be careful not to blow through the primer, especially around corners and edges. If this happens, apply another coat of primer to the entire piece, let dry and wet sand again.

Step 7 – Apply Paint

Make sure the primed surfaces are all clean and your sanding was done properly. Start applying the paint, you are going to want at least five coats to give it a deep look. Not to mention the fact that the more coats you have, the less likely you are to blow through them all the way to the primer when wet sanding later on.

In this step there is absolutely NO wet sanding to be done. Once all of your coats of the preferred color of paint are applied, you will move right on to using your clear coat.

Step 8 – Clear Coat

If the paint can you used said to wait twenty minutes between coats, then you must wait that long from the last coat of paint before starting with the clear. Apply the clear coat in the same manner that you applied the paint. Wait the twenty minutes in between coats and apply four or five coats. Be careful so that you do not create runs. Clear coating is the easiest coat to accidentally have a run in because it is so hard to see how much of the product you are applying.

Allow all of the motorcycle pieces to completely cure for a full 24-48 hours. It may seem like a long time but it is worth not rushing. If you start wet sanding a piece that feels dry but is not cured, you will spread the paint all over like a four year old finger painting.

Step 8 – Wet Sand, Rub Out and Wax

The last step, finally. This should be the most time consuming and detail oriented part of the entire motorcycle painting process. Step 8 will be the difference maker in an amazing paint job or a crappy one. It is now up to you as to how well the bike will look. I suggest spending two or three days doing this step so your satisfaction will be guaranteed, by your self of course.

Start with the 1500 grit sand paper and sand in one direction only. Make sure that you are thoroughly keeping the piece and sand paper clean with water. The goal here is to sand gently until the piece is equally “cloudy” looking throughout. It will look a lot worse now then when you were done painting, but this is what you want. Move on to the 2000 grit using a different direction. Last, use the 2500 grit, again in a different direction. Make sure you are very careful when sanding around edges and corners, this is the easiest place to blow through all coats of clear and paint, you do not want to sand down to the primer.

It is now time to grab the rubbing compound you bought. The directions will most likely say to use it in a circular motion, DO NOT do this! Those directions are for rejuvenating a paint job, not a new paint job. Just like with sanding, you want to go in one direction only. I recommend doing this step two times. Follow the rest of the rubbing compounds directions to the fullest. Afterwards, make sure all residue is gone before going to the next step.

Take your swirl mark/scratch remover and do the same thing you did with the rubbing compound, just in a different direction. Do this two to three times and clean all residue off completely.

The last step, grab the wax you purchased. Again, do not go in circular motions at all! One direction is how you should do this. Wax it two to three times and remove all residue. Your pieces should look like a professional paint job was done on them. You are now done.

If by chance it does not look that amazing, restart step eight at the beginning and it should look better the second time around.