Fuel tank painting.

[nickjtc]

I am in the process of (slowly) getting 'Old Faithful' (aka the '77 GS750) back on the road. Part of the process is to refurbish the coloured bits. I wondered if any of you had ever had paintwork done on a bike, and if so what I should expect for a ballpark cost for prep and painting.

Than q.

[Mustang]

the results are  relevant to the size of the check ..........................

quality paintwork isn't cheap

Try not to flinch when you get the quote ,
for example:

from color-manias web site:

Q- How much does an average custom paint job cost?

A: The average cost for a Colormania paint job is about $2200 USD.

The cost for a single color paint job, regardless of it being a solid, metallic, pearl or candy apple color is about $990 USD.

The cost of two tone classic style where there is not a lot of masking involved (such as H-D stock paint jobs), is about $1390 USD.

Flame sets run usually from $1400 to $2000 USD.

Double flames or flames combined with other elements such as a skull, run from $2100 to $2600 USD.

Exotic paint jobs (see our exotic paint page) run from $2600 to $15,000 USD depending on the design and number of parts.

NOTE: All the above prices are base on a 3 piece H-D motorcycle set of tank and fenders, additional pieces such as side covers, oil tanks & saddle bags are painted at additional cost. We gladly provide free estimates on all custom paint and repair jobs, please Request a Free Estimate.

[Sin_Tiger]

  it's a long time since I painted anything and I guess the Labour costs in Singapore and Malaysia are a lot lower.

Scratches and character suddenly look more attractive.

[motoOzarks]

[motoOzarks]

thanks Mustang
I was struggling somehow

[Mustang]

didn't like the "s" in http
the forum software thinks it's a secure site when the "s" is in there

[daveb]

To reduce the costs you could always prep the tank yourself,  and spray it yourself

I have sprayed a few bike parts,  it just take a little bit of confidence and time The key is the prep work.

Alternatively find a local airbrush guy, you might be supplied at the cost.

[nickjtc]

$49.95 to paint a car. Woohoo, those were the days.

I have started to make enquiries on this. There is a fellow in the Kootenays who comes highly recommended by the VJMC who is 'ball parking' around $700 for prep and paint.

I'm prepared to buck up whatever to get a half-ar$#d decent job done.

Biggest problem at the moment is a kitchen stove about to give its death rattle and the $$ I would put into painting the Suzuki have to be diverted in to keeping swwbo happy!

[nickjtc]

the results are  relevant to the size of the check ..........................quality paintwork isn't cheap

Try not to flinch when you get the quote ,for example:
from color-manias web site:

Yes, but everyone knows that the HD guys and gals have lots of money to spend on a nice custom paint job for their bike. After all, doesn't HD stand for the "hundreds of dollars" you spend every time you walk through the door of the dealership?? 

[nickjtc]

A word to the wise:

If you decide to have anything media blasted make sure that the blaster knows exactly what you want! I took the tank to our local blasting emporium and the owner assured me that they could soda blast it with minimal impact to the tank itself.

When I went to pick it up it was nicely clean of all crud and paint, but the surface was like sandpaper. Obviously he had not told the worker who did the job to change the blasting medium. I was speechless, and frankly not in a mood to have it out with him.

So now I have a bit of work to do to flat it down to a surface that will produce an acceptable finish.

All fun and games.