any one ever paint there frame?

[enduro400rider]

i am redoing my 400ex and i want to paint the frame i dont have the money for PC so i gotta use paint or leave it alone. its pretty bad most of the paint is worn off and i thought it would look good if i repainted it. i know i would have to do some prep work but i can do it. i you can give me any tips that would be great

[theTman]

my freind used some spray paint them a few coats of clear coat

[sled_ed 300ex]

spray paint,its great and cheap!!

[enduro400rider]

any one have a know what color i should paint the frame i am using red plastics

[sled_ed 300ex]

????????????????????????:confused:
pink!!!

[theTman]

trans red or trans blue would be killer

[bulkdriverlp]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v347/bulkdriverlp/IM000096.jpg
mine is painted 3 coats with brush and 1 coat clear.

[quad250r_33]

I just painted mine this morning. Used dupont auto paint the ****s like 200 dollars a gallon, but my cuz works at o'reillys so I got it f'n cheap. its black w/ black a-arms grey uppers and white and blue fenders.

[baker250r]

DONT!!!!! use primer and auto paint.... we did that with ours, and it chipps off like nothing. use paint sealer... and alot of it... then paint it with anything other than auto paint. then get a few clear coats on there... we painted our 250r and my friends ex metallic blue.... looks preaty dang good.... to bad the first race... ti all will chip off

[mps5000]

i was in ur exact situation about a month ago
i couldnt afford powdercoating, so i painted my frame white and my arms red. with red plastic, it looks badass

[TheFontMaster]

I painted my frame with auto paint last month. I alr eady chipped it a couple places, when I put on an a arm, and I droped my snowboard on it. That could have been avaided:mad:
But I love the color I painted my frame. It is a rassbeyy/maroon color. But in different light it can look almost trans red, or a root beerish color. O and there is a **** load of metal flake in the paint.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v327/thefontmaster/Picture070.jpg

Sorry for the kinda big pic.

[400EXtremeguy]

That's looks killer!
How did you prep it before you painted it?
What kind of paint is that?
Did you use a spray gun to paint it...then clear coat it?

[Plante400]

I had my frame and arms PC'ed for 120 bucks? sounds alot easier then going thru that paint process adn my pc looks great.. wish i knew how to post pics

[trx310]

Use an high enamel paint, it dries harder. The best thing to use is appliance paint. Have you ever seen the paint on an appliance chip when it was being moved or anything? I haven't

[TheFontMaster]

Originally posted by 400EXtremeguy
That's looks killer!
How did you prep it before you painted it?
What kind of paint is that?
Did you use a spray gun to paint it...then clear coat it?

I sanded down the whole frame with 180 grit sand paper. Then I used a primer, I can't remember what kind, it was black, and didn't need to be sanded. Then I put on about 3-4 coats of base, and I belive it's an enamel. Then I clear coated the whole thing. The compamy that made the paint is called Omi, its a cheaper line of paint from PPG. I did use a spray gun.

[Pappy]

Originally posted by trx310
Have you ever seen the paint on an appliance chip when it was being moved or anything? I haven't

the majority of major appliances are powdercoated.

[wilkin250r]

Honestly, I would advise against the clear coat if you're painting your frame. I know it looks better, and adds a little bit to the protection, but it's still not anywhere NEAR as durable as powdercoating.

Painting your frame with spraypaint has two main advantages over PC. Cost, and repair. We know the spraypaint will chip off, that's just a fact of life. Repair is REALLY simple, a bit of sanding, a bit of masking, and touch it up. If you add the clear-coat to the mix, it makes repair much more complex. You would want to avoid getting your color on TOP of your clearcoat on the areas surrounding the chip, so you would have to sand through the clearcoat in a large area, and masking becomes much more complex, because you have to mask not only components you don't want color, but also mask off areas that DO have color, but are clearcoated.

Without clearcoat, you don't need to sand near as much, and you can overspray any area on your frame without worrying about getting color over existing clearcoat. By adding clearcoat, you are greatly increasing the complexity of repair, and thus losing half the advantage of spraypainting.

[chucked]

Originally posted by wilkin250r
Honestly, I would advise against the clear coat if you're painting your frame. I know it looks better, and adds a little bit to the protection, but it's still not anywhere NEAR as durable as powdercoating.

Painting your frame with spraypaint has two main advantages over PC. Cost, and repair. We know the spraypaint will chip off, that's just a fact of life. Repair is REALLY simple, a bit of sanding, a bit of masking, and touch it up. If you add the clear-coat to the mix, it makes repair much more complex. You would want to avoid getting your color on TOP of your clearcoat on the areas surrounding the chip, so you would have to sand through the clearcoat in a large area, and masking becomes much more complex, because you have to mask not only components you don't want color, but also mask off areas that DO have color, but are clearcoated.

Without clearcoat, you don't need to sand near as much, and you can overspray any area on your frame without worrying about getting color over existing clearcoat. By adding clearcoat, you are greatly increasing the complexity of repair, and thus losing half the advantage of spraypainting.

thats what I was gonna say

[enduro400rider]

could somebody post a pic off a 400ex with red race cuts with a red frame or one with a black frame? i think i have it narrowed down to those 2 colors but im still open to suggestions, thanks

[EDDIE330]

I own a body shop, I have painted several frames, a-arms, swing arms & so on. My best advice would to sandblast the frame,spay some kind of epoxy primer. (this stuff gives you a great founda tion for your top coat) Determine how much you want to spend on paint. (single stage or basecoat clearcoat)Happy shooting!

[bayou boy]

Eddie330 is right...this is a pic of my ol 300 when i had it. I sandblasted the frame used a epoxy primer and sprayed it with imron with no clear..like wilkin said it may not shine as much but is ez to repair. but this pic was taken about a yr after i painted it and it still looks pretty good. the biggest wear spot was under the lower a arms...but that will wear no matter what is on it

[Warnerade]

go ahead, i suggest not riding it, and only washing it by spraying it with a bottle of windex, otheriwse it will chip:o

[chucked]

Originally posted by NacsRacer027
go ahead, i suggest not riding it, and only washing it by spraying it with a bottle of windex, otheriwse it will chip:o

if you paint it properly you wont have that problem.

[Warnerade]

Originally posted by chucked
if you paint it properly you wont have that problem. yes, you will. there is no substitute at all for PC

[chucked]

Originally posted by NacsRacer027
yes, you will. there is no substitute at all for PC

no you wont, yes there is. I have been thrashing mine through trails, mud, and rocks for 3 months now, the only stratches I have are on the grab bar from doing wheelies, and under the a-arms from running over trees.

[enduro400rider]

well thanks for the advice everyone i think i m goin with a special epoxy paint thats what the paint place recommended i think it made by a company called VHT or somthing like that, im hoping it work for me.

[chucked]

Originally posted by NacsRacer027
yes, you will. there is no substitute at all for PC

and why would you use a light gray primer with a dark color paint??

[Warnerade]

only color primer the place i went to had. and no, so your going to say that the part by your boots where it rubs, isnt even scratched at all? im impressed. and if you can ride "thrash" through as many rocks, and your paint does not chip, then damn...because ive seen rocks chip PC.

enduro, do what you want..paint...pc it...whatever your pocket book can afford. just dont be suprised when it chips while putting the rest of the parts back on if you paint it.

[enduro400rider]

yeah i all can afford is painting it from what i hear this epoxy paint is supossed to work good and dry super hard so i figure i might as well try it it can look much worse than the stock stuff thats on it, its all worn off and getting surface rust so at least it will stop the rusting.

[wilkin250r]

I highly recommend purchasing a little extra paint, and storing it for future touch-ups. Subsequient batches later on down the road may not match exactly.

[chucked]

Originally posted by NacsRacer027
only color primer the place i went to had. and no, so your going to say that the part by your boots where it rubs, isnt even scratched at all? im impressed. and if you can ride "thrash" through as many rocks, and your paint does not chip, then damn...because ive seen rocks chip PC.

enduro, do what you want..paint...pc it...whatever your pocket book can afford. just dont be suprised when it chips while putting the rest of the parts back on if you paint it.

I never said that it didnt chip at all, god damn pay attention boy. No it hasnt worn through yet where my boots are. It will, but then I can just take 65 seconds to touch it up.

[chucked]

Originally posted by chucked
I never said that it didnt chip at all, god damn pay attention boy. No it hasnt worn through yet where my boots are. It will, but then I can just take 65 seconds to touch it up. and what kind of paint did you use? spray paint??

[Warnerade]

Originally posted by chucked
I never said that it didnt chip at all, god damn pay attention boy. No it hasnt worn through yet where my boots are. It will, but then I can just take 65 seconds to touch it up. it sounded to me like you were syaing it didnt chip. and yes, it was spray paint. wich explains why it blew off with my powerwasher

[chucked]

o then, spray paint sucks. I used, i believe acrylic enamel, my work had some 2 stage paint left over from a machine I painted a few months back.

[Warnerade]

what type of machine?

[chucked]

Originally posted by NacsRacer027
what type of machine?

CEC Screen-It

[Warnerade]

i meant like is it a CNC mill, or am i thinking the completely wrong thing

[chucked]

Originally posted by NacsRacer027
i meant like is it a CNC mill, or am i thinking the completely wrong thing

its a glass sorting machine, its from hell. nasty horrible machine. I painted it cuz they were transporting it across state and it was in no condition to pass DOT standards, a quick paint job kinda keeps it from drawing the eyes of a DOT cop to it.

kinda like these, except this was like a 1970's model
http://www.crushersales.com/Machine_Images/wash3.jpg

http://www.crushersales.com/Machine_Images/1286a.JPG

[blue416ex]

personally i hate pcing because i got my 416 from a kid who got it pced about 2 months ago and it all is chipping off and is making my framerust in half :mad: and my old blaster i spraypainted the frame and i ride dunes and it never ven chipped on the frame only on the bottom of the a arms and a little on the axle carrier :D which i was suprised about and my friend had a z400 frame and subframe painted like a bahama water blue looking color and it nevere chipped or scratched this was with auto paint from a body shop that was professionally painted and it is holding up still no chips or scratches and he had it doneabout a year ago :D

[Aceman]

Originally posted by NacsRacer027
it sounded to me like you were syaing it didnt chip. and yes, it was spray paint. wich explains why it blew off with my powerwasher

That's why you don't use pressure washers to clean quads with. If you do though, you gotta keep the wand back a couple feet or so. And definitely don't use the rotary or the single jet nozzle. The fan type nozzle would probably be the best. Even a good paint job will get stripped with a good pressure washer. Not to mention all the water that will get blown by your seals.

[clutt225]

Painted mine last year with duplicolour wheel paint (in a spray can). waste of time & money, my opinion is wait it out untill you can aford pc if it's done right it will last untill your ready for something new. A body shop paint job won't be cheap and spray cans won't last a month. Wait it out dude the pc is worth it.

[clutt225]

one more

[chucked]

Spray paint sucks!!! you have to use stuff to paint cars, ITS NOT HARD! I bought a gun from harbor freight for 20 bucks, I got some single stage black from an auto supply store (30 bucks for a qt) and some primer (20 bucks). I had to mix it like 30% with acetone. Still looks great!

[enduro400rider]

Originally posted by chucked
Spray paint sucks!!! you have to use stuff to paint cars, ITS NOT HARD! I bought a gun from harbor freight for 20 bucks, I got some single stage black from an auto supply store (30 bucks for a qt) and some primer (20 bucks). I had to mix it like 30% with acetone. Still looks great!

could you give me a little more info on the gun you got? and does this Harbor frieght have a web site or anything? and whats acetone? i kinda new to this painting besides painting model cars:) thanks for the help

[chucked]

Originally posted by enduro400rider
could you give me a little more info on the gun you got? and does this Harbor frieght have a web site or anything? and whats acetone? i kinda new to this painting besides painting model cars:) thanks for the help

thats right u guessed it, www.harborfreight.com acetone is what I used to thin the paint before I put it in the gun, All this stuff i used is, is a better rustoleum that they sell in the brush cans.

[chucked]

i just bought the cheapest gun I could find, but if you get an hvlp, it would be best for painting a frame, hvlp-high velocity, low pressure. all it really does is minimizes over spray, while using a minimum amount of air.

[culookn]

i did this to my frame. had pappy do it.

[culookn]

sorry i posted the wrong pic, ill get the right one

[Warnerade]

Originally posted by Aceman
That's why you don't use pressure washers to clean quads with. If you do though, you gotta keep the wand back a couple feet or so. And definitely don't use the rotary or the single jet nozzle. The fan type nozzle would probably be the best. Even a good paint job will get stripped with a good pressure washer. Not to mention all the water that will get blown by your seals. so your assuming i put on the straight nozzle, and jsut hold it 2-3 inches from my quad and blast away?

[baseballplaya23]

my cousin painted his frame and he races every weekend and it still looks like he just painted it. he also used automotive paint. here are two links to his quad http://www.yfzcentral.com/invision/index.php?act=ST&f=3&t=21251& he also painted his plastic with automotive paint. the only thing on his bike that has chipped are his a-arms which came pd'ed from metalcraft.

[rneal]

I would go to ebay or a flee market and buy a used spraygun if this is all you plan on using it for. Provided you have an air compressor.

As for paint, I have used tractor/farm equipment paint. I prefer single stage due to simplicity and cost. Remember this is meant to be cost effective. Equipment paint dries to a super hard finish and costs about $15.00 per gallon. You could do alot of frames with a gallon of paint...

They key to any good paint job is the amount of elbow greese that is applied in the prep stage. It is very important to remove all traces of any oil or grease. Even the oil in your finger prints can cause the paint to flake. If you have means, sandblasting is the way to go. If this is not an option, wet sand until you can't wet sand no more. Then use scoth brite and go over everything again. Lastly, before priming, wipe the entire thing down with thinner to make sure you have removed all impurities from the surface.

After you are done spraying primer, hit the surface with scotch brite again to provide a good surface for paint to stick to.

If you take the time to disassemble the quad, make sure you do a good prep job and everything will turn out good and will be pretty durable finish. It is not pc but for under say $40.00, it's a good alternative and will look much better than a rust ball of a quad.