So, it's time to get the ol' 380 tank and sidecovers repainted. I rode the bike by two local shops; one does mostly collision repair and paint, the other does boats. Both have paint booths and the necessary setup. The first place gave me a quote of $500, and said he would take 2 weeks or more. The second place spent 10 minutes looking at the gas tank then took my phone number and said he would call with a quote (is it that hard to estimate a small paint job !??)
I also got a quote from a shop in Mass, who saw my post about the color codes. He's very knowledgeable about old bikes, but he quoted $550 and of course, I have to mail the parts.
Anyone have any experience getting a paint job lately and what price range is reasonable?
I have a big air crompressor and a devilbliss gun, I may do this myself. $500 seems like a lot for such a small job.
Depe
depending on the prep needed that's not a bad price. I think Paul Miller paints sets for around $600 or so and that includes all prep, sealing and decals. I've never seen one of his repaints but have heard they're pretty good. The paint, primer, reducer, etc. will probably cost close to $100 and prep can take a bit of time. Of course it might be a fun thing to do yourself if your inclined.
If you plan on doing any kind of three part candy paint job and use top quality products, and do a first class job yourself, you are going to spend very close to $350 for material. My recommendation is to use the very best clear that you can afford, because that is what protects the finish. You will have enough paint left over to do at least one more bike, so pick a color you like and the next paint job is almost free. Solid colors or metallic colors are cheaper, because you eliminate the candy coat step.
It is very easy to spray the base and the candy mid coat, they lay down well, and dry to a flat finish. Spraying those is pretty much a no-brainer. You mix it like the manufacturer recommends and then spray it on.
The clear is a little tricky for a novice to spray. You get one of two things, either it is too dry with an orange peel finish, or it is too wet and you get runs/sags. The good news is that both are repairable to an extent.
My opinion ( I am not a pro, but have done a lot of painting on both cars and bikes) is that for a novice it is probably better to try to get the clear as wet as you can without sags, even if it ends up with an orange peel becasue you can take 1500-2000 grit wet sand paper and sand all the orange peel out and then buff it out to a mirror gloss and you will never know the orange peel was there. Sags can be sanded out as well unless they are really bad, then sometimes they can be hard to fix.
The real trick to a good paint job is the prep that is done BEFORE you start to apply the paint. I always treat the bare metal with metal prep which etches the metal slightly to give the primer something to hold onto better and also heps prevent rust from forming. Then I spray the bare metal with Epoxy primer which seals the metal from moisture and also protects from rust. Then I spray with a Polyester primer which is a high build primer that fills imperfections in the metal. Block sand that with about a 400-600 grit wet sand paper, clean it up really well, wipe it down with wax and grease remover followed by a tac cloth and you are ready to spray.
You have to spray all three coats in succession with just enough flash time between coats to let it begin to set. First the base coat, followed by the candy mid coat, followed by the clear, all in one continuous operation, so once you start, be ready to go all the way. If you want to put decals on, spray three or four good coats of clear and let it dry overnight. Sand it to a smooth finsish with 1000-1500 grit paper, apply the decals using soapy water to allow moving into the correct position, clean it up and let it dry very well (I usually wait overnight) then clean it up with a tac rag and spray 3-4 more coats of clear on top of the decals. the first coat needs to be VERY dry to prevent the solvent in the paint from lifting the decal. After that coat "tacs up" then apply 2 or 3 more really wet coats and let it dry for a few days before you wet sand and buff it.
It is actually kinda fun to do it yourself, it is time consuming, but you get to do it how you want it, and you know what you are getting, and even if you screw up, it's not that hard to redo it on a bike becasue each part is so small.
Wayne
Luck will beat skill any time you have enough of it!
Thanks for the usual reply, full of insight and info, Wayne.
The more I think about it, the more I feel the best move is to send the parts to Ken and let him work his magic. I was a little out of touch with the costs. I think he probably will do the best job, since he cherishes old Jap bikes and knows them well.
I will try to coordinate this with getting my gauges refurbished by Allan, so I can minimize the downtime.
A good painter should be able to the tank and sides w/o much of a problem. You'de just have to supply the decals. I would really try to work with a local painter I trusted and had a good reputation. I too have a set of Ken's body work and would only consider using it to get by until my other set get's done or if I sell my other buffalo. I did not have a good experience with Ken. The bodywork shows through the paint and, while the paint was fair there were many inperfections. He took a very looong time and put the wrong emblems on and forgot to seal it. We went back and forth and while he always said he would make good I finally just said the heck with it and gave up.
Painting it locally would probably be the way to go. I've had a lot of luck that way and will do that with my current buffalo. Maybe Ken's gotten better - I guess if other's have recently had good luck then maybe that's saying something too.
Thanks for the feedback, Mark. I always appreciate honest criticism. I suppose I'm going with Ken because he should be the best at this, being very vintage bike friendly. I will have to see if my trust is well-founded. Of course, as the webmaster here and also at several other motorcycle websites, I can broadcast praise or condemnation VERY effectively. As a side effect of managing many well-trafficked websites on my server, I learned that when I post a review or article on a topic, it quickly becomes the #1 search result on Google Example: when I wrote a piece about the USS Texas a couple years ago, it still shows up on page one of Google for the term "USS TEXAS SUBMARINE".
USS Texas SSN-775 submarine by Subsim.com - 6 visits - 12/1/09
Aug 27, 2006 ... On her way from Norfolk to Galveston the new submarine Texas stopped at Cape Canaveral, Florida to flex her muscles for the media. ...
Same with the computer games I review...which is why a lot of game companies send me their games to play.
I would love to paint it locally, but the local paint shops are very disinterested. That second one never called me back with a quote. So, I may give Ken a shot. Let's hope it pays off! Still waiting to hear from Allan regarding the gauges before I pull the tank--would like to do both the paint and gauge work at the same time.
!??)
Of course, as the webmaster here and also at several other motorcycle websites, I can broadcast praise or condemnation VERY effectively. As a side effect of managing many well-trafficked websites on my server, I learned that when I post a review or article on a topic, it quickly becomes the #1 search result on Google 
Example: when I wrote a piece about the USS Texas a couple years ago, it still shows up on page one of Google for the term "USS TEXAS SUBMARINE".