Painting the tupperware

kanem

kanem

Joined
Mar 6, 2007
Messages
178
Location
Valparaiso, FL
Bike
98 ST1100
Anyone have any experience painting their tupperware.

I had a friend who was going to paint the saddlebag covers for me. I sanded them down and when he wiped them with lacquer thinner it raised some small fibers or something yoou could feel out of the plastic.

I assume this is some sort of reaction between the plastic and the lacquer thinner so I have resanded them and will wipe them with alchol then try some of that new plastic paint.

Mike
 
I painted my right saddlebag. Mine was scratched up and I used an epoxy I think to fill them. I wet sanded the entire thing and then primed and painted it. All went well except that saddle bag is badly faided after a little over a year. It was matched perfectly but now I'm not sure what I want to do. I may paint all the tupperware on my bike and go with a different color. I have noticed that my tank area is fadeing a little now. I ride the bike to work just about every day and there is no shade in the parking lot so it sits out all the time. I think the Candy Glory red just isn't holding up. I know that when I painted my saddle bag I had to do 4 coats. The primer a base color that is a silver and then red and a clear coat. I really liked the silver when I was at that stage. This makes me want to repaint all of it with the silver base coat and then do the clear coat. If it were a solid color like that I wouldn't have to worry about it fading.

This is also why if I make the move to a 1300 it will be an 03 or 07.

Oh I didn't wipe it down with lacquer. I think I used alcohol but I know it wasn't lacquer.
 
Finish preparing the surfaces by wet sanding. Lacquer thinner has MEK and other solvents that will attack or disolved the ABS panels. If you need to use a solvent to remove oils, use acetone or denatured alcohol. Most automotive polyurethane paints will work fine for your bike. There is a lot of personal preference on that issue as well. I would leave it up to the person doing the painting.
 
Most here know that I painted STick myself, rattle can cheap job. She looked pretty good at first.

Now, 11,000 miles and 2 months later, she don't look quite as good. The Rustoleum metallic silver isn't standing up, many chips in high use areas. Also, some of the red on the flex plastic parts is worn thru. OTOH, she ran fine all thru this grueling ride.

Bottom line? Touch up with good quality, keep the original paint as long as ya can. Save yur money for gas and tars.

My opinion,
 
Use an enamel thinner or "Prepsol" to clean before painting. Also use enamel/acrylic enamel/epoxy paint when refinishing. DO NOT USE LACQUER PAINT, it will react with the plastic. Once it's all painted, lightly wet sand (just enough to remove the shine) and clear coat with an epoxy enamel.

I used PPG's Delstar/Delthane products because they are easy to shoot, clean up and repair. http://www.ppg.com/cr-refinish/phase1/frmProductInfo.asp?Cat=10
I repainted my Interceptor years ago (1987??) and the paint was still very glossy till this year (prepping for repaint now)

If you use automotive-quality paints there is no reason that the paint job wont be as good as or better than original. But it does come at a price.

You could also clear coat with Imron ($$$) This stuff is super tuff. http://pc.dupont.com/Phantom/content/imron-comm.html But you would probably spent $200-300 just for the paint and activator....

George, did you clear coat??
 
I did clear-coat, but again just rattle can Rustoleum. Too soft for long term use. We're calling her 10-10, i.e. she looks like a 10 from 10 feet away. :D
 
George said:
I did clear-coat, but again just rattle can Rustoleum. Too soft for long term use. We're calling her 10-10, i.e. she looks like a 10 from 10 feet away. :D
Click to expand...

On a different bike...

I used Dupli-Color spray paint and it looks real nice. Everything was topped off with their Engine Enamel Clear Coat which gave it a nice shine. I don't think it's going to be hard enough either but only time will tell. I don't ride the bike much and I hope to sell it in the spring so I may not put enough mile on it to tell.
 
George,
10-10 if fine! Just RIDE it! Paint won't make it go.

I like the red/silver that you did (or is it scarlet and grey? GO BUCKEYES!) It is a definite eye-catcher!

Don't know it you could wet sand and clear coat w/another paint (or if you even want to) Oh well.

The ST that I am hoping to get is a 98 black one. I'm not real hyped about black. It shows all the dust/dirt/blemishes and is too hot. But it sure looks great when it is all shined up and ready to go. I had a couple black cars and I have sworn them off...just too much work to keep clean.

So I may have to paint mine over the winter. Since I'm getting my ol' Interceptor ready to paint, maybe I'll do Red/White/Blue!! We'll see....
 
Do not buy any paint from Home Depot, Wal Mart or the like. These paints will not hold up over time. You want to go to a automotive paint supply and ask them to make you up some spray cans of paint that is color matched to the Honda xxxx (your color of paint). Have it made up in enamel. This way you will not have to clear coat the paint. Prep your surfaces by wet sanding to as smooth as a surface as you can (the smoother, the better result). When sanding, start with about a 220 grit, and work your way up from there. I usually go from 220 to 320 to 600 to 1200 to 2000 to 2500. After sanding and removing all dust from the surfaces, you will want to prime the surface. Once you are ready to apply the paint, apply several thin coats. Take your time, let each coat dry for about 30 minutes and apply another coat. I would recommend a minimum of 5 coats.

Good Luck,

Texas
 
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