[halflife2]

Hi there,

A local dealer has the bike I want for about $2700, and with low miles. Since it’s an ’05 model, the silver/black paint scheme isn’t that exciting to me. Out of curiosity, is anyone familiar with how much it might cost to get a sportbike painted? I realize this would involve removing the fairings, sanding, primer, paint, etc… I would simply want the fairings painted a solid color, like blue, so nothing too fancy.

If it ends up being too expensive and/or troublesome, I guess I’d just leave it as is, since this is purely an aesthetic concern.

Thx for any info.

[eternal05]

You’re probably looking at a minimum of around $500, more at most shops. Unless you know somebody who does automotive painting, it’s not a cheap endeavor.

[ShamRock229]

It would be cheaper if you could do a lot of the prep yourself. Of course that’s easier said than done and not something one would jump into lightly lol

[Jeff in Kentucky]

The cheapest paint job would be a light sanding and Krylon brand paint in spray cans- it does not require any primer. If you are a beginner, get a bulletin board with a smooth plastic surface to practice with, so you learn to not get the paint too thick and prevent any drips. An automotive Duplicolor clear spray paint will help keep gasoline from eating into the paint, but you would still want to be very careful when filling the gas tank.
You could do the color yourself and hire someone to do the clear topcoat, to save money but make it come out looking more professional and more fuel resistant.

[eternal05]

I spray painted my race bodywork to save a little money, and I did a damn good job if I do say so myself. The fact of the matter is that, if you do it wrong (one coat of color, one coat of clear), it looks like CRAP. If you do it right, it’s not that cheap (you need a LOT of paint, sandpaper, etc.), and it takes so much of your time that it’s almost worth it to just pay somebody else.

I spent about 25 hours sanding and painting over a week’s time (gotta wait for the paint to dry), and spent about $115 in spray paint (six cans of white, four of black, and eleven of clear). Even if I made minimum wage (about $8 here), the time I spent painting instead of working would have cost me $200 + $115 for paint = $315! I didn’t expect to spend that much, but I kept needing more and more paint. Like I said, it almost makes more sense to pay a professional. It’ll also look a lot better.

The worst part is that I crashed my bike two track sessions after I painted it, and ruined it so badly that I had to go over the whole thing with the left-over white I had sitting at home. That’s a week of my life down the drain. Don’t let this happen to you.

[Author]

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