Painting 101!!
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Painting is not what it used to be. First off, try and buy an economical easy-to-use primer, for example. Canada has succumbed to the forces of the Universe and banned the use of high VOC's. So they have removed all the lacquer based paints, as we know them. "Just use these aerosol cans of metal etch primer" said one. So I did, and after $30 worth I had my frame done, and I wasn't half finished. So I went looking and I found one supplier with a quart of old stock lacquer based primer, but he only had thinner in 5 gallon containers. But another supplier had a gallon of thinner. Bingo!--or so I thought. But when I mixed the two, I got grey stuff with white flecks. So most of my primered items had white specs, sort of like that rock guard paint you use in trunks. I then got some strainers and got rid of the white specs for the rest of the items-- how important could those white specs be?
Then there's the finish paint. You can buy Rustoleum mineral spirit based paints for $11 a qt. on sale, but how impervious are they to gas and oil? So I bit the bullet and went back to my supplier. Each quart of color cost $50, plus a gallon of thinner for another $50, and some hardener for $20, and a new paint gun for $50, and a filter -regulator, and $250 later, I was ready to paint.
Now if you're going to do a professional job, there are some other requirements. You will need a clean, well ventilated work space, a professional paint gun, a way of supporting your work, preferably a ventilated suit with a separate breathing air supply, and of course, a helper who perhaps might actually know how to paint. I had none of the above. And you will have to watch out for dust in the air, things to trip over, wind, insects, and Murphy's Laws. I had all of these things nicely covered.
But to make a long story short, I managed, in spite of the odds. Now I take great pride in being a Jack of All Trades, and a Master of None. So I may have a few runs, a few spots that didn't quite get good coverage, and a little orange peel finish. But I've got a shiny black frame and some yellow parts to dress it up.
I also have floors, lawn furniture, skis, canoe, an old Ossa, and many other items that were not supposed to black and yellow dotted with both. I rationalize this by telling my wife that these items needed to be painted anyway, so it's OK, although I'm not really sure about the Ossa. And my black fenders were not quite far enough away, so now they have little flecks of yellow on them - - look sort of like gold flecks. You couldn't have gotten this effect by design, so maybe it's OK, too. And the big bonus is the big deer fly that's stuck to the front of the headstock. It's sort of reminds me of the fly that got cast into the Ducati gas tank of Mike Hailwood's bike. That didn't slow him down, did it? So maybe it's my good luck charm!
Tom Borcherdt
