that scheme is going to take 3 different colors right?
the front cowl is painted a darker blue than the fairings and the white is decal, the tank and tail hump lower V cowl is painted white some stickered, side panel is painted a lighter blue and the white suzuki over that, the darker blue above is sticker, in front of the V cowl on the side panel white is a sticker..
you'll want to do this so the stickers when laid on are flush with layers of paint, so say where the white goes in front of V cowl on lower side panels, you paint that the applicable blue but tape off where that sticker goes, then the tape comes off and the sticker butts up against that paint line, that allows the sticker and paint to be flush..
OR stickers go on top of paints, you will have bumps when waxing or whatever unless you put like 20 coats of lacquer over the top..
with the tape off style butting the stickers up tot he paint lines 1 or 2 thin coats of lacquer will work seamlessly for a smooth surface and weigh the least..
sealer/adherent
primer
paint/stickers
clear
either way you prep is going to be your final product, ANYTHING you use needs flex added to it whether it be primer, sealer, paint, filler.. so you want to take the plastic down to a very smooth finish, some finishes use an adherent, the plastic leaches oils, so you have to create a barrier tween your plastic and sealer, I think you can get all in one sealer sticky stuff?
also, all layers are thin as you can get for weight, so my best guess is they go as think as they can with the mix and as STICKY as they can get, you need flex and non shrink for sure..
its not like painting wood or metal in any way, it needs to be flexable, seal the oils from leaching or bubbling and then very light or you can add 20+ lbs to the bike from too much sealer primer paint clear..
the prep and first paint is METICULOUS I would tap off where stickers go if they are not applied on top for no seams and LESS paint on body work, why put paint under a sticker it only adds weight?
they did the Hayabusa panels sticker or graphics over then a ton of clear and man each side panel weights like 15 lbs easy, very heavy, after insulation and Faraday panels man, they weigh a GRIP, gotta be honest I've never lifted a stock SRAD panel ever, all I have ever had have been rattled over.. but still not near as heavy as the Busa panels but pretty much exact same size, fact is they almost fit one another..
if you're just going for a show piece then no matter, but if its track or a good canyon bike the weight matters...
if you have some plastics for practicing how thin yo can go VS amount of flex and adherent additive be best, get that mix perfect
on the 2005 GSXR 1000 Suzuki experimented a bit, they put the sealer, flex, adherent, hardener all in one, no primer!
welp, the panels were very very light indeed, however after time wind speed just ripped the finish right off the leading edges, Suzuki put out a recall and replaced every leading edge panel, nose both side panels, saw some bad ones.. I got new ones and mine were only road chipped, but so easily chipped, no clear and not much hardener..
perhaps the mix was wrong not sure and not sure if Suzuki perused the idea or nixed it? it was all an effort to reduce paint times and reduce weight, its also the first year they went with puzzled body work to reduce tape off, pieces snapped together or pinned, very thin stickers.. very little paint.. worked for me?
lots to think of here, but mainly your prep will be you final finish in a nutshell, or your finish can only be as good as your prep, no filler, bondo so forth..
then the paint mix and additives will determine, luster, shine, durability and weight, make sure it has UV! at least in the clear if you are using clear.. sealer, adhesive, flex, UV, and thin but sticky if you want weight savings..
real painters prolly have a video or something so you have all the info you need to do a top job, hale maybe you're a pro?
I want to paint mine, I have 2 SRADS need paint.. badly, flat black at the moment not very attractive..
really want to do this, I have all the sprayers brand new still in package I bought like 20 years ago at costco, maybe 25 years ago? 30?
just need an oil-less compressor, mock booth, fan filtration, I'll make a simple one, my square fan with AC filters tape to it, cardboard and tape exhaust manifold to funnel it away to outdoors.. do it when weather is prime..
I have seen those paint systems that use canned air, they are pretty cool, you have a mix bottle that screws to the paint tip air can so its sorta spray can style, you can get assorted tip sizes and patterns.. very compact
its like aerosol but you get to mix the paint and use real clean canned air, extremely portable and light set up.. real cool, check it at stewmac dot com.. I have been considering this style to reduce size of project, clean up all that stuff.. wont need compressor, can mix enough in one large container then just refill can sprayer, they have a name for the system, most use it to paint guitar bodies..
PLUS I can spray guitar bodies with it!!!! WINNING!
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