Thursday, January 24, 2008

Reference: Paint Considerations

There are a few ways to go with paint . . . but the most common two are (1) one-stage and (2) two-stage.

I have heard that one-stage is tougher for the daily rider and two-stage is higher quality for custom work or museum restoration.

We have a two-stage paint job on the SS.

I called my paint shop today, because I never asked for "touch-up paint." He explained to me that because each stage of paint is "activated" that any traditional touch-up would prove less than satisfactory. He told me of a local paint supplier shop near my house and told me to bring in a painted piece, which they will scan on their computer to make a color match. I am to ask them to match that color as an "acrylic enamel" and for small stone chips from the road and such I may be okay, but for larger scratches and dents it won't help.

2 comments:

VespaRos said...

Very good decision. I hope you didn't think that you made a wrong move with your paint job. It will actually look a little better than mine. And it will still be pretty durable. It's just when you run into trouble that it is a little bit of a pain. Enamel is a good choice for touch up too. If I were you, as soon as I get the touch up paint, I would apply a small test amount to an area that isn't visible (maybe under the body above the rear wheel), let it dry, and examine it under a florescent light, outdors, or with a halogen flashlight just to make sure they got the color dead on. Paint scans are awesome, but sometimes you will end up with a slight mismatch that stands out. It would be a shame to find out by trying to cover a small scratch, just to make it stand out more!

VespaRos said...

Hey, thanks a MILLION on the bearing tip. I was just minutes away from ordering a couple from scooterworks. I finally got the engine taken apart today and all cleaned up (well, for the most part). Now I just need some bearings, the gaskets, and a piston arm (I ended up hack sawing mine, like you) then I can probably get it all back together!