looking to have bike painted. Does anyone have an idea of the cost. I will strip plastic off bike, which I would think would save some money. There is only light scratches on left fairing and I do want to change the entire color. Keep the bike as one color not multiple. thank you
My 06 was done in 2012. I took the panels off and to them. No damage repairs done. Just sanding, priming and painting. But mine is a pearl paint so it is done in two stages for paint then they have to do the clear. It cost me $1344.00 taxes included. But this is Canada where we like to pay far more for things that you guys down south. BTW. The graphics were extra. Price quoted was for white paint only.
I have had a couple bikes painted in the past and both jobs were amazing in terms of quality. I had my 97 VFR750 painted and my 2000 VFR800 as well. Both jobs were done by a professional painter and both were reprinted Honda red according to factory colors. My 97 needed a couple of cracked body panels replaced (because of the age of the bike there was a panel to panel color difference that drove me mental) and my 2000 needed some bad sand blasting (lots and lots of gravel road trips by the previous owner) repaired so I had all but the tank repainted. Neither bike needed any plastic repairs and were basically prep and re-paint. The 97 cost me $850 and the 2000 cost me $400. The same guy painted both bikes and the main reason for the difference, as he pointed out was that the 97's fairing contained 15 pieces and the 2000 had 6. The 97 VFR had quite a few small pieces with lots of nooks and crannies and was a bitch to prep the painter told me, whereas the 2000 had lots of large areas that were much quicker and easier to paint. The better the prep job, the better the finished result, so in this area you will get what you pay for. Dont nut be afraid to shop around and ask a few different shops about cost and be sure to bring the parts with you so they can see what they are dealing with. Another thing that will greatly affect cost can be the color you choose. Colors like metallics and pearl coats will cost more than solid colors like say basic red, black and white.
Pricing from here is going to be all over the planet. Case in point. The Canadian Loonie is only worth fifteen cents vs the American Peso. Do yourself a favor and hit your local library for a current book on automotive painting. If there is one on bikes check that one (s) out too. The book or books will not be specific pricewise. What you wiil learn is what needs to be done and how it's done. Paint prices are also all over the map including "solid" colors. You really need to see some examples of your painter's work before laying out any of those hard earned Confederate Pesos. The car dudes shy away from bike painting generally speaking. Bike painters learned by painting cars.. If the prep ain't perfect the paint will not be perfect. Factory painting is robotic and the parts are brand new. Some of the best "painters" work in the big box paint shops. The prep ain't all that good and the paint is iffy but the actual spraying and environment is right on. Lots of parts on a faired street bike ABS or fiberglass. Not so many on a racebike. These parts need to be secured on a surface that is accessible from several angles. A well equipped spraybooth will have a turntable. The air pressure from even a high volume low pressure (HVLP) will and can blow even a large fairing panel onto the floor. Tanks need to be painted at no less than chest height after painting the base. Real easy to miss a spot if this is not done. One little trick on a repaint is to spray out the back side of all the parts with flat or matte black.
Have you thought about doing it yourself? You might find it educational and cheap, but worthwhile. Just an idea. Larry
