I can't take it anymore, this beast is getting painted!

[GiddyupF6B]

Since there is snow all over the ground and wind chills in the negatives I can't do much riding so I've been "tinkering" with the bike here and there. There are several things on the shelf and in the mail that need installing but yesterday I decided to just wipe the beast down and admire it's beauty. I did a full detail and wax with Zaino products in December then put a cover over "Darth" for storage. I wiped the entire bike down with detail spray yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed the process (yeah I'm a little weird). I stepped back to appreciate the sexiness Honda put into my bike and all I could do was frown. My bike with 3,000 miles on it looks like it's 10 years old. The swirl marks on the paint and the fine scratches are ridiculous for a bike this new! I know how to take care of paint and use high end products but there is nothing that can be done to keep this paint looking good (black anyway). I'm done and over it, I made an appointment for the 3rd week in February for a full paint job. It's a shame that a bike this expensive with everything I could ever want has such inferior paint. It's also unfair that I have to dish out a good chunk of cheddar to get a brand new bike painted but I could never be happy with it in it's current condition. I know a lot of you guys are the "just shut up and ride it" type but that's just not me. I need my bike to look as good as it performs, I enjoy looking at it as much as I do riding it but that's just me. I am getting all the gloss parts painted as well as all the flat parts so everything is one color and matches perfectly. Then everything is getting pounded with multiple layers of a thing called CLEARCOAT. I will probably have some parts hydrodipped in a few months as accent pieces. Stay tuned..........batman-smilie.

[Cool Hand Luke]

Looking forward to your pictures, I don't have a problem with paint myself but I thought about painting the flat black pieces or hydrodipping them with black carbon fiber look. It should make a bike really stand out.

[F6B-RICH]

Some of the bike that gets the most abuse from bugs/road dirt like the front cowl and front fender I am getting dipped (carbon fiber) and clear coated.The rest of the bike is still looking good for now.In the future I might dip more parts of the bike but for now just the cowl and fender.Get it painted so you are happy.Have you decided on a color? :icon_biggrin:

[jkelley]

Since there is snow all over the ground and wind chills in the negatives I can't do much riding so I've been "tinkering" with the bike here and there. There are several things on the shelf and in the mail that need installing but yesterday I decided to just wipe the beast down and admire it's beauty. I did a full detail and wax with Zaino products in December then put a cover over "Darth" for storage. I wiped the entire bike down with detail spray yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed the process (yeah I'm a little weird). I stepped back to appreciate the sexiness Honda put into my bike and all I could do was frown. My bike with 3,000 miles on it looks like it's 10 years old. The swirl marks on the paint and the fine scratches are ridiculous for a bike this new! I know how to take care of paint and use high end products but there is nothing that can be done to keep this paint looking good (black anyway). I'm done and over it, I made an appointment for the 3rd week in February for a full paint job. It's a shame that a bike this expensive with everything I could ever want has such inferior paint. It's also unfair that I have to dish out a good chunk of cheddar to get a brand new bike painted but I could never be happy with it in it's current condition. I know a lot of you guys are the "just shut up and ride it" type but that's just not me. I need my bike to look as good as it performs, I enjoy looking at it as much as I do riding it but that's just me. I am getting all the gloss parts painted as well as all the flat parts so everything is one color and matches perfectly. Then everything is getting pounded with multiple layers of a thing called CLEARCOAT. I will probably have some parts hydrodipped in a few months as accent pieces. Stay tuned..........batman-smilie.

I can relate, 100%. Can't wait to see some pic's

[MichaelG]

Giddyup, I empathize with you 100%. I say, it is your bike....do what you need to to feel better about it.

My only issue with this, and it is from a personal perspective, is that I wish that Honda was able to see your post listed above, and somehow get it through their heads that there really is a paint issue. I am not holding my breath, and there is a 93.14159 % chance that I will be doing the same thing you are doing, but I will wait a little longer. Discussed this with Kevin the other day, and we agreed to do both our bikes maybe next Winter. I told him I would do it when mine has 100K miles on it.

For those folks that do NOT have issues with the paint on your bike....that is great, and I am happy that YOU have good paint, or it is good enough that you have no issues with it. But please understand that there is a large number of us that really do have bad paint on our bikes....and in time...with enough miles, weather, and bugs, you too may find what others have found. I hope you don't, because I would like all of us to be happy. But the reality is...Honda messed up with this paint.

Giddyup, when all is said and done, I hope you get the paint job you are looking for, and we would love to see pictures of the completed bike.

"coffee"

[GiddyupF6B]

I am going flat black with matte clear coat. Once it's painted I will determine what areas need to "pop" a little and decide on a dip pattern. I am going for the total black out look and I have always loved the old school flat black look. I think the entire bike in flat might be a little too much of the flat look so little accents here and there will really make it stand out. I think between getting some parts dipped to contrast, maybe a little pin stripping, the Ultimate seat with carbon accent, and the black chrome exhaust it will really make the flat black matte finish exactly what I am looking for. We will soon see.......

[bob109]

For those folks that do NOT have issues with the paint on your bike....that is great, and I am happy that YOU have good paint, or it is good enough that you have no issues with it. But please understand that there is a large number of us that really do have bad paint on our bikes....and in time...with enough miles, weather, and bugs, you too may find what others have found.

Miles! I'm surprised! For a person who admittedly never or rarely washes their bike, bad paint shouldn't be a issue for you. With the collection of road grime and bug protein it's a wonder you can even see your paint:icon_lol:

Unfortunately Mother Honda doesn't recognize "swirl marks" as a poor/soft paint issue. Just guessing, but I would think Honda subjects its paint finishes to some very rigorous testing which would include a abrasive phase. If the paint does not exhibit chipping, peeling etc. its going into production.:banghead:

Knowing you're a person of detail, I thought you may find the attached very interesting:icon_wink:

http://search.yahoo.com/r/_ylt=A0LEVzSjOOlSeTEAu_NXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEzaGg5ZHF wBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMgRjb2xvA2JmMQR2dGlkA1ZJUDI5M18x/SIG=13hghtnu0/EXP=1391044899/**http%3a//www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php%3f21067-What-is-the-meaning-of-soft-paint

[Scotrod]

OP has 3k miles, wifes OEM black has 2600 miles. Hit it last weekend with a light polish and T-Wax ICE. Looks brand new. Sorry to hear others are not so fortunate.

[F6BPDX]

I am the type that can deal with a few blemishes (I bought a demo bike after all). The bike does scratch easier than my Suzuki did, but I figure by the time it looks bad enough to really piss me off I will be sick of the color anyways and will deal with it then. Of course everyone has a different tolerance for being pissed off.

Looking forward to seeing the results.

[Cadillac Bob]

I dunno why no one has suggested this yet, but why not a wrap instead of paint? It's durable, available in lots of different finishes that you can't get from paint (carbon fiber, etc if you're into that kind of thing), and cheap. Plus you can go a different route later...

Personally, I don't even wash mine until the dirt starts staining my pants... :)

[Scotrod]

you may find the attached very interesting:icon_wink:

http://search.yahoo.com/r/_ylt=A0LEVzSjOOlSeTEAu_NXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEzaGg5ZHF wBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMgRjb2xvA2JmMQR2dGlkA1ZJUDI5M18x/SIG=13hghtnu0/EXP=1391044899/**http%3a//www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php%3f21067-What-is-the-meaning-of-soft-paint

Careful now! You're going to offend some folks with information like that! :icon_biggrin:

[GiddyupF6B]

I dunno why no one has suggested this yet, but why not a wrap instead of paint? It's durable, available in lots of different finishes that you can't get from paint (carbon fiber, etc if you're into that kind of thing), and cheap. Plus you can go a different route later...

Personally, I don't even wash mine until the dirt starts staining my pants... :)

I have had several estimates on getting it wrapped. Most installers said with all the curves and bends you would be much better off with paint. I know someone had theirs wrapped on this forum and it looked good but wrap does not cover all the areas and the original color would show in some spaces. Also the wrap would not match the flat black already on the bike so it would have a 2 tone affect. I did my homework on the pros and cons of paint vs. wrap and for me the paint is the way to go.

[chipmaker]

I dunno why no one has suggested this yet, but why not a wrap instead of paint? It's durable, available in lots of different finishes that you can't get from paint (carbon fiber, etc if you're into that kind of thing), and cheap. Plus you can go a different route later...

Personally, I don't even wash mine until the dirt starts staining my pants... :)

Someone on here already posted a wrapped bike... if I recall, there's wasn't cheap. Cheaper than paint, but not cheap.

[Cadillac Bob]

Huh. I have a friend who works for a place that does wraps, mostly buses and vans, etc. He said he'd do a snowmobile for $450.. seemed like a decent price to me, and kinda comparable to the F6B, both in terms of square footage and complexity. But maybe I'm out of touch with the "real" price....

[GiddyupF6B]

I've had quotes from $800-$1750 depending on which shop I talked too. The guy on here that had it done last year paid $500 from what he said, that must have been a friend price because that is dirt cheap! To get the wrap perfect would be an all day affair (8-10 hrs) and like I said before not all the areas would be wrapped. The wrap is also cut on the bike so if you don't get someone that is willing to take their time and go slow then you will have cut marks in your paint. If I could find someone to wrap it correctly for $500 then I would settle for that and be done with it. Paint is costing me more than 3 times that but I know in the end the result will be perfect. To each thy own.....

[F6B-RICH]

Huh. I have a friend who works for a place that does wraps, mostly buses and vans, etc. He said he'd do a snowmobile for $450.. seemed like a decent price to me, and kinda comparable to the F6B, both in terms of square footage and complexity. But maybe I'm out of touch with the "real" price....

That would be a good price $450 but most people I contacted it was $1000 to $1500 .batman-smilie.

[bobbyf6b]

That would be a good price $450 but most people I contacted it was $1000 to $1500 .batman-smilie.

Same in Phoenix. If I could get it done for $500 I would have already done it.

[opas ride]

I guess after reading some of these posts about the paint issues a few have, I am really glad, although my wallet isn't, that my wife and I did not really care for the colors available when I purchased mine..As a result we had it painted by the dealer a Brandywine Red Clearcoat and it looks great so far....Costly, but well worth the money for me as I plan to keep this bike for quite a while....Sorry to hear of those with paint issues as this is, otherwise, one super ride and I wish spring would come!!

[Paul B Blues]

Just in the process of getting a quote for having my bike resprayed. The Trike Shop are making a complaint to the local Honda dealer with comments from the painter about the paint problems. They told me when the bike gets cold the paint goes all grey an fuzzy! As it's cold up here most of the time I don't want to have that issue either! So it's a new paint job, and goodbye to Honda's crap paint. :039:

[jkelley]

Just in the process of getting a quote for having my bike resprayed. The Trike Shop are making a complaint to the local Honda dealer with comments from the painter about the paint problems. They told me when the bike gets cold the paint goes all grey an fuzzy! As it's cold up here most of the time I don't want to have that issue either! So it's a new paint job, and goodbye to Honda's crap paint. :039:

Never seen one "grey and fuzzy" would they be willing to get you a pic?
I worked closely with a very experienced painter when I repainted mine, he made several comments about how poor the paint was when I showed him what I had to start working with. We don't really know Hondas process, or the version of water based paint they used, ie: one part, two part, which catalyst, type of curing, and so on and so on. There are even water based paints like printing ink that are being developed that are UV light cured. Regardless there appears to be no clear coat at all. One concern I have is that the paint may very well start to fade or discolor in extreme temps. My bike is in a garage most of the time but paint fade on a bike that is exposed to sun quite a lot may very well have another issue that we have not seen yet. Hopefully not the case but red would start to dull into a pinkish direction and the black would start to grey very slowly primarily on the top most heated surfaces. Painting plastics is not the easiest thing to do. Use the wrong product and you can have adhesion issues, spider webbing, and cracking over time, and paint that simply wont last or hold up to normal use. Repainting is not something that should be done by someone that has not got a lot of experience, or the facilities to do the job properly. Prices are all over the map in wrapping, hydro dipping, and painting. All of which work. IMHO if you plan to keep the bike for a very long time and the paint bothers you then deal with it, if not I wouldn't go to the trouble or expense of fixing it. All a personal decision. Some may just simply want a bike that is different that the stock colors so it stands out.
There are people that know a hell of a lot more than I do about what works and what does not work. I would suggest everyone do their homework and make your choices. I would hate for someone to pay good money and get a job done that is not what they wanted.
Ride safe.
JK