[Handyman]

My supply cost for filters (booth, line, and paint), running my compressor, lighting, sandpaper, primer, sealer, paint and clear coat for a set of street plastics is estimated at nearly $250.

If I received a set of plastics that were in really good condition, I could have them sanded down perfectly smooth in about 5-6 hrs. If they needed primed for scratches/chips/gouges, you can pretty much double those hrs. Now the painting process with sealer followed by two coats of paint and two-three coats of clear, from start to finish with proper flash times between coats you are looking at 4-5 hrs. with proper booth prep and clean up after. You can also add time to 'stage' the pieces, set them up so you are able to get tricky areas that you would not be able to get just layed on a table, tie down with wire so parts don't get f-ed if you bump them (or the stand they're on).

So let's do some math....$350-$200(proper product and other overhead) = $150.....divide this number by the number of hours to properly prep and paint these pieces (see above) which works out to roughly 11hrs. (With absolutely no priming or repair of any sort, such as spider cracks, chips, cleared tank stickers, ect) and you're down to about $15 dollars an hr......and it only gets worse if you take pride in your work.

I hope people can see just how rediculous your quote is, and if not I hope they understand that you must be using the cheapest of sheet product available.

Evidently ^^ you do get what you pay for.....unless there's some guy willing to work for free on the internet........

The camo bike was painted over a year ago and has 15k+ miles in all weather and road conditions.... I stood up to a a 10 mile stretch being stuck behind a rock truck being pelted by pebbles...not one single chip in the paint or dent....I don't use crappy paint... I use quality stuff... May not be house of color paint but its still of good quality...I'm a firm believer that price does not constitute quality...

My quote is based off the fact I like painting and not a main source of income...and in my eyes, paying $1000+ to paint motorcycle fairings is just dumb.....

So if you want to bash my quote and say its ridiculous then go ahead, I don't care... I will stand behind my painting and if it becomes messed because if something I did I will correct it for free. I take pride in my work and I'm also not going to a$$ rape someone on price because that's what the going quote... So please do me the favor of not bashing me or quality of my work because I can charge way less than you... You and I don't know each other and have never seen each others work and saying my work can't be that great because of what I charge is pretty $hitty....


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[James D G]

Sorry dude, don't take too much offence, I'm not trying to say your work is crap, I'm trying to say (with some facts) that you can't do quality work with quality products/overhead and make more than a McDonald's worker at the prices you quoted. In fact, you try doing a lot of work like this and you are going to start taking a lot of losses. Just think of the time in hrs. when you f-up just one panel and have to repair it.......

I recently had to paint a zx-7 'Lamborghini orange'. It had a white base/ground coat than a 'candy-like' pearl layed down as the colour (3-3.5 coats). For a qt. of each (PPG water base) it was $478.00 now that was just for the paint.........and after spraying the pearl there was just enough left in that qt. can to do a panel repair in needed.

 

[Handyman]

I'm not offended.... I'm not taking any losses financially... I still make a small profit. Yes I agree that with special colors like the Lamborghini color it can get expensive... But plain black is not expensive.... I know where I can get brand name pearls and candies and paint for dirt cheap....being a painter in the Navy I was able to meet a lot of people in the painting world and when they let me in on how much they bought supplies for... Trust me I know where you are coming from on cost... But I don't need a huge profit... Just not my style... In my area... $1500 will get you a full multi stage custom and airbrushed paint job on a bike.




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[James D G]

I've spent upwards of 2-3 hours removing stickers and the residue they leave behind, is this something you plan on charging extra for when the time comes? Or are you just planning on eating it when you could be out enjoying your life with friends and family but you're stuck working on someone's job, trying to maintain that sweet rep you've earned, while working for peanuts.

 

[FXCLM5]

damn next time i drive down 2 la, i need 2 drop off my fairings for a some lovin, how much you think s/h is from your area to the bay area for a full set?

 

[greenstreak9205]

You're really trying to all him out of this, aren't you :lol

 

[James D G]

One thing that makes me question your experience or knowledge about paint is your comment about following a truck throwing rocks at you.

......The amount you spend on clear or paint has little if nothing to do with how it will hold up to rocks......I'm sorry that's just not what you pay for. You pay for the amount of uv protection in a clear, there are different attributes that can add to cost aswell such as it's ability to sand and polish to a beautiful finish. There are multiple house of kolor clears that are all decent money with different attributes. The fact that your clear had krpto-nite from another planet is the only reason you were able to follow a truck pelting rocks at it without chipping.

 

[James D G]

Btw, I'm quite envious of the jet........really cool man. I would love to paint a fighter, aside from how much work it must have been.

 

[FXCLM5]

One thing that makes me question your experience or knowledge about paint is your comment about following a truck throwing rocks at you.

......The amount you spend on clear or paint has little if nothing to do with how it will hold up to rocks......I'm sorry that's just not what you pay for. You pay for the amount of uv protection in a clear, there are different attributes that can add to cost aswell such as it's ability to sand and polish to a beautiful finish. There are multiple house of kolor clears that are all decent money with different attributes. The fact that your clear had krpto-nite from another planet is the only reason you were able to follow a truck pelting rocks at it without chipping.

jets go faster then bikes....... just sayin :epimp

 

[Handyman]

James you and I can go back and forth until we're old men with beards down to our nuts about quality, and cost etc.... I think you missed the part where I said I enjoy painting just to paint... Getting some money for it is just a bonus...I paint when I want to paint and when I have the time to provide a quality paint job for what ever price myself and the other person agree on...


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[Handyman]

damn next time i drive down 2 la, i need 2 drop off my fairings for a some lovin, how much you think s/h is from your area to the bay area for a full set?

I Bought a full set of fairings and tank for my '05 R1 in hawaii and s/h was $200 for 2 boxes...


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[Handyman]

One thing that makes me question your experience or knowledge about paint is your comment about following a truck throwing rocks at you.

.

I forgot to add this......

You can question my experience and knowledge all you want....I mentioned the truck and pebbles because if I spent $1500 On a "quality" paint job to just have it chip from a rock would severely piss me off... I did my research on the brand and how well it holds up to normal wear and tear for vehicles driven daily in all weather and road conditions.... If I had used "crap" materials like you have been implying rom your " you get what you pay for" statement, I would have had to repaint my front fairing....


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[James D G]

I like to paint too. Especially now that I no longer do it for a living, however I am a family man, I work a normal 80hr week, and have hobbies so I try to limit spending too much of my available time working for little money when I could be spending that time with family, friends.....or riding.....

My time is money......apparently you have excess.....

 

[James D G]

I forgot to add this......

You can question my experience and knowledge all you want....I mentioned the truck and pebbles because if I spent $1500 On a "quality" paint job to just have it chip from a rock would severely piss me off... I did my research on the brand and how well it holds up to normal wear and tear for vehicles driven daily in all weather and road conditions.... If I had used "crap" materials like you have been implying rom your " you get what you pay for" statement, I would have had to repaint my front fairing....


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You still don't get the point about the clear.....believe it or not some of the cheapest clear you can buy holds up to rocks aswell as the uber high dollar stuff. I have 8 year old race bodywork sprayed with these cheap products, sticky race tires throwing rocks at them constantly.

You want to know some actual truths???
Chipping is more likely caused by finishing in a higher grit sandpaper before painting (and not using a sealer). Another cause for chipping can be caused by allowing the paint or sealer to set up too much (too dry=lack of bond).
You see.....almost every clear, including the cheapest of the cheap will say 'good gloss, good/excellent abrasion resistance....ect, ect." BUT the clear is not why a paint job chips or not. You're not naive enough to think all the high dollar, nice paint jobs out there with chips could have been prevented by using a different clear do you? Seriously? Do you think it matters what clear you use when a shopping cart smashes into your paint job? No it doesn't, it's just as f-ed.
You see what I mean about your knowledge of paint now?

 

[James D G]

Dry spray, multiple coats/build from custom jobs, and candies can also increase the chances of chips from rocks.

 

[Handyman]

Yes time is money...but 90% of the customers I have are military and being a vet who just got out I know that there isn't a lot of money after bills are paid with the current economy...I don't have an excess amount of time on my hands.. I just hook up my fellow navy shipmates when I can.


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[James D G]

That's great, and I commend you for that, but in this thread you are now willing to help out or give this good hearted charity to anyone with Internet access and you just admitted that you don't have excess time.

In the end you do what you like, go pro bono if you choose.....just trying to give some insight and experience, that's all.

 

[TheBFA]

That's great, and I commend you for that, but in this thread you are now willing to help out or give this good hearted charity to anyone with Internet access and you just admitted that you don't have excess time.

In the end you do what you like, go pro bono if you choose.....just trying to give some insight and experience, that's all.

Doing good deeds for people can be a reward in itself. Not everyone needs full compensation for everything they do for someone else. I wish I had some pictures of the finished product, but I took them with a phone I don't have anymore of a carbon fiber walking stick I made for Petrol Spice after he broke his ankle, and I spend some 25-30 hours working it by hand and about $160 in material costs and shipping when I was done. I didn't ask him for any money, and the friendship we have now is worth more than I could possibly explain right now.

I really wish I took more pictures, but the only decent one I can find right now is of the handle, which is 316 stainless steel and I put a CF inlay in the center, and one during the laminating process for the shaft. And just like painting, or even worse, there is A LOT of wet sanding involved. I did all the welding and machining myself, and even cut, welded, grinded, and polished a plug out of 38mm stainless steel tube to get the initial shape for the shaft so that it had a tapered shape to it.

 

[z064life]

By contrast my rates are double.....easy. Here in Edmonton Alberta, there are absolutely NO shops that will touch a sportbike for less than a grand (one color), with normal quotes anywhere from $1200-$1500.

I usually charge $300-$500 to sand and spray a set of race bodywork with a single stage paint.

I didn't pay near that and my paint was flawless, fades, multi color, number plates..pearl etc.

Just because you charge that doesn't mean thats what it has to cost for a good job. BTW I mailed mine to the painter since he is well known and does a lot of the AMA bikes. And that's using House of Kolor

 

[z064life]

I've spent upwards of 2-3 hours removing stickers and the residue they leave behind, is this something you plan on charging extra for when the time comes? Or are you just planning on eating it when you could be out enjoying your life with friends and family but you're stuck working on someone's job, trying to maintain that sweet rep you've earned, while working for peanuts.

Are you pissed that someone (like nearly everyone) that looks at his quote $400 and your quote $1200 would go with him and that is taking food off your table?