G'day Everyone,

As most of you know my good mate and i have painted my bike like a Ducati 750 Sport.

So i thought i would put it together in a thread so others can see what is involved with painting your own bike.

Basic things you will need:

A compressor
Paint gun
Paint (acylic)
Clear Coat
General Thinners (Sh*t loads!)
Prepsol
1200 and 600 grit wet and dry sand paper
Plastic bucket
Paper towel

The Process:

Rub the clear coat through to the orginal colour using 1200 grit wet and dry sand paper with really soapy water.



Rub the original stickers off using 600 Grit w+d



Spray on 2 coats of filler/primer and let is dry in the sun for an hour or two

Ghosting/light spray mist of black from a spray can



Rub off the ghosting of black with 1200 grit w+d with soapy water (this makes sure you don't rub too much primer off you are only really rubbing the black off)



Spray a coat of colour. The paint may need thinners added, the paint should look to be the consistency of milk

Rubbed lightly with 1200 w+d and soapy water.

Spray a second coat of colour and leave it overnight

Mark out pin stripes and place the "Ducati " tank stickers where you want them.



Mask everything up and spray the pin stripes on.







Spay 2 coats of Clear Coat and let it dry over night.

In the morning give it a light rub with 1200 and heaps of soapy water then a light cut and polish.





I hope this can inspire some others to paint your own bike!  







**Please know i am not a spray painter, this was done in a backyard shed and i understand that there are a lot more contributing factors to painting anything properly. My friend on the other hand is a very experienced spray painter and panel beater and he was a guide to this whole process.**

If your scared he can paint it for you!  

gotta say man, this is pretty make the beast with two backsin' impressive. very well done, the bike looks excellent, and is still relatively in stock form! beer tray and all! reminds me just how great looking our monsters are.

the silver legs on the fender are a nice touch!

+1 +1 +1 

I'm not telling you anything that you don't already know, but I have to say, holy crap, you did an outstanding job.   

Plus, not only was it executed extremely well, that's an excellent choice of paint schemes.  It really looks great. That's some good inspiration for the rest of us amateur would-be painters who don't have professional working facilities, but are going for professional results.

One comment/question - I'm surprised that the only wet sanding that you did before polishing was 1200 grit.  When I was painting my rear cowl, I talked to the guys at my local auto/body supply store, and they advised me to go with a careful (wet) sanding with 1500 grit to get rid of the run that I had, then 2000/2500/3000 for the rest to knock off the orange peel, followed by a light cut, then polish.  Yours looks great, though, and you just did 1200, so I'm wondering why bother with the higher grit wet sanding.  Anyone know when it is/isn't necessary to use 2500+ grit?

Once again, though, great work!   

Nice photography skill....and excellent paint skill/job...
+++++++++++++++1

Always wanted to paint my bike....gonna go with the matte black and no Ducati letter.

It's a detail but I've noticed that you cut out the side of rear panel that goes over the seat to give it  nice curb       It look awesome !!!     did you cut it whit a dremel ?? If you have info on how you did it I would really appreciate it ... 

This is awesome! Does anyone know paint codes for the older ducatis, or where they could be found?

They can be found in the owner's and repair manuals.  The codes won't do any good in the US though.

Bloody gorgeous...well done!

Cheers for your comments everyone, I havent had much of a chance to ride it over the last few months... Training for my new job has taken 1st place...

Bond0087 I used 1200 grit sand paper just to save a bit of time, you have to be super gentle though... I think in the long run i should have used something abit finer.

Ducatigirl100 I used an angle grinder, carefully measured each side to make sure it sits nicely and its now stuck on by velcro... I have a dremel on my christmas wish list... 

As for the colour there is a guy i ride with every now and then who owns a 750 sport so i had the paint matched to his side panels.

WOW that is great. I have some better ideas now for my own paint job. Thanks

Just a quick heads up if you know of anyone looking for a LAMS approved monster.

Mine will be for sale, 12months rego, Fresh Service, Plenty of tread on the tires...

Negotiable on the price.

Monstar_100@hotmail.com or 0401 834 130