K11 Owners Group

ColoradoRod · Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2009 11:13 pm Post subject: Mystic Red paint process

I ordered and received a factory new mirror for my K1100LT since my original mirror was unceremoniously smashed to little bitty pieces when I let my bike fall over a few weeks ago.

The new mirror needs to be painted. In fact, I'm particular enough that I'd like to repaint all the fiberglass on my entire bike. I've had a little experience with paint so I'm going to give it a whirl myself. If I'm not happy with the results, I'll treat all my painting as primer, sand a bunch and then take it to a professional.

I bought some paint this afternoon. The paint shop was able to cross-match the Mystic Red color and make me up a can of R-M Diamont.

My question:

The tech data sheet says that the vehicle must first be painted black before the red goes on. I sanded for a bit on my old mirror and it sure seems that the progression (from outermost inward) is clear, mystic red, white primer, black plastic. I find no evidence of black paint as a base coat before the red.

My new OEM mirror came in white primer. Do you guys think I need to spray the mirror black before I spray it Mystic Red? I can call the paint shop, but I doubt they'll be able to shed any light on BMW's paint technique.

Thanks for any help. I searched 4 pages worth of previous posts, but found no answers for this specific question.

Best regards,

Rod
Loveland, Colorado
1996 K1100LT Mystic Red (with a WHITE mirror!)

Jim · Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2009 1:17 am Post subject:

Rod - BMW used Glasurit (AFAIK). Glasurit paints do use a special process.

Since the paint shop mixed that paint for you - why not give them a call? They might be able to help you out.
_________________
Jim
1997 K1100LTSE 94,000 - still has gremlins!
1995 R100RT Classic 16,650 crashed - repaired!
1992 K75RTP 46,000

"We shall not all die, but we shall all be changed."

joeangi · Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2009 11:28 am Post subject:

I repainted my Lava red bike....I think it is the same technique as the colorado. It is a three stage paint. Primer, than a base coat (the lava red was a bronze) then the "color" coat which is a clear/ tint combo. Number of coats during the mid layer determines the "color", then the actual clear coat.....then sand with 2000 grit, then buff out.......sounds easy. There are like 18 pieces of body work on our bikes. I can understand why they get multiple thousands of dollars to paint a bike.....it is A LOT of work, if you want it to look good.

You can call the guys at Holt BMW, they carry Glasurit.....and they can tell you what the base coat color is

Joe

ColoradoRod · Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2009 12:21 am Post subject:

I painted my mirror this morning. It came out really well. The base coat went on nearly perfect, but I wound up with a bit of dust in the clear coat. I'm going to wet sand and then polish. I think it's going to come out nearly perfect.

The color is VERY slightly different from stock. I'm not sure whether this is because I painted directly over the white primer or if the paint mix wasn't perfect or maybe even a little too much clear. It'll be interesting to see if the perceived shade changes after I sand a few microns of clear off.

Almost all the remaining pieces on my bike will need a little filler for nicks and scratches. I'll have to spray primer on top of the filler so I'll need to start with a uniform base coat after the primer. I'm going to try the black base that the R-D spec sheet suggests and see if the final color changes.

Based on my experience thus far, I have no reservations about painting all the plastic pieces on my bike. I'll probably start with the removeable luggage next. Honestly, my biggest fear is figuring out how to remove the front fairing pieces and the gas tank! I'll have to do some searching on this site for how-to's.

Might have pictures as soon as tomorrow. We'll see how the day goes.

Rod
1996 Mystic Red K1100LT (with more garage rash than I'd like!)

Saltcreek · Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2009 7:11 am Post subject:

joeangi · Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:57 pm Post subject:

Great job on giving it a go.....glad the color match is good. It isn't rocket science, but it does take some practice.

Joe

ColoradoRod · Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2009 11:10 pm Post subject:

Woooo, hooo!

The mirror came out great! I sanded with 800, then 1500, then 2000 grit wet sandpaper. After that, I polished with Meguire's 105, then 205 and then used a polymer polish as the final coat.

I still think my new part is slightly lighter in color than the original. I will try the black base coat under the mystic red when I do my next pieces. If it makes a difference, I'll repaint this mirror when I do the rest of the bike. It'll look just fine in the meantime.

The pictures below are after the Meguires polish, but before the polymer sealant (wax, basically).

Rod
1996 1100LT Mystic Red--Now with matching mirrors!

Mystic Red · Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:21 am Post subject:

Very nice effort!
_________________
Scott Hespelt, '94 K11LT
K11 OG #466