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Cost to paint fenders/tank/fairing

44889 Views 26 Replies 18 Participants Last post by  Robatrak
I'm not interested in "upgrading" to a stock color for an extra $400, I want to set my bike apart when I get it so I figure Ill put that money toward a custom job. I'm going to go with the same color as this SS. (Orange is my favorite color). Any of you experienced guys have an idea of cost? I have a HVLP gun and compressor so Im thinking about letting the wife have a shot at it since she is a painter on the side. Shes never done anything auto paint related but I figure if she screws it up I'm out like 50 bones and we were going to take it to a pro to begin with anyway. But back to the question. Cost?

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I love the color, of course being a Tennessee Vol contributes to that.:)

As far as costs,....it is an endless spectrum depending on who,what, to what detail you want it done. There is the Earl Schieb quality up to the Counts Customs quality. The labor involved of the disassembly and the quality of the primer and paint will influence the price. An excellent paint job shouldn't cost you over $500.00
I love the color, of course being a Tennessee Vol contributes to that.:)



As far as costs,....it is an endless spectrum depending on who,what, to what detail you want it done. There is the Earl Schieb quality up to the Counts Customs quality. The labor involved of the disassembly and the quality of the primer and paint will influence the price. An excellent paint job shouldn't cost you over $500.00

Thanks a lot, yeah I would remove the tins myself to save some dough. A buddy said $400-$600 so it seems he was right on. No way I would pay HD's premium when $100 more opens up an ENDLESS amount of options.


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I like the color choice. The emblem should stick out nicely once you get it completed and it still reads Harley-Davidson. Can't wait till you can post up pictures of the finished product. Let us know what the price ends up being. I think that $400-$600 sounds pretty fair.
I'm not interested in "upgrading" to a stock color for an extra $400, I want to set my bike apart when I get it so I figure Ill put that money toward a custom job. I'm going to go with the same color as this SS. (Orange is my favorite color). Any of you experienced guys have an idea of cost? I have a HVLP gun and compressor so Im thinking about letting the wife have a shot at it since she is a painter on the side. Shes never done anything auto paint related but I figure if she screws it up I'm out like 50 bones and we were going to take it to a pro to begin with anyway. But back to the question. Cost?


I think that "50 bones" is a gross under-estimate. I recently purchase a quart of pearl white, with reducer, and a couple of other little items (e.g. a spray can of filler/primer for $20) and the cost was about $400!! Quality paint ain't cheap. I'll also be using my HVLP gun to paint and there is not doubt that this is the "top of the line" professional way to go but.........


There's an alternative that has been around for decades. A motorcycle doesn't require a lot of paint and doesn't have large surfaces like a car. I'd suggest trying a "rattle-can" paint job as a low cost alternative. Today's automotive quality canned spray paints are actually very good and don't cost nearly as much as buying a quart of paint that you might only use part of. Graphics are merely a matter of masking and I've seen many excellent rattle can paint jobs over the years. You might get away with only a loss of "50 bones" if you try a rattle can paint job and it doesn't work out.
I like the color choice. The emblem should stick out nicely once you get it completed and it still reads Harley-Davidson. Can't wait till you can post up pictures of the finished product. Let us know what the price ends up being. I think that $400-$600 sounds pretty fair.


I also agree that the color is very nice but would note that the cost for a single color is probably $400 and with possible multiple colors it will go up considerably. I believe the smallest can you can buy is a pint and some highlight color schemes might only use an ounce of paint or even less.


Paint shops can afford this because they buy at least a quart or more often a gallon and then use it on multiple jobs over time. A person get's stuck with any unused paint (and the cost).
Wow that's not good, didn't know paint shops worked like that.
I'll make sure if i get a bike painted that i get it from the fresh jar :D
prices will vary depending on finish as well keep in mind. Metallic flecks and the depth of the paint will also contribute to the cost.

Realistically you best answer is going to come from contacting a few local shops and seeing what they quote you at...

Do like the harley orange though ;)
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prices will vary depending on finish as well keep in mind. Metallic flecks and the depth of the paint will also contribute to the cost.

Realistically you best answer is going to come from contacting a few local shops and seeing what they quote you at...

Do like the harley orange though ;)


I agree that a good paint supplier is an excellent source of information both on the paint as well as the actual painting. I use Wesco, a national chain, and they've been totally helpful for me. They sell the highest quality paints and the sales staff is very knowledgeable about all things "paint" where you might have questions.
Yeah I'm going to go with a single color with probably no flake. I'm not a big fan. I like the "plain" look I guess. $400-$600 is way too reasonable to pay more for a stock color.


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$1,000 cdn to do this.

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What, no reply from anyone? I think you came up with an awesome color combo that has me real nervous as to who will have the more popular bike. I have no idea how much my Street's paint is going to be but it could be double that ! Custom ain't cheap! I will post my paint when I get all the pieces back, hopefully by Friday.
$1,000 cdn to do this.

Dude! that's a well thought out and s smokin' nice paint job!

I was thinking of going with the sand camo denim that Harley has out, or at least getting it matched very closely. They guy painting it has some cool colors stashed away though so who knows.

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Nicely done! I'd like to see the assembled finished product.
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$1,000 cdn to do this.

Nicely done but I wouldn't recommend riding it to a home game for the Browns, Bengals or Ravens when they're hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers. (sorry - couldn't resist that one)
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Got most of my paint back. Can't wait to see it all come together. If you look closely on the tank top and rear fender you will see the brick wall

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Got most of my paint back. Can't wait to see it all come together. If you look closely on the tank top and rear fender you will see the brick wall
I really like the rear fender with the brick and ghost bar and shield. :)
cfreeze That looks great! Do you have a picture of the completed bike?
Where did the Canadian members go for their work? Specifically in Ontario?
I'd like to get my bike done up some to fit my punisher theme:)
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