there is no reason to not just keep the krylon. Believe me you'll waste tons of money and time trying to HVLP a good flat paint job. While everyone seems to advise prep is the key...that's BS.... It is only the first part of the complex puzzle....If you cannot lay down the paint smooth and even, with no particles from the air getting in the paint, It will look like crap...If you cannot set up the gun correctly... it will look like crap...any condensation in your air lines....look like crap...many of the problems you may face as a new painter can be overcome painting two stage and being able to wet sand and polish...without this ability... shooting flat/satin....you really need to know what your doing and be able to apply a perfect finish as well as have a dust free environment to paint in.

Oh, Krylon flat without clear will look much more like Harley denim. You do not need clear on the paint. Moot point now though.
My advice may not be what you want to hear...but it is the truth...your not ready to paint flat out of an air gun. No beginner is.

also Krylon with a 400 grit final sand before paint will be as durable as any flat paint you can apply.

 

Yes the Krylon has just the right sheen. I really like the look.

 

Rounder, theres alot of reason not to keep cheap *** SPRAY PAINT on your bike. It might be different if it was $400 CB 350 that your chopping up. I'm sorry that you've had such shitty luck with spraying flat paint but that's no reason to spray paint it long term. Believe me sooner or later spray paint WILL **** up, try spilling a few drops of gas on it and see what happens. Spray paint is very soft and offers little to no protection. Im sorry but spray simply sucks...

06HD.. Don't give in to the rattle can man, its just not worth it at all, Im sure that there is someone near you that would help you spray everything for little of nothing, hell, if you were closer to TN I would spray them for you. Whenever the weather is nice, give it another try, just make sure to sand off all of the spray paint first...

 

Absolutely PERFECT advise ..... No way should you keep spray can paint on your "HARLEY" .......mate, you were going so well, don't give in ...hell.. send em to Australia ... and I'll do em ...lol... but I think Dave just a little closer

 

round pretty much everything you talked about are the basics of painting man... it is how it is.

 

thats a different black if ive ever seen one. its like a gloss matte finish, different

 

Yeah I have no intension on leaving my harley with spray paint. I did what I had to do to get by for now. I haven't given up on using my HVLP but like I said I have the Lee Parks school this week and it's been way too cold to paint. It was 28 when I left my house for work this morning! I do think it looks good. I would have left it with just the flat but wanted some protection so I satin cleared over it. It has that gloss but not look.

 

You don't want to leave a spray-can job on a nice bike like yours. Unless you just don't care.

It seems that you have severely handicapped yourself w/ a cheap, crappy spray-gun, to start with. If you're still determined to DIY you might want to consider at least renting a good gun, and practicing on the inside of your fenders, until you've developed the skill to do a creditable job.

On the other hand, now that you realize why the pro's can charge what they do, for virtually perfect work, you might consider hiring the final coats done professionally. You can still re-do all your own prep and priming. But, if it was my own bike, I'd want it to look like Moco had done the paint.

 

My krylon had held up great.
Should I need to reapply at any time it is very easy to do, inexpensive, and the flat will match with the rest of the tins if I just need to do a fender or something. Guess I'm just lucky cause I managed to paint my old Yamaha I owned in the 90's in Krylon flat and it lasted for many years(6) without any issues. Just like my Harley is right now. Besides all this he is going for a flat paint....like the Harley denim, it is meant to weather and show it's age, a different idea from keeping a gloss paint job looking as slick and shiny as possible without any fading and weathering. I certainly agree that when it comes to gloss paint, rattle can is crap compared to a good quality paint. I don't see the benefit with flat....look at the lack of durability with Harley's denim finishes. getting fuel on the paint is also very easy to avoid. Even when I had the factory finish, I would take a paper towel and simple wipe the nozzle before inserting, keep it over the bung while filling then wipe again while removing. No gas anywhere. ever. Been doing it for years to avoid gas spilling on any paint finish.

 

i would completely agree that you can get increadable results from rattle cans! 100%