Go in the big 2009 HD catalog or even some of the little parts catalogs that the dealers send you... look in the custom painted tins section. You will find that you can send your tins to Harley and get them painted a single harley color for between 550 and 750 bucks. I'd go that route if I were you.

 

Really.......I thought the Harley paint was more than that? I guess I was looking at the ones where you just buy the new tins and keep the originals. I found that no one has any tins anymore for carburated, all EFI now and it's a different tank.

 

Welcome to the world of dealing with painters. A grand for a tour bike is dirt cheap and should have been a red flag right there, when a good painter want 4-5K and a really good one want 8+. Cut your loses get your parts and find a real painter. Just because some yahoo claims hes painted stuff in mags doesnt make it a good paint job. You cant see what the quality is in a magazine photo. Just thats its shiney. I showed cars for a lot of years and have seen some real crap in person that ended up in a magazine where it actually looked good.

If a deal seems to good to be true it usually is!

 

Well, maybe a few of you have been following my painting nightmare on my FLHTC.
So, I got two quotes on getting it redone. I went with the guy who a good friend had paint his bike and his bike is immaculate! And he has went back and had him fix some road rash one time and it came back just like brand new!
So, I changed colors to a Chryster blue color, with ligther blue ghost flames with some metallic. Turned out perfectly! And it was a pretty good price too! Under 3 grand. I would recommend this guy to anyone, truely a professional and does great work!

 

As for the old painter, I did pay him everything and I asked him for something back, and he said he won't give any money back but he would fix what needs fixing. I had him "fix" it 3 times so I think he struck out!
Then, I flagged his craigslist ad as fraudulent, which it really is, and he emailed me a big long threatening message saying he would sue me for slander if I continued to flag his ad!
Also, the new painter stripped the old paint off, and said the original Harley paint was still GLOSSY onderneath which means he didn't sand OR prime at all, just sprayed over the parts!! And the paint was flaking off once he started, he said that it would most likely all peel off on it's own within a year!
I am still pissed I paid the guy!

 

That's how he could do it for 1K: Wipe down with some paint thinner, shoot it with $200 worth of paint, collect $1K bill and hand back parts. Too bad you got burned. If anyone should be suing, it should be you, but your chances of collecting anything are zero, so no point in wasting your money persuing it. Just chalk it up to experience.

I've painted a few bikes and cars, and it is a PITA. The Sportster took me probably 2 weeks to prep. There were some flaws, some in the clear that could be sanded out and polished, and some in the base that we worked into the artwork design. It's supposed to look like a rock (turquoise) anyway.

 

Yeah, no point in me pursuing it any more, he is not giving any money back and he made that clear. My new painter is pissed because he said it is people like that guy that give them all a bad name.

 

Famous for painters to pull this crap. I had the same problem, with a car though. Paid a deposit. Said needed more money to get supplies, WTF more than enough of the the deposit. They like to pay 1 job with another, not the task at hand.

 

Wow sorry to hear your painter drama..I did the same thing the painter I didnt know him just took his word. When i gave him my parts I gave him the material cost wich was 500$ than I told him he would get the rest when it was done. He said two weeks see you back in two sundays from now. He ended up emailing me progress pics, base coat pics, clear coat pics.. than when i went to see it it was nice. Not perfect like I wanted cause im a perfectionist but very clean and layd down nice. So I payed him the rest we wrapped it all up and into my truck it went. Very nice painter to deal with. Just always make sure you at least pay for the materials or parts for a job and def. next time in whatever you do like that have a contract I have a 2 page contract for side jobs that I do in my garage just to cover my own *** and to make the customer feel more confident hes getting what he thinks he getting. Glad it all aworked out for you. Now we need some pics!!!

 

Funny my painter said the same thing too and when he did I said no. I said you will get your money when its done just pay for the supplies out of your pocket and everything will be good. I mean besides the guy had 13 pieces of my bike worth way more than the few hundred more he needed right..