Needing a bit of advice on getting something painted.
According to my Spousal Unit, the colors don't match.

Honestly, I don't have any experience with painting and won't be attempting to paint this project but, I'm not real sure what questions I should be asking and what I should be aware of/watching out for.

Here's the project:

For some unknown reason, she doesn't think the colors match..............

Rams

[This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 08-22-2025).]

So you'll want the white of the sidecar painted black and the red areas of the sidecar painted orange to match your current paint on the motorcycle. I also see a white pinstripe on your motorcycle so the paint shop can mask a 1/4" pinstripe right along side the red in the sidecar. Then when they spray the black and orange over it, they remove the pinstripe tape and you'll have a matching paintjob to the motorcycle.

quote Originally posted by IMSA GT: So you'll want the white of the sidecar painted black and the red areas of the sidecar painted orange to match your current paint on the motorcycle. I also see a white pinstripe on your motorcycle so the paint shop can mask a 1/4" pinstripe right along side the red in the sidecar. Then when they spray the black and orange over it, they remove the pinstripe tape and you'll have a matching paintjob to the motorcycle.

I have very similar ideas to what you're suggesting. Would like the sidecar to match the fuel tank of the bike in the design.

Things I don't know are things like one or two part paint (something alluded to by a friend). Clear coat coverage, technically I don't pretend to know anything about painting. IOWs, the best way/paint and whatever to do it. I've been very disappointed before (even after the paint was applied twice). Would rather not have another experience like that.

Rams

[This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 08-22-2025).]

Where is Roger Garrison when we need him, .

Ok, single stage vs. two stage paint jobs.

Single stage jobs are generally cheaper since you only need to spray the color paint which is glossy and you're done. Two stage is the color paint which is usually a basecoat and is flat. Then clearcoat is applied on the top and gives it the gloss.

Both paint jobs can be sanded and buffed to a gorgeous finish but a clearcoat paint job can be made to look like glass. The clearcoat usually has UV protection to prevent paint fading.
The single stage paint job usually takes a lot of beating from the sun, especially a black color so having clearcoat on top of the base color can save you some headaches down the road.

I would go with the 2 stage paint job on the sidecar. It's a little more expensive but worth it in the long run and here's the thing, I generally price out paint per gallon for vehicles. The paint shop can paint that sidecar with 1 quart of black...or less, one pint of orange, and one quart of clearcoat so the price of the material will be around $300. Use that as a baseline if they try to charge you $2000 for a paintjob.

[This message has been edited by IMSA GT (edited 08-23-2025).]

quote Originally posted by IMSA GT: Ok, single stage vs. two stage paint jobs. Single stage jobs are generally cheaper since you only need to spray the color paint which is glossy and you're done. Two stage is the color paint which is usually a basecoat and is flat. Then clearcoat is applied on the top and gives it the gloss. Both paint jobs can be sanded and buffed to a gorgeous finish but a clearcoat paint job can be made to look like glass. The clearcoat usually has UV protection to prevent paint fading. The single stage paint job usually takes a lot of beating from the sun, especially a black color so having clearcoat on top of the base color can save you some headaches down the road. I would go with the 2 stage paint job on the sidecar. It's a little more expensive but worth it in the long run and here's the thing, I generally price out paint per gallon for vehicles. The paint shop can paint that sidecar with 1 quart of black...or less, one pint of orange, and one quart of clearcoat so the price of the material will be around $300. Use that as a baseline if they try to charge you $2000 for a paintjob.

Thank You! That's precisely the kind of information I need. Any other tips will be greatly appreciated.

Rams

[This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 08-23-2025).]

quote Originally posted by cliffw: Where is Roger Garrison when we need him, .

That's a name I haven't heard in a minute.
Still active on FaceBook if you look for him.
Pretty sure he hasn't had a Fiero in a while.

Went to get estimates/quotes for painting that sidecar to match the bike today. I guess it's going to stay a Red and White sidecar for a while. The quotes I got were more than I paid for the sidecar and it wasn't cheap. It is, what it is.

One painter told me, we make our money doing insurance claims. They aren't nearly as hard to please as bikers. I thanked him and left.

Rams