Hi all,
I have been quoted £500 to repaint the tank, side panels and headlamp (including decals) for my 1982 Cali.
I seem to have lost touch with reality since retiring! Is this a reasonable price.
Cheers
Tony
Hi.
I had the red bits of my LMV repainted last year by a local firm recommended by my MOT man. It was tank, side panels, the bit at the back of the seat (whatever that is called), fairing and its associated side extensions. I left them with him to fit in when he was doing a job in a suitable colour. I got them back three weeks later having been prepared, undercoated and painted with BMW Mini Chilli Red. Decals were not included but lacquering over them once I had applied them was. He made a superb job of them and I am delighted, so much so I am going to have him do my V50 over the winter.
Total cost - £180.
David.
Depends on how good a job you want/he does.
A guy at work got a cafe racer tank done by Dream Machine for £600. Very nice 2-colour job with logos but seemed expensive to me.
I’m dropping my Ducati 175 tank off tonight at a local “friend of a friend.” Quoted £200 cash to sort out the dent in the top, prepare, prime and paint in 2 colours. I’m supplying the decals but he’ll put them on and lacquer over.
£500 is what I paid for respray of tank/side panels for a v750 sport - superb job using original paint number for the lime green finish.
If you are after perfection at a reasonable price then Chris Tunner is fabulous. http://www.ctmotorcycleservices.co.uk/
http://www.ctmotorcycleservices.co.uk/
He did my Zagato cafe and is one talented craftsman, his website is worth a visit, stunning work.
If you want cheap and cheerful, there are others already recommended.
It’s an interesting subject, and depends partly on whether it’s someone who does it as a hobby or a full time professional who does the very best work. Of course costs can be cut if the painter has the paint already and is doing it with a paying job, like Dave’s above.
On the other hand, if it’s one of the custom sprayers who is going to do a show winning job, then not only are you factoring in the cost of the paint/thinners/lacquer etc, (can run into a couple of hundred) , but also the labour. A friend of mine does custom bike work, a tank alone can get 10+ coats with a rub down between every coat. Bearing in mind the rubbish house painter who did my living room (badly !) got £120 per day, (very cheap in Surrey), then a week’s work is £600. A good sprayer who is going to spend a week or more working on your bike’s panels (assuming he is doing the lot) will give you a labour bill running into hundreds. So not a rip-off, but getting them done by a local car place if you’re not too fussy about the colour is a great compromise.
What do I do for my paint ?
I buy a handful of rattle cans from the local auto-factors and do it myself 
Picked up my bits and couldn’t be more happy with them.
Art Attack in Plymouth, highly recommended.
Pictures ? 
Just had a quote to paint my 1954 RE 350 petrol tank by Chips Away - £180.
0CF3E9CC-C49B-4CD1-B5C0-4D7703EE3E4F.jpeg
Looks good from here 