Custom Painted Voyager Anybody??

[galacius29]

Hello everybody!

I am officially the proud new owner of a 2003 Voyager. Bike has 29K miles on it and in overall good shape. First thing I did was order some Progressive front and rear suspension and a set of Elite 3 tires after reading up a bunch on the website.

I also had a bunch of other maintenance work done on the bike and she will be good to go soon as it gets warmer! (Still cold in Chicago)..

My question to you all is... have any of you guys custom painted your voyagers? (2003 and older)

I tried to google and search on here but I couldn't find any posts regarding the matter.

I know i'm going to love the bike, but I really am not a fan of the 03 color scheme... I know this is a late fall or winter project but I want to repaint the bike with the new voyager Candy Blue / Black paint theme or something brighter and more vivid. Got all summer to think about that..

But question is has anybody attempted to do that? I know it will be challenging with all the pieces that will need paint but we have a fairly long winter... I will prob do most of the wet sanding myself to save some money.. Anyway any input would be appreciated!

[doug of so fla]

There have been many XII's repainted, All white, all green, ect... the color combinations are limited only by imagination. The plastic parts come off very easy. The only real problem you will encounter is the stripping is under the clear coat. If you want to remove it or change it. Not too big a deal for a repaint. Also Kaw paint is not the easiest to sand down but very doable. Make sure you have a good painter cause you want a perfect job on the XII. There are some repaints posted on the websites. I do not know how you would look them up in the search function maybe some of the guys will post you some photos of them... Gearhead can give you some tips as he repainted his, but went with the stock 87, 88 color. Also when you get it done it is mandatory to post your photos!!!! It is not hard to outdo some of the stock colors that Kaw used.. good luck... a good winter job..

[David (N. Alabama)]

My two favorites are the dragon chaser in cobalt blue and the kawasaki green one.

That '09 Candy Plasma Blue with Diablo Black is an awesome looking bike. That was the color scheme on my '07 Ninja 650. That paint job will definitely cost you if you truly want to match the color. It will probably end up being a minimum of 5 coats of paint and clear. You can buy the paint at color-rite.

[Scott-(Altoona, PA)]

Here is a link to the Kawasaki Green bike that Chevyman1 did! Love the green.
http://www.amervoyassoc.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4552

Welcome aboard too! Like Doug said you will have to put up some pics of your new bike as well as after you get it painted or customized to your liking.

[gearheadfla]

YES YES YES PICTURES, WE LOVE PICTURES, We are a simple group here. Yes I did repaint my 88 back to factory colors and it came out great. I have bought a 01 now and will be doing it too, just trying to decide if I bought it to flip or keep now. If I flip it it will be back to factory, if I keep it, well I just might go crazy with it. Time will tell.

Here's the 88.

[dmwoost]

Just make sure you get a good clear coat, one that is Gas resistance.

[gearheadfla]

Just make sure you get a good clear coat, one that is Gas resistance.

Our shop uses Dupont Automotive, and we computer match and custom mix everytime. Heck , brake fluid don't even touch it.

[Mr Jensee]

My son in law paints cars. A few years ago he painted my Suzuki Chrysler PT Cruiser red with clear coat. It looked and wore like factory paint. Any automotive color is possible. http://s36.beta.photobucket.com/user/mr ... ort=3&o=36

[VoyKimmer]

galacius29,

I also live in the Chicago area (Deerfield). I was on a trip this last summer and hit a deer in upper Wisconsin. My 2002 Voyager was totalled. I am rebuilding it. I brought all the plastic that was damaged ( and that was most of it) from Carl Leo of different year bikes. My plastic is at the painter now. I'm going with a version of the original only a little more metallic. I did not do any of the prep work except removing all the emblems, chrome strips, lights ect. I'll PM you my E-Mail if you are intested in using my painter. I will post pictures when I am finished but don't expect to be finished until May I hope. By the way. There are a total of 29 pieces of plastic on the Voyager. Lot of work.

[galacius29]

I'll put up a photo of the bike soon as I can! I actually bought it from a guy who had it in storage and I'm leaving it there for the time being until its warm enough for me to drive ti back.. So if we get a 50 degree plus weekend I'll have her back home!

Kim, i'll email you as I would love to see how your bike turned out. 29!! thats a lot of plastic pieces!

The more I think about it I will most likely do the whole thing myself.. I'll set up a make shift paint booth in my garage and get myself some painting equipment. I figure It would prob cost me $2000 to get it painted how I want.. I'd rather spend $1K on supplies and do the work myself!!

I may do some practice pieces during the summer to get a hang of it.

Meanwhile here is a photo of the new tires and suspension I got.... best I can do for now!

[chevyman1]

My 90 Voyager I had panted Honda Tango red purl by a friend that does body work, I get lots of comments on the paint job.
The 91 Voyager TEEM GREEN I prepped and painted myself in my buddy's garage between Christmas and New year.
It got really good for the first time painting a bike.
I used DuPont base coat clear coat about $350.00 in materials last year.
all the chrome I had another friend sand blast for me and I got the Eastwood powder coating equipment and powder coated it myself.
that was about $250.00 + powder

[galacius29]

Question: How do you remove the existing paint / clear? Just wet sanding with 200 or 400 grit or is there some chemical way to remove it? Since its plastic i'd be more hesitant to try a chemical way but not sure whats out there..

I've started reading up on the painting process... i got a few months and random youtube videos to learn from!

[gearheadfla]

Question: How do you remove the existing paint / clear? Just wet sanding with 200 or 400 grit or is there some chemical way to remove it? Since its plastic i'd be more hesitant to try a chemical way but not sure whats out there..

I've started reading up on the painting process... i got a few months and random youtube videos to learn from!

No need to remove the paint, a good sanding it all you need to scuff up the surface, some prefer to wet sand, I just use a dual action (D.A) sander and 400. The most important thing is to get ALL the surface, no shiny spots left at all, then CLEAN, CLEAN. CLEAN. 98% of a good paint job is prep. After you have done your final clean before paint don't touch the surface with your hands, the oil of you body will come back to haunt you. Lots of thin coats is always better than a heavy coat. As you are sanding, remember, if you can feel a nick or bump with you hand you can see it in the new paint. A green scotch pad avail. at automotive supply stores works well for those hard to get to places and seams such as the area around the holes for the screws that hold your tupperware to the bike.

[Kevin B in Illinois]

Prep , prep and prep is the key to a good paint job. My brother's shop has painted a few bikes for me. They also do custom hot rod paint jobs. We hope to see you sometime at a IPVMC outting. We do several in the Chicago area. Send me an IM and we will get the information out to you. We have several members that live in your area that would be a great resource for help and questions about the Voyager XII.


Kevin Braddy
IPVMC
President (also planning a custom paint job on a Voyager XII this spring)

[chevyman1]

The hardest part is getting the decals off Kawasaki put the clear coat over them.
I used a D.A. sander and sanded until they were off

[galacius29]

First of all, thanks all for the input. Next question is about possibly painting all the black dash. I know its one more project, but I figure if i'll be removing all the plastic.. might as well prep and paint the black dash something shiny! Maybe a black shiny or I don't know! Will have all summer to think about. But anybody know any voyagers with the inside fairing / dash painted?

I think that would look sweeeet. Would literally make the bike brand new looking..

Also from what i'm reading, i'll prob want to go with the more durable dupont paint / clear.

Prep , prep and prep is the key to a good paint job. My brother's shop has painted a few bikes for me. They also do custom hot rod paint jobs. We hope to see you sometime at a IPVMC outting. We do several in the Chicago area. Send me an IM and we will get the information out to you. We have several members that live in your area that would be a great resource for help and questions about the Voyager XII.

Kevin Braddy
IPVMC
President (also planning a custom paint job on a Voyager XII this spring)

Hey, that would be wonderful! I would love to go on an outing, i'll def PM you.

[gearheadfla]

If you want to paint the dash, use a adhesion promoter in the paint mix, this will help bond the paint to the surface. Just watch out for sun glare in the eyes on sunny days from a glossy finish. The over cromed bar hopper I had use to blind me sometimes with the sun overhead.

[bikerking.biz]

Painting the dash will also probably reflect up onto the windshield making it more difficult to see through. Better yet, forget about painting the dash and then have reflections, peeling and that stuff happen. Instead, get a dash mat. That looks much more finished and you won't have to worry about reflections, paint peeling or anything else nasty. I didn't look or inquire lately, but there was a guy listed on the dollar4dollar page that sold dashmats.

[gearheadfla]

While you have it apart you should think about sending your radio to Pete for his upgrades, I-pod jack , default the display to time not the radio station its on, change the display color to match the bike, new tape player belts. He goes by suzib6sw here and is a very nice guy to deal with. He did mine and many others here and it works great. He is almost a rocketsurgen with radios and things like that.

[David (N. Alabama)]

First of all, thanks all for the input. Next question is about possibly painting all the black dash. I know its one more project, but I figure if i'll be removing all the plastic.. might as well prep and paint the black dash something shiny! Maybe a black shiny or I don't know! Will have all summer to think about. But anybody know any voyagers with the inside fairing / dash painted?

I think that would look sweeeet. Would literally make the bike brand new looking..

Also from what i'm reading, i'll prob want to go with the more durable dupont paint / clear.

I've seen at least one bike that covered all the black with woodgrain looking vinyl. It was awesome!

If you want the bike to look modern, you could do carbon fiber looking vinyl.