Frame painting technique??

I have noticed that the original black paint on my 850 commando frame was applied directly to the frame without any primer??? I have decided not to powder coat and instead use an acrylic enamel. My question is why was the original frame paint applied directly to the frame without any primer---- and--- I intend to use a primer before painting mine with the acrylic enamel. If I use a primer will my frame be more likely to chip from rocks etc. as opposed to not priming the frame and applying the acrylic enamel directly to the frame???????? Thanks for all the help.

Mark,

Possibly why your frame has no primer is that around about half of the 850 frame production was done in Italy - coz it was cheaper than the UK at the time. It may well have been specified by Norton to save a few bucks, but otherwise its plausible that in previous ownership it had a quick n' nasty spray job before being sold off?

In my experience, I would caution against using auto acrylic because while its sprays well and comes up looking good, it is really more of a cosmetic body finish and not durable against stone chips and fuel and oil leaks. You must use a Primer if you intend to apply acrylic, otherwise its just going willrequire an Etch Primer on bare metal, a Prep Primer then Colour Coats followed by Clear Coats.

The real good stuff for frames is 2 Pack Epoxy. This stuff is tough as nails and looks really good. It requires trade equipment to spray and its not cheap but it does the business. I suggest you haul the frame over to a spray shop and get a quote because doing at home can be messy and expensive if you stuff it up.

Mick

ML said:

Possibly why your frame has no primer is that around about half of the 850 frame production was done in Italy - coz it was cheaper than the UK at the time. It may well have been specified by Norton to save a few bucks, but otherwise its plausible that in previous ownership it had a quick n' nasty spray job before being sold off?

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I don't remember any motorcycles of that period having a primer coat on the frame (except for BMWs)?
Certainly all the Japanese bikes I owned during that time never did, and the paint would flake off in large lumps due to them being ridden through the English winter weather, and I don't think the Norton Commando's frame finish was necessarily much worse than the majority of motorcycle manufacturer's products around that time?

Goodness knows what paint Norton used on my Mk3 850 it's still there and not too bad either. One day I'll get it done.

Cash