Painting Flush Mount Lights

1) If you choose to have Bad Dad install your Flush Mount Lights, here is how your fender will look when you receive it from Bad Dad. If you also had Bad Dad make your stencils or masking material, please check the envelope with the invoice or the packing material on top of the fender for your masking materials.

2) Here is your new fender. The fender in this tutorial has a 4 inch x 7 inch brake light flush mounted in the center of the fender and a pair of turn signals flush mounted in the side flanges. The placement or configuration of your lights may vary based upon your project and order specifications. However, the painting process is still the same regardless of the size or placement of the lights.

3) First check fender on bike for proper fitment and final alignment before beginning the paint process.

4) Begin by guide coating the fender with appropriate guide coat, then sanding the entire fender with 400 grit wet sandpaper. Then proceed to 600 grit wet sandpaper and sand entire fender. It is important that this is done wet, not dry.

5) Make sure you have sanded away any primer lines and that all lenses are smooth with no primer on the lighted lens area.

6) Clean entire fender with appropriate wax and grease remover and check to make all parts of the fender have been sanded. Also check to make sure lens area is clean and smooth.

7) Apply stencil graphics to fender making sure that you measure to ensure your stencil is aligned in your fender correctly.

8) It is also important to make sure your design is completely illuminated by the LED. This example uses a smaller design so it is not as critical. However, if you are using a larger design that pushes the boundaries of the light, it is necessary to illuminate the actual light so the stencil can be placed appropriately inside the footprint of the illuminated LED.

9) Tack fender off with appropriate tack rag.

10) With your stencils in place, apply paint to fender per manufacturer�s recommendations. We are only applying the base coat now. The clear coat will follow later (Note: it may be required to apply a sealer to achieve proper hiding depending on your color, again check with paint manufacture recommendations).

11) After fender has been painted allow to dry per manufacturer�s recommendations.

12) Begin removing stencils carefully making sure you do not dig into the lens or any adjacent painted surfaces.

13) After all stencils have been removed tack fender off carefully and begin clearing the fender per the manufactures recommendations. We recommend using the full-line of products available from a single company when completing entire process. e.g. using PPG primer, PPG sealer, PPG paint, and PPG clear to ensure product compatibility and adhesion.

14) You want to make sure to apply at least three coats of clear to fender to help burry the art work.

15) Once the clear has completely dried use a soft block and gently sand the area of the fender were your stencil was applied with 600 grit wet sandpaper. The object is to reduce the clear so that the area the stencil was applied to is completely smooth. If you applied sealer or are using a tri coat paint system you may need to sand area to reduce some of the stencil lines then re-clear the fender and sand the rest of the lines out. You must be very careful when sanding. If you break through your clear and into your color you will need lay down new stencils and reapply the base coat and clear.

16) Once you have sanded away your graphic lines wet sand the rest of your fender with 600 grit wet sandpaper.

17) Then re-clear your entire fender with a high grade urethane final clear coat.

18) Wet sand fender with 1000 grit wet sandpaper, then 1500 grit, then 2000 grit, and finally finish with 3000 grit wet sandpaper.

19) Buff entire fender with automotive grade buffing compound system. We recommend Wizards or 3M buffing compounds.

20) Note: To ensure the best possible outcome IT IS BEST TO HAVE A PROFESSIONAL DO THE PAINT WORK. These are just instructions on our methods for applying flush graphics, and we will not be responsible for any damage, loss of use, or cost incurred in the process of painting your fender. We have described to the best of our knowledge the processes required to paint your fender correctly. The quality of your paint job will depend entirely on the person who is applying the paint and graphics.