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Post by scootdude on Feb 9, 2015 4:42:43 GMT -5
Okay, so I've had the Grand Dink for a few weeks now. As you guys remember when I got this scooter I bought it from an older lady in Scottsdale who had it painted to resemble her beloved parrot.  I thought maybe the paint job would grow on me......  It didn't. I hate it. So i started taping off all the gawd awful stuff like the purple feathers, the stupid green beak and those dumb chicken eyes. I even got red duct tape and taped over the stupid feathers on the sides below and behind the seat. I didn't realize when I got it that I was going to loathe the paint job this much. The way I see it, I have 2 options. Take the scooter apart piece by piece, sand and repaint it the way I want it, or just sell the scooter outright and get something else. I am not Mittens Romney, and I can't afford to pay someone to repaint the bike for me. I really love the Grand Dink. It runs and rides really well. But I absolutely HATE the paint job. I have a couple ideas for a scooter makeover that will give off more of a manly vibe. Tell me what you guys think.  I know it's a different scooter, but you get the idea. I think this is something I could pull off with no painting experience. Camouflage would be a great way to go. No?  Or how about a more plain drab military green with some cool offensive weaponry attached? Manly enough?  |
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Post by SylvreKat on Feb 9, 2015 8:10:46 GMT -5
Now dude, don't you forget that your wife will get the scoot in a few years. So you need to include her in this decision. Esp before you go "manly enough"  Me, I still like the purple. Seems a shame to paint over that part. Can't you turn it into purple flames or something? But yes, that beak and the creepy eyes have got to go! >'Kat |
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Post by javarod on Feb 9, 2015 9:42:58 GMT -5
Okay, so I've had the Grand Dink for a few weeks now. As you guys remember when I got this scooter I bought it from an older lady in Scottsdale who had it painted to resemble her beloved parrot. Ah, Luci of Luci's Joyrides, the shop i bought my Kymco from, i believe they went out of business, or is my memory that bad? Yeah, that paint job could use some work. Hmmm, well, if the budget is low, there's always Earl Scheib |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Feb 9, 2015 13:43:49 GMT -5
Scootdude,
PLEEEZE... Don't even consider selling that great scoot just because of the paint... LOL! You got a great deal on a swell ride!
Repainting a scooter isn't all that hard, ESPECIALLY if you go with cammo, or flat-black, etc. You already familiarized yourself with removing the nose-plastics and front fender. The bottom pieces come off fairly easy too. Only the rear plastics are much trouble due to the grab-rails.
Plastics remaining on the scooter can easily be painted "in-place" with careful masking of the rest of the scoot. The Kymco contains more flat-black "rubber" than color paint anyway... Since you are not needing a showy gloss finish, I'd consider the cammo (IF the missus would tolerate it... LOL!) Using several colors like black, two shades of olive drab and desert tan randomly "mottled" with each other can produce a STRIKING, aggressive cammo look with little effort. Rustoleum makes these cammo colors and outdoorsmen have great results with them on boats, RV's, bikes (and the family sedan, with a little liquid inspiration...).
A multi-color cammo finish would look good, especially with the wheels and fork tubes in flat-black. The chrome covers on the exhaust come right off too, and the header and muffler are factory flat-black. If rusty, a quick shot of high-heat BBQ black will fix that. There's SO much dull-black on these to begin with that they take well to an austere, pseudo-military look!
If the cammo is just TOO much, there's always flat, or better yet, "satin" black. It would make the scooter "monochromatic" cosmetically, with all the plastics virtually matching the color of the seat, floor, etc. You could leave the chrome on the exhaust, or do the exhaust black too. Either would look great. Paint the brake-calipers red and Woo-HOO! A real head-turner for sure!!!
Only prep you need to do is remove the duct-tape, and wet-sand the edges of the birdie graphics. Give it 2 or 3 coats of "filler/primer" lacquer and a quick wet-sanding to hide the edges of the old artwork and shoot on the cammo or black. Rustoleum, Krylon and other flat or satin-finish spray paints abound at Wal-Mart and do a fine job!
Just remember, if you use enamel, don't later put lacquer over it or it will melt the enamel. With a satin or flat finish, any runs or flaws can be sanded out and spot-fixed easily! And you'll have a GOOD looking ride! Also, test-spray a little of the lacquer primer on the old graphics just to be sure it doesn't attack the airbrushed art. It's 99% sure that the artist used lacquer, but just to be sure, test a spot. If the lacquer primer DOES eat into the paint, go with enamel primer, as well as the finish colors. The affordable, plentiful flat cammo and black colors at Wally World are always enamel, and work great. There's just something devilishly intriguing about covering nearly three-grand worth of custom paint with a rattle-can... LOLOLOL!!!
I think your scoot's former owner may have been a Jimmy Buffet fan! A "parrot-head" for sure!
I've done NUMEROUS "rattle-can" paint jobs over the last 50 years... Trust me, it's not that hard. Care in prepping with primer, and careful masking will make the finished job look good, and, with a non-glossy finish, it's a breeze! Then, it's "bye-bye birdie" for the Dink!
Keep us posted, and if you have any problems, there are plenty of us who've painted before to give encouragement!
Ride safe, and birdie-free!
Leo in Texas
PS: While cammo is a tad "edgy" for this old Army guy today, if my own GV paint gets shabby, I would definitely go the all satin-black monochrome route myself... I try to never advise anybody to do something I wouldn't do myself...
PPS: I actually remember EARLY FIFTIES' Earl Scheib TV ads where he "will paint ANY car, ANY color for just nineteen-ninety-five..." THAT wouldn't even buy a can of primer today!!!
Those were the days! A working guy with an 8th grade education could earn $100 a week, own a home and feed the family and wife stayed home, keeping the kids out of street-gangs. Yup... THOSE were the days! Very, VERY GOOD days.
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Post by scootdude on Feb 9, 2015 14:23:54 GMT -5
Ha! I remember the Earl Scheib ads. "I'm Earl Scheib and I'll paint ANY CAR for XX.99." I think I'd rather just take her apart and paint her up myself. I've never painted any kind of motorized vehicle before, but to be perfectly honest with you, I only paid $1500 for the scooter. It's 9 years old. I really don't care if I botch the paint. I've been riding it around with a bunch of duct tape all over it! LOL! It doesn't get much more hillbilly than that. Besides that, I could always just go with the madmax road warrior theme. That would be really easy. Check these out.    And oh yeah I heard about the 1950's all the time. My dad graduated high school in 1956, and when I was a kid in the 1970's all he ever wanted to talk about was the good old 50's. The cars were better, the nightlife was more fun, the sun was brighter, and the air was sweeter. I think he was just missing his youth. When older people talk about the "good old days" I think that's what they mean. Those days were good because they were young! LOL! As far as my wife getting the bike, we will just have to review that idea later. I could always repaint the bike hot pink, add some silly flowers and butterflies, and she can just ride that down the road. Ha! My wife isn't all that frilly. She'll do just fine with the road warrior look. |
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Post by jerseyboy on Feb 9, 2015 14:53:02 GMT -5
Yeah its a quality scooter unlike mine...just spray it flat black for now until you figure out a cool color dewd,,cant go wrong with flat black primer  |
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Post by scootdude on Feb 9, 2015 20:09:50 GMT -5
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Post by SylvreKat on Feb 9, 2015 23:59:16 GMT -5
Oh my gosh, she even did the handlebars? Was she just totally flipping nut cakes without the cakes? Six cans shy of a six-pack? Since she obviously has way too much money, maybe you can get back in touch with her and see if she'll donate to my "fix my beloved old Taurie-wagon" cause.  Or if not that, maybe the "help 'Kat pay for part of the new hatchwagon" cause. >'Kat |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Feb 10, 2015 2:25:24 GMT -5
Road Warrior is definitely cool...
Humongous Rules! Hey, THAT might be a good nickname for the Dinkster...
Or, SOMETHING like that... LOL!
Ride safe!
Leo |
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Post by scootdude on Feb 10, 2015 3:52:52 GMT -5
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Post by SylvreKat on Feb 10, 2015 8:04:52 GMT -5
Awwww...bye bye, creepy chicken eyes. Can't say anyone except crazy rich lady will miss you.
>'Kat
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Post by SylvreKat on Feb 10, 2015 8:07:22 GMT -5
You know, I just thought.
I wonder what the painter thought of the job. I mean, sure, he was happy as a dog with her money and all. But what did he think of what she wanted? Was he thinking "Whatever, lady, the money's really good" the whole time he did it?
>'Kat
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Post by scootdude on Feb 10, 2015 12:12:45 GMT -5
You know, I just thought. I wonder what the painter thought of the job. I mean, sure, he was happy as a dog with her money and all. But what did he think of what she wanted? Was he thinking "Whatever, lady, the money's really good" the whole time he did it? >'Kat I'm sure he stood back, looked at his work and thought "Hey I do good work!...... But OMG what an ugly mess this lady wanted! Purple feathers?! BARF!"  I'm pretty sure that's what he was thinking. I worked on this thing through the night. Slept for a few hours, got up and then mounted everything up. I kinda screwed up one of the trim pieces because I was in such a hurry to get the fluflu gawd awful feathers off it. So I'm going to have to sand and repaint that piece. But it's turning out. I'm very pleased with how the front fender and the nose piece turned out. It still has red ears. I might just leave the ears red. We'll see   |
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Post by oldchopperguy on Feb 10, 2015 14:02:12 GMT -5
Scootdude,
WAY to GO! Once you get started, it all comes together. Any glitches can be fixed later, and you'll just get better and better the more you paint! And the best part of flat colors is that they can easily be touched up or repainted with little showing of the work. THAT is a real blessing with a vehicle that gets daily use and abuse... You can keep it looking decent with minimal effort. From your new pix, I'm liking the flat-black more and more. Seeing it, I vastly prefer it to cammo... You just CAN'T go wrong with flat-black on most ANY vehicle. It's just universally cool!
Have a bone for "gittin' 'er done"!  That scooter is going to look BADAZZ... and modern too! Ride SAFE, ride STEALTHY...Leo
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Post by rdhood on Feb 10, 2015 14:10:58 GMT -5
Where can I see an original picture of this dinkster parrot beauty?
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