How to Paint Your Motorcycle (Motorbooks Workshop) (Paperback)

by JoAnn Bortles (Author)
Key Phrases: memory block, longboard paper, epoxy primer surfacer, House of Kolor, Mini Jet, Apple Red (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Thunder Press, May 2006
“With How to Paint Your Motorcycle, she [Bortles] actually does a thorough and comprehensible job of showing you how to … gasp … paint your own motorcycle. And paint it really, really good. She should know how, too. As the celebrated proprietress and maitre d’art of Crazy Horse Painting, JoAnn has produced scores of world-class custom paint jobs and garnered a reputation for excellence in a tough industry.
 
“She does all this in a very human and conversational tone, offering encouragement and perspective along with her expertise, and coming across as equal parts master painter and life coach. She’s liberal with anecdotes of her own past screw-ups, disillusionments and inverted learning curves on some techniques, which go a long way toward dispelling any illusions that the task of painting a custom scooter requires any special gift beyond patience, persistence, practice and knowledge of the materials involved.”

IronWorks, July 2006
“’It’s a real nuts-and-bolts book.’ And we agree. The real world, trial-and-error approach she experienced herself has armed her with frank, practical advice to pass on to the others. If you want surefire, functional shortcuts, you’ll find them here, along with cautions on when these tips are completely inappropriate to apply.”

American Iron Magazine, September 2006
“An informative guide … Unlike many other purported how-to guides, which focus primarily on the end result, this book addresses the beginning, middle, and end steps of a given project.
 
“The text is clearly written and accompanied by numerous photos … [It’s] the best alternative to actually being in a classroom with JoAnn.”

Product Description
JoAnn Bortles, a leading painter of premium custom choppers, shares her vast knowledge with enthusiasts so they can undertake their own motorcycle painting projects. The most detailed how-to-paint book yet for motorcyclists, this book instructs readers on the use of the latest and greatest paints and painting equipment.

Bortles covers everything from basic prep work to advanced finishing techniques. The techniques and processes can be used on any type of motorcycle from a production road bike to a custom chopper with extravagant bodywork. Among the topics covered are bodywork preparation, paint selection and preparation, a variety of painting techniques, and post-application follow-up techniques to put the best finish on a great paint job.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Motorbooks; 1st edition (November 10, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0760320780
• ISBN-13: 978-0760320785
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #257,315 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It was extremely helpful, June 29, 2006

By	Tom Bartomoli (Nashville, TN) - See all my reviews

A friend has recommend this book and after using it, I can see why. I liked the way she, the author, told it like it is. There's no sugercoating. It's very hands on, down and dirty advice. She tells you exactly what to expect. I liked the way it was so accurate when it came to the preparation. She really goes into detail. This book made painting my bike project much easier than I thought it would be. In fact it went so well, I'm thinking about doing it again over the winter by painting a friend's bike. I highly recommend this book to anyone thinking of painting a motorcycle.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What I have been looking for, January 5, 2006

By	Steve Mangs "Steve" (Silver Springs, MD) - See all my reviews

This book covers subjects I have not found anywhere else. No other books or magazine artciles had anything about molding frames or doing bodywork on bike parts. I like the way each chapter is so thorough. The pictures really detail very well the steps you have to go through to get professional results. I also like the chapter on priming and painting any kind of bike part. This gal really covers the bases. This book has become my bible for painting bike stuff. Well worth the money!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not comprehensive, but pretty good, December 16, 2007

By	Michael L. Hetrick (Lehi, UT) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

When I decided my VROD needed painting I was floored at how much people charged. I decided to try and do it myself so I started shopping for books. This is one of the books I bought.

In general the book is OK for an absolute beginner such as myself. It is obvious the publisher wanted lots of pictures and not a lot of words. Many details of technique were glossed over or simply not inculded, and it is obvious the author is very skilled in these subjects.

As is often the case, this is not a book that will answer all your questions or cover all your needs. But I did walk away with one technique that I feel "made" my paint job in the end and that is the concept of using "guide coats".

It is worth the money, but barely. But that is a lot more than I can say for numerous other books on the subject. The failures of this book are the publishers, not the authors.