Paint & Body
Here at Marbles Motors we help you turn your bike into the one you have always dreamed of having. With our paint and body services your old bike could be resurrected and look as good as new. Read the following descriptions of our services and feel free to Contact Us with any questions that you may have!
We are frequently asked about painting just some of the parts of a bike because you’ve found an NOS piece or you think that some of your parts are still ‘OK’. Paint jobs from 40 years ago were done with completely different paint materials than today and we cannot guarantee that the finish we provide will match what you want to preserve. I’ve acquired countless NOS pieces of bodywork over the years and especially the Candy paint jobs vary from batch to batch. We have matched the colors to what we think is the norm, but we cannot control quality of old paint or the effects that UV rays have had on the parts over time. We highly recommend painting the entire set of bodywork. If you want a partial paint job, our minimum charge for even one piece is $250…….more if it is Candy.
No, there is no such thing as paint codes for the old bikes. Each of the colors I sell have been carefully matched to original parts and the formulas are carefully guarded secrets. (I keep them on Funk & Wagnel’s doorstep, hermetically sealed in a mayonaise jar).
I can’t ship paint outside of the U.S.A. Sorry, but laws are laws. In fact, I can only ship the paint via FedEx Ground. The only option for outside of the U.S.A. is for you to ship your parts to us and we will ship them back when completed.
Yes we do! We completely clean out your old tank and professionally install a liner that will last for many years. The typical cost for this is $100 – $125 unless it already has KREME in it and that is extra to burn it out.
Turn-key paint jobs start at $900, and Candy paint jobs start at $1,100. The complexity of the stripes and number of colors and number of pieces play into the total cost. To inquire about our painting services please Contact Us
We can facilitate welding on your tank and parts if necessary. Any welding on the tank and we require a protective liner.
We guarantee our work as long as your expectations are reasonable. We aren’t charging the moon here so please know that we try our best. You won’t find better quality anywhere for these prices.
We can facilitate the shipping process both ways or just box up your parts and send them to us. In order to arrange this, please Contact Us.
Here are the steps involved in painting “Candy”
- Strip everything to bare metal or plastic and check for any pinholes and have welded/patched as necessary.
- Repair any dents, dings etc. We pull large dents to minimize filler.
- Heavy prime and sand.
- Finish prime and sand.
- Guide coat and sand.
- Apply base coat (silver, blue, white etc) with catalyst for under the Candy color.
- Apply enough coats of the Candy color with catalyst to match original parts that we have for examples. (Candy is transparent. Too many coats and it gets too dark.
- Apply clear coat with catalyst.
- Once a Candy paint job is started in the booth, it must be taken to completion of the clear without interruption or you risk a chance of lifting.
- Rub out – If there are no stripes.
Scuff up the clear. - Layout stripe pattern and paint. Or purchase decals if available.
Apply clear coat with catalyst. - Final rub out.
- We finish off the area around the mouth of the tank with a two part epoxy that seals the edge of the paint so that gas fumes or gas doesn’t get underneath and ruin a great paint job.
- We let the parts set in the open air for 2-3 days to let them ‘gas-out’.
- Wrap and package for shipment or pickup.