Track Tac

Go kart body paint questions

MO Predator Racer

MO Predator Racer

Member
So i painted my kart body with white spray paint and I wanted to sand it down to get a nice smooth finish. What all do you guys recommend doing? There were a few spots where the paint isnt that smooth so I wanted to smooth it up before I apply stickers.
 
MO Predator Racer said:
So i painted my kart body with white spray paint and I wanted to sand it down to get a nice smooth finish. What all do you guys recommend doing? There were a few spots where the paint isnt that smooth so I wanted to smooth it up before I apply stickers.
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you might want to google "wet sanding" I am not a body man, but I think that would help.
 
Krylon paint . Painting as stated is not my cup of tea . Sand paint , sand paint , sand paint sand , clear coat and polish . is how it's supposed to go .
Preparation and weather conditions have a big roll in the outcome .
 
I use one shot lettering enamel, comes out great every time. I use it for stripes and have painted noses different colors
 
If you sand it it will look sanded. If your going to recoat it sand with about 400- 600 grit and paint again. Will need to be good and dry.
 
I use 320 grit on every thing I paint, I don’t a video awhile back painting my sons kart Camo

 

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Thank you all for the response! If i dont sand it down will the stickers stick to it very well? I used spray paint and I didnt know how well the stickers will stick if I dont sand.
 
I wouldn't obsess over the paint. It's probably not gonna look
real good after the first couple of races anyway. We go for a
50/50 paint job - looks good at 50mph at 50ft.
 
MO Predator Racer said:
Ok, I figured that they would but I was just making sure. Thanks!
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I've had good luck with a dry 400 sand, and several light coats of Krylon from Lowes, if it doesnt lay down smooth, then sand with 600 and clear it. I have had issues with stickers if it is too rough.

A side note, I highly recommend a paint scheme that is easy to repaint/repair. If you're getting vinyl for your scheme get a set of graphics savers. If you are doing all paint, don't like too much if you know what I mean. It will get scratched, scuffed, tire donuts, cracks, holes etc, and you need to be ok with that.
 
jaymancds said:
I've had good luck with a dry 400 sand, and several light coats of Krylon from Lowes, if it doesnt lay down smooth, then sand with 600 and clear it. I have had issues with stickers if it is too rough.

A side note, I highly recommend a paint scheme that is easy to repaint/repair. If you're getting vinyl for your scheme get a set of graphics savers. If you are doing all paint, don't like too much if you know what I mean. It will get scratched, scuffed, tire donuts, cracks, holes etc, and you need to be ok with that.
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I painted the whole thing white and i am putting a set of stickers on it. I just want it to look good the first race because I have never raced before and I dont want to pull up with a beater kart and beater body because I dont want people to think I dont take care of my stuff or that I am just an idiot.
 
MO Predator Racer said:
I painted the whole thing white and i am putting a set of stickers on it. I just want it to look good the first race because I have never raced before and I dont want to pull up with a beater kart and beater body because I dont want people to think I dont take care of my stuff or that I am just an idiot.
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So I'm gonna share a secret with you...


Nobody is going to be looking at you. Now with that said, I think its great you want it to look good. I am the same way, I want my stuff to look good, not only because I maintain it all very well, but I like to have pride in my equipment. Along with that, everyone at the track is busy doing their own thing and aside from somebody maybe saying that your stuff looks good, no one will care about what your gear looks like. There are a ton of guys who run up front with rough looking stuff, and there are a lot of guys who finish in the back with $250 worth of vinyl on their karts.

Just remember, YOUR racing is only to make YOU happy. If YOU aren't happy, then change it, but if YOU like something, leave it alone.
 
I have painted a few kart bodies and stock cars. The best results I have is to sand the body with fine paper. You want to rough it a little so the paint can attach and hold. Clean it with acetone or soap and water. Let it dry and give it a couple of coats of primer. Wet sand primer with fine sandpaper, 600 grit. Then I give it a couple of thin coats of paint, let it dry and wet sand any runs or sags. Let that dry a day or so to make sure you don’t have spiderwebbing. The paint will shrink as it dries. If it is rough I wet sand with 800 and spray one more coat. I finish with a few coats of clear spray paint. The clear gives the paint some depth and protects the color coat from small scratches. The only problem I have with spray paint is some brands stay soft when it dries making it hard to sand. I have not had any problems getting stickers to stay.
 
jaymancds said:
So I'm gonna share a secret with you...


Nobody is going to be looking at you. Now with that said, I think its great you want it to look good. I am the same way, I want my stuff to look good, not only because I maintain it all very well, but I like to have pride in my equipment. Along with that, everyone at the track is busy doing their own thing and aside from somebody maybe saying that your stuff looks good, no one will care about what your gear looks like. There are a ton of guys who run up front with rough looking stuff, and there are a lot of guys who finish in the back with $250 worth of vinyl on their karts.

Just remember, YOUR racing is only to make YOU happy. If YOU aren't happy, then change it, but if YOU like something, leave it alone.
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I'm not trying to pick an argument here but I disagree.

My theory:
When you are sitting on the grid looking good, other guys see that and assume you are a high dollar operation that might know a thing or 2. They don't want to be the jerk that smashes your stuff so they are more likely to use the brake pedal instead of the bumper.

If you look like you rolled out from under rock and your stuff has been smashed and zip tie stitched up they don't give a damn if they put the bumper to you and smash it more. After all "you are just a rum dumb that isn't as good as they are".

I have seen this first hand when helping my buddy race sprint cars... When we had beat up wings and bodies we used more brakes and got more slide jobs handed to us. Once we had nice looking cars suddenly the other people DID have brakes and didn't do ignorant stuff to us as much.

I certainly think this way and I think it is human nature to do so.

To continue on.... I DO believe that "chrome don't get ya home" and looking good doesn't win races. BUT looking good attracts potential sponsors and their $$ wins races. Speed costs money, how fast do you want to go?
 
bomber315 said:
I'm not trying to pick an argument here but I disagree.

My theory:
When you are sitting on the grid looking good, other guys see that and assume you are a high dollar operation that might know a thing or 2. They don't want to be the jerk that smashes your stuff so they are more likely to use the brake pedal instead of the bumper.

If you look like you rolled out from under rock and your stuff has been smashed and zip tie stitched up they don't give a damn if they put the bumper to you and smash it more. After all "you are just a rum dumb that isn't as good as they are".

I have seen this first hand when helping my buddy race sprint cars... When we had beat up wings and bodies we used more brakes and got more slide jobs handed to us. Once we had nice looking cars suddenly the other people DID have brakes and didn't do ignorant stuff to us as much.

I certainly think this way and I think it is human nature to do so.

To continue on.... I DO believe that "chrome don't get ya home" and looking good doesn't win races. BUT looking good attracts potential sponsors and their $$ wins races. Speed costs money, how fast do you want to go?
Click to expand...
When I was racing stock cars if you had a pretty car you just as well have a target painted on it. Everyone wanted to put their paint on yours. But I agree in the karts they stay back. Either they think your high dollar and don’t want to mess with you or they think your a beginner. I have seen that if you have a young driver it does give them confidence to have a good looking kart with a lot of stuff on it.
 
bomber315 said:
I'm not trying to pick an argument here but I disagree.

My theory:
When you are sitting on the grid looking good, other guys see that and assume you are a high dollar operation that might know a thing or 2. They don't want to be the jerk that smashes your stuff so they are more likely to use the brake pedal instead of the bumper.

If you look like you rolled out from under rock and your stuff has been smashed and zip tie stitched up they don't give a damn if they put the bumper to you and smash it more. After all "you are just a rum dumb that isn't as good as they are".

I have seen this first hand when helping my buddy race sprint cars... When we had beat up wings and bodies we used more brakes and got more slide jobs handed to us. Once we had nice looking cars suddenly the other people DID have brakes and didn't do ignorant stuff to us as much.

I certainly think this way and I think it is human nature to do so.

To continue on.... I DO believe that "chrome don't get ya home" and looking good doesn't win races. BUT looking good attracts potential sponsors and their $$ wins races. Speed costs money, how fast do you want to go?
Click to expand...
I think your theory is true, the point I was making is that aside from guys recognizing you throughout a season, most people arent going to be concerned with it. Personally I didnt run graphics savers this year, and I learned my lesson, so that will be my big change for next season.

In regards to sponsors, or your personal branding I think this is also a good point. One of the easiest ways to get attention is to build a brand. For me, I am working to build the "Team 29J" brand so that I can have a platform for when sponsors approach me.

Side note, I sold a kart, body and all. The buyer didnt repaint it, just pulled my stickers off and put his on. Turns out he drives like a donkey, I had SEVERAL people come ask me why I was letting some idiot ride my kart lol. Looking back I wish I still had that umax, thing was bad fast.
 
I love my ugly kart because everyone hates losing to an ugly kart. But I do agree that they sometimes race me rougher and harder and the reason is...… No one wants to lose to the ugly kart!
 
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