Ducati 998 repaint, wetsand, and polishing... the beauty of Ducati Red
- Thread starter iforcev8
- Start date
GoFast908Z
New member
A friend of mine, Robert, has been learning to do motorcycle painting and has really been getting good. The costs are quite reasonable too. He called me in to work on the wetsanding as the clear he had at the time didn't lay down super smooth. He is working with much nicer clear now (read: more expensive) and the results are fantastic and he still keeps the prices good. When I get track fairings for my bike, he will be painting them.
So, below will be info from his post up on the motorcycle forum. At the very bottom I will add in the pictures I took of my work as well. I just thought you guys might want to see the whole history of this job and the process.
Aside from a couple specs in the clear it came out pretty good. He's done numerous bikes since this one and they turned out absolutely stunning.
********************************
2002 Ducati 998
The fairings came from Albert with damage that needed repaired. I did the upper, tail, and two sets of right side fairings. The tank and left side were perfect so no need to paint them. I color matched the red, and it worked awesome.
Okay, so on to the pictures. Here's the damage that was:
Now for the color - pre clear coat. I put the stock decals on them as well.
Pre Gold Stripe
Gold Stripe
Decal - Pre Clear Coat
Post Clear Coat:
All Pieces
More wetsanding was done after this. This was just a test spot to see how aggressive the sanding needed to be...
The taping here was a challenge, but I like a challenge. Getting nice smooth curves to the tape to protect the decal underneath was kinda fun, felt almost artful....almost
Finished Product!
End of Robert's pictures
*****************************************
Here are the pics I took during and after the process...
Thanks for checking it out! Hope you enjoyed the pics and story behind it.
So, below will be info from his post up on the motorcycle forum. At the very bottom I will add in the pictures I took of my work as well. I just thought you guys might want to see the whole history of this job and the process.
Aside from a couple specs in the clear it came out pretty good. He's done numerous bikes since this one and they turned out absolutely stunning.
********************************
2002 Ducati 998
The fairings came from Albert with damage that needed repaired. I did the upper, tail, and two sets of right side fairings. The tank and left side were perfect so no need to paint them. I color matched the red, and it worked awesome.
Okay, so on to the pictures. Here's the damage that was:
Now for the color - pre clear coat. I put the stock decals on them as well.
Pre Gold Stripe
Gold Stripe
Decal - Pre Clear Coat
Post Clear Coat:
All Pieces
More wetsanding was done after this. This was just a test spot to see how aggressive the sanding needed to be...
The taping here was a challenge, but I like a challenge. Getting nice smooth curves to the tape to protect the decal underneath was kinda fun, felt almost artful....almost
Finished Product!
End of Robert's pictures
*****************************************
Here are the pics I took during and after the process...
Thanks for checking it out! Hope you enjoyed the pics and story behind it.
bmw5541
New member
Very interesting Jeff.
Also....Great work by you!!!
ancing Dot:
Also....Great work by you!!!
ancing Dot:imported_RaskyR1
New member
Nice work Jeff! I love Ducs!!! Hope to own one some day too. 
The peel didn't look all that bad, compared to some stuff I've seen. It does look like he's getting fish-eyes though....which could be coming from a number of places.
What he using for paint/clear now?
The peel didn't look all that bad, compared to some stuff I've seen. It does look like he's getting fish-eyes though....which could be coming from a number of places.
What he using for paint/clear now?
GoFast908Z
New member
Very interesting Jeff.
Also....Great work by you!!!
Thanks Barry!
Thanks Mark! Before the 848 and 1098/1098s/1198/S/R all came out the 748/996/998 bodystyle were my favorites. Still a gorgeous bike.
Nice work Jeff! I love Ducs!!! Hope to own one some day too.
The peel didn't look all that bad, compared to some stuff I've seen. It does look like he's getting fish-eyes though....which could be coming from a number of places.
What he using for paint/clear now?
Thanks Rasky! Nah, the peel wasn't terrible, and since then (pics were a few months ago) he's gotten better clear and his methods are much improved and less fisheyes. Not sure what clear he's using, but the paint is all PPG I think.
Street Dreams
New member
This is such a cool writeup, awesome job!
Tru_Shine
New member
I love wetsaned and polished paint! its so smooth and sexy:rockon:
GoFast908Z
New member
Thanks David!
Thank you Bryan!
Yeah I was going for that dripping red nail polish look lol. Thanks Eric!
imported_juliom2
New member
Love the finish........don't forget to post when fully assembled!
A+. Parts look awesome.
:wizard:
A+. Parts look awesome.
:wizard:
GoFast908Z
New member
Its already fully assembled, but both the painter and myself have been asking for pics, but the owner insists on doing trackdays with every spare minute he has lol.
SoonerFan
New member
Simply wonderful. Great work. Super write-up.