Seat Color Affects the Looks of the Motorcycle | What is the Special Paint for Repainting Flexible Synthetic Leather?

It's important to make your own statement, but if you're too individualistic, you may look out of place. The colour of the seat is an important factor in determining the look of the motorcycle, and can range from the standard black to tan or white. If you want to change the colour of the seat, the most common way is to reupholster the seat upholstery, but you can also paint it with a special paint. Here I'll show you how to change the color of an eccentric white seat to black.

Paints for synthetic leather and vinyl leather need to be flexible.

The design is relatively close to the original Chappy, and the welder pattern on the seat is reasonably well done, but for some reason, this kit motorcycle was made overseas with pure white upholstery. I could ask a seat specialist to reupholster the seat, but since the seat is almost unused and there is no damage to the sponge or the skin, I decided to change the image by coloring it.

This is a leather paint sold by Paint Okajima. It is used in combination with a main agent and a hardener in nine colors, including black, white, blue, and red, as well as a thinner and a matting agent for dilution. Prices, which vary depending on the size of the paint, are listed on the website.

This leather paint can be used by brushing and gun spraying, but when painting the entire sheet, the spray gun gives a better finish. A separator to separate moisture in the high-pressure air of the compressor and a regulator to adjust the airflow rate to the spray gun were used together.

In the days when customizing big scooters were all the rage, slippery black and white enamel-like seat leathers were all the rage. It was an uncomfortable choice for riders who had the stereotypical notion that motorcycle seat upholstery should have a grainy finish (wrinkle pattern), but conversely, it made me realize that a single seat can make a big difference in the overall image of a motorcycle.

The same is true for the color of the skin. A two-toned black/white or beige color, as opposed to the standard black, will emphasize a luxurious and stylish image. Not only the entire surface of the seat, but also the manufacturer's name printed on the back or the model name printed on the side can be unique.

Many riders think of paint as something that is applied to hard parts such as fuel tanks, cowls and fenders. The main components of paint are various types of resins, which are usually liquid when applied but become a hard coating when dried and cured. Flexible materials (such as polypropylene), such as the fenders of trail models, are often used uncoated with the addition of a colorant called toner during the molding process, but when painting on these materials, it is sometimes necessary to add a softener to prevent the paint from cracking after curing. If this is not done, the fender will crack. If this is not done, the paint film will crack when the fender is twisted.

However, there are some paints that are soft and follow deformation even after curing. One example is paint for leather. This paint is flexible paint. The paint film remains flexible after curing and can be used to paint synthetic leather used for motorcycle seats. Okashima Paints sells paint materials and coating materials to a wide range of users, from professionals to amateurs. A two-component urethane coating in which the main agent and hardener are mixed and sprayed with a spray gun and are available in a wide range of colors, including black, white, red, yellow, and blue.

The seat upholstery is rubbed and wrinkled and bent by the rider. It also changes with the seasons, becoming softer in the summer and harder in the winter. The same two-component urethane paint can be used for exterior applications, but in these ways it is completely different. In addition to adhering to soft synthetic leather and not peeling off, the paint film remains in place even when it is bent or pulled. There are several manufacturers that sell paints for touch-up repair, but I have never encountered any other two-component spray gun paints. There may be a reason that the needs for this product are limited, but it may be difficult to commercialize a paint that meets the strict requirements.

Degreasing and cleaning is the most important thing to make it adhere well.

Use a household cleaner like Mypet or Mama Lemon to remove dirt from the seat surface. If you have a motorcycle (synthetic leather) seat cleaner, you can also use it. Parts cleaners and thinners should be avoided because of the risk of damaging the material. The black surface skin is less likely to show dirt, but the detergent may turn black when you wash it.

The seat used for the painting example is a white upholstered seat that was installed on a kit motorcycle made overseas with a design similar to the Chappy that Yamaha sold as a family motorcycle in the 1970s. The color scheme may be to match the white color of the motorcycle, but it looks a little too unique and eccentric, so I will repaint it with black leather paint.

The key to any paint job is prep work, especially degreasing and cleaning.. Unlike exterior parts, you don't need to worry about scratches and dents because the seat is like a constantly deformed object, but removing dirt and oil is essential to prevent it from bouncing or sticking when painted, or peeling off after painting. Use a mild dishwashing detergent or a household cleaner that can be used to clean furniture, floors and sofas, and carefully clean the inside of the seams between the seat and sides.

Here we use a white sheet so it is easy to see how dirty it is before painting, but if the original color is black, it is easy to neglect cleaning because the dirt is not noticeable. If you wash a black sheet with neutral detergent, you may be surprised to find that the white foam quickly turns cloudy brown.

If you use silicone-based protectants in your daily maintenance, you need to be more careful. Silicone is a natural enemy even when painting exterior parts, and no matter how high-performance primer or surfacer you use, it will pop on silicone. One material that can change the color of the sheet is a can spray type product called Dye Q. There is a special cleaner in this lineup that can be used to clean the sheet.

In addition, if the seat surface skin has already deteriorated to the point where it has hardened or cracked, the adhesion of paint may decrease even after degreasing and cleaning. In this case, it is more reliable to replace the surface skin drastically instead of repairing by painting.

The secret to success is to apply a thin layer of paint, not a thick layer all at once.

Do not start with a thick coat, but start with a thin layer at the outer edge where it is difficult to apply. If the paint bounces back due to insufficient degreasing, the oil can be wiped off with thinner if the paint film is thin. Black paint has a strong ability to hide the base, so a white sheet is painted black in no time.

After the periphery is finished, the part with a large area such as the side and the seat surface is painted. If you keep spraying excessively in some parts, it may drip, but if you proceed with the work with the consciousness of applying evenly, it does not seem to drip easily. Even if black is sprayed over a black seat, there is a response that it can be painted firmly.

The leather paints we introduce are used by mixing the main agent and hardener and diluting them with a special thinner. The paint can be applied by brushing or spraying with a spray gun, each diluted at a specified rate. Moreover, there is a special matting agent, and the degree of shine can be adjusted according to style.

When using a spray gun to paint a sheet that has been completely dried after degreasing and cleaning, be sure to apply a thin layer of paint in the same manner as with canned spray or normal urethane paint, because applying a thick coat from the start will make it difficult to correct the problem when bullet holes are discovered and will cause the paint to drip.

It is also important to start painting from the periphery of the seat, rather than starting from the middle. If you start with the most noticeable parts and paint the hardest parts later, you may end up with a thicker coat. If you start with the obvious areas that are easy to paint and paint the hard-to-paint perimeter areas later, you may end up with a thick coat of paint on the hard-to-paint areas. On the other hand, if the hard-to-paint perimeter areas are painted first, there is no need to apply more coats once the prominent areas on the seat and sides are painted, and a uniform finish can be obtained throughout.

As with any paint, this leather paint is black with good color loading, and I was able to easily paint a pure white surface skin black. By using a spray gun to apply the paint with a fine mist, it doesn't fill in the grain of the surface skin and you don't feel the paint film. Also, sitting on the seat or bending the surface skin did not cause any cracks or filmy paint to come off. There are examples of other models that have maintained no cracks or peeling even after nearly 10 years of painting, so I realized that this product has the durability necessary and sufficient for repair.

Since durability increases or decreases depending on the condition of the sheet and the conditions of use, it is hard to say, but if you have access to a spray gun, I think you can do a fairly high-quality repaint.

The paint film does not crush the grain or make unevenness in any part, and the paint adheres well to the seam area, making it look as if the seat is covered with black skin. I haven't tried white, but if you use masking tape to make a logo, you can add text on top of the seat. This paint can be used not only for customizing but also for restoring old motorcycles.