Painting a Slingshot? No luck so far...

    The only major "mod" I want to do when my 2017 Orange Madness SLR arrives is to paint it. I don't care for the busyness of it - don't know if it's decals or what on there, but I would like to change it.


    I was going to have someone out in Indiana do it, but having found out what shipping would cost, that's out.


    I have had NO luck anywhere in Massachusetts or New Hampshire finding someone *qualified* to paint it. No one wants responsibility for the disassembly/assembly, and most motorcycle painters have no experience with a Slingshot.


    I ask the local Polaris dealer if they would be interested in the assembly part of it, and they said no.


    This is a real disappointment.


    Anyone had any luck painting theirs?

    If you use @Painter's videos on removing the body panels as a guide (slingshot body panel removal jim hutchinson - YouTube), it's not that hard to remove the panels yourself. Some folks might want to paint it with the panels in place, but that's probably not a good idea. The trickiest part is removing the hood accent panels since the plastic fingers that lock the front edges in place are a bit of a pain to remove, but it can be done. If you are also willing to do the prep sanding, you should also be able to save quite a bit on the cost since the sanding takes a long time.

    As @BKL said...


    Just another approach...
    A body shop or bike painter would be more apt to paint the panels to your color preference, if not too exotic, and if you did the tear down and re-assembly. It's not like they aren't accustomed to painting plastics. As for paint preps, I would leave that up to the painter.



    Get your Slingshot, figure out your paint scheme, then talk it out with the shops... show them what you have, and that they would only paint panels not vehicle.


    Price might still be a kicker... just because... if you can play with a toy like that, you can pay the cost like this.


    Yep, it is a mean world.

    Slingshot Flyer! Well, of course it's red... :REDSS:

    I have been looking into getting it painted for a long time, even long before I bought it. I knew exactly what I wanted. Below left is how it is now. On the right is h ow I wanted it. A lot cleaner.


    I think I am going to give up on the idea. There's just no one anywhere around that either can or wants to take this on. One guy did paint one - sent me pictures - and said he never wants to do another one. Too time consuming, too costly he said.


    I thought about this all yesterday and all last night. I like the idea of getting the decals off, if they would come off. That's one option.


    The other thing I have decided might be a lot easier and still make it look nice is having the outside plastic parts painted, instead of an entire paint job. Those side panels, front fenders, and front splitter. Any pictures you see of those painted makes a world of difference.


    I am going to ask the Polaris dealer up the street from me if they would be willing to take those parts off for me. Then I'll get the Orange Madness paint code and have a local painter I trust sand and paint them. That might be the way to go.


    Believe it or not, someone just made a post this morning of their orange madness SLR with the badges removed. Said it was very easy using fishing line. I really like the cleaner look. I think that's what I am going to do, in addition to getting the plastic parts painted. That should do it!

    Quote from studiopeg

    Believe it or not, someone just made a post this morning of their orange madness SLR with the badges removed. Said it was very easy using fishing line. I really like the cleaner look. I think that's what I am going to do, in addition to getting the plastic parts painted. That should do it!

    Yep! I agree with you and I thought it looked a lot better.

    @studiopeg, don’t think you will ever get the paint code from Polaris. They haven’t given it to anyone I know of. I tried myself because I need one of my orange panels touched up after a lady backed into me. They will sell me a spray can but that is it.
    A really good painter can match the color.

    I got mine painted by a very reputable local body shop in Arkansas. Disassembly/Assembly and painting in GM Krypton Green cost me $1875. They exceeded my expectations. Just food for thought. Now that he’s done one, he said he would charge 2K for others.

    Anything in life worth doing is worth overdoing.
    Moderation is for cowards.

    Quote from Drew71646

    I got mine painted by a very reputable local body shop in Arkansas. Disassembly/Assembly and painting in GM Krypton Green cost me $1875. They exceeded my expectations. Just food for thought. Now that he’s done one, he said he would charge 2K for others.

    Wow... The quotes up here so far are $6,000 - $8,000. I love that green! Did they paint the outside rough plastic parts too, like the fenders?

    Quote from studiopeg

    Wow... The quotes up here so far are $6,000 - $8,000. I love that green! Did they paint the outside rough plastic parts too, like the fenders?

    They ask about that, but I didn’t want to mess with them. The price would have been a little higher I’m sure.

    Anything in life worth doing is worth overdoing.
    Moderation is for cowards.

    Whoa! I want to see that one in person. What a beaut!