|   any tips for painting a bike frame? | flying monkey
Jun 26, 2002 9:04 AM | | Want to do something fun with a bike that hasn't seen the dirt in a long time. Decided that a little face lift would be fun. Any advice as far as how to do it? |
| re: any tips for painting a bike frame? | CRBob
Jun 26, 2002 10:07 AM | | first, don't do it if its a bike you're partial to. Doesn't sound like its your primary ride though. If you are going to paint it I would recommend black. Ive painted 2 bikes flat black. The paint they use on BBQ grills works well. hard to chip off too. take everything off before you paint it. itll look better if the headset is the color its supposed to be. sand it a bit so the paint sticks, then paint. paint does add weight so try not to overdo it. then get some cool stickers. rebuild as a SS and you're set. |
| "LOL";=) fun with bike painting! | Usedtobfast
Jun 26, 2002 11:21 AM | | Well you should definitely start by pulling all the parts (basic) and then you can either chemically strip and sand it which is kind of smelly, caustic, time consuming and a pain, and definitely not the "something fun with a bike" that you mentioned, or take it somewhere and have it sand blasted or glass beaded. Let your fingers do the walking and check the yellow pages for your area for this service. While you are at it just check for anyone doing powder coating in your area as they may be willing to throw your bike into their days lineup of work for a reasonable fee.
If you are going to do it yourself the spray can idea works fine but if you have access to a compressor and spray gun and just love a project (insert laughter here).you will get a better outcome for sure. Automotive lacquers work very well and come in .well every color you have ever seen on a car, it seems that most towns have a fairly good auto body/paint supplier around, again let your fingers do the walkin. If a compressor and spray rig are unavailable you can still do custom colors by choosing a quart of the auto lacquer of choice and picking up 2 or 3 "Preval" sprayers for $6-$8 apiece. The Preval units are basically a pressurized aerosol can with a detachable glass paint jar that you can fill with the color of choice. These are also available at many good auto body/paint suppliers. You can even do a clear coat if you are inclined to. There is a lot of info about auto painting/finishing on the net and a little reading in this area will help you get better results. You will have to thin the lacquer to work with the Preval units or the compressor/ spray gun for that matter so remember to pickup some good quality lacquer thinner. If you have an organic vapor mask use it as this stuff is bonafide brain solvent if you are working with it in a closed space for long. You can definitly spray this stuff outside but it seems to have a magnet effect for anything floating around in the air nearby. Remember that three light coats are better than one heavy coat and if you don't have a good respirator/mask at least use a cheap one and spray outside. Wearing gloves helps a lot with easy clean up, dish washing gloves form the market work ok but thin latex medical type gloves allow more dexterity and work better. The laquer does dissolve both of these but not so fast that you can't get your work done.
Good luck with your project.
Rich |
| spray cans | GlowBoy
Jun 26, 2002 3:14 PM | | If it doesn't have to be super-refined, I'd go the spray can route. Pull off all the components you reasonably can, bag or tape the rest, plug all holes, sand lightly before each coat with 220 grit sandpaper, and start spraying. If you work from the right distance and angles and keep the can moving you can do a pretty good job.
I had to replace my MTB's fork a few months ago and the used replacement I found was UGLY (beige with speckles), so I painted it. Did about 8 coats in an afternoon (fork only) without even using up an entire can. Being GlowBoy, I used Red Devil fluorescent yellow ... my guess is that's probably not for you, so if memory serves HomeBase had the best selection of spray colors among the big box stores. By the way, this cheapo paint job has held up very well and appears to be reasonably resistant to dings and scratches.
- Dan |
| auto touch up paint | bn
Jun 26, 2002 5:08 PM | | $3/can. sand the old paint smooth- no need to strip completely- then primer a few coats (sanding in between), and paint a few coats. gloss, pearls, clearcoats, etc. take practice if you want it to look good. I had good results with a flat black- flat is great 'cause you can sand any poorly done spots or drips and it still looks fine. |
| How about powdercoat for $55 with prep... | kam
Jun 26, 2002 9:31 PM | | just got my frame back from a powdercoater in san marcos, calif (near oceanside). they charge $55 with all prep. they have a few premium color that require a powder clear coat that go for about $75. no, i don't work for them. they have experience on bike frames. and they are hella nice people. here's the contact info. i'm sure if you gave them a call, you can arrange it so you can ship your frame too them.
Linda, Electro Tech Powder Coating, (760)746-0292. they also have a website, www.electrotechcoatings.com. they did an sweet job on my frame, it's the premium sunburst gold. check out my post for my bike built up tomorrow. look for a ebb-retrofitted dean. |
| If You're Using Spray Paint, Here's a Tip for a Good Finish... | T O M A
Jun 28, 2002 6:13 AM | | First use a good Hard auto-motive paint such as Duplicolor.
put at least two coats on, let the paint dry between coats.
after the final coat let it fully dry 24hrs or according to the paint specs.
when dry, take some super fine wet/dry sandpaper, the finest grit you can find (at least 600 grit, the finer the grit the better) and wet sand the surface to take out all of the spray texture and orange peeling from the paint.
after this the surface should be super smooth and even with no peaks or pits and have a dull look to it.
the final step is to bring back the paints finish by using polishing compound (auto parts store.) wet a cotton rag (old sweat shirt) and apply the compound to the painted surface. you have to rub it in hard in a circular motion. it takes some effort but in the end you'll have a real "professional" looking paint job that definitely doesn't look like it came from a can!
enjoy. |
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