Originally Posted by pepsbandit
I have a pretty old and banged up road frame and was hoping to just spray-paint it black. Is it a good idea to spray-paint bikes? What are the ups and downs?
You've gotten a lot of good advice here already.
I'm in the process of refinishing an old folding bike - not a collectible by any stretch, but I like folders - and I'm documenting the process in photos.
Here's a link to the "before" pictures. (it's the top bike)
Rust was showing through the paint so I had take it down to bare metal and prime it.
Key to that: clean metal, sanded reasonably smoothly (not obsessively so), wiped with a solvent or other evaporating cleaner (isopropanol).
I have a nice gloss coat of white on it now. I'll either leave it white and put some decals & pinstripes on or go entirely gold. (the white makes colours pop and it's not a bad idea if you're going with light colours).
Also plan on doing multiple gloss topcoats (Minwax Helmsman polyurethane finish) - LONG drying time and thin coats.
I'll post more pics once I've got 'em!
See attached photos.