Originally Posted by
golfer007
Also, I am in the works of sanding the bike down as we speak. I have started to sand it down by hand using 3M 60 grit sand paper and I was thinking about hitting it with like 150 grit also after. I am taking it down to the bare metal. What else should I do to ensure a good looking, durable finish? I was thinking about getting an auto body shop to mix me some paint and use a spray gun with compressed air I have somewhere at home (I think its a cheapo and on the smaller side). What primers/clear coats (brands, places, etc.) should I go with?
A good primer.
A good enamel (not water based).
Don't leave it sitting around after sanding it to bare metal or it'll rust (don't ask how I know
)
Don't leave it sitting around with just primer on it because a lot of primers aren't 'waterproof' and the metal can still rust - a mate restoring an MG TC found that out the hard way.
Many paint shops have spare paint left over at the end of a job. Strike up a good relationship with one, maybe offer to do some hard work like sanding or sweekping, and they might just be willing to wave the spray gun at her at the end of a job.
Frames are real bears to spray paint because of all the odd angles and lack of flat surfaces. You can do a really good job with a brush and if you're doing that yourself, it's worth giving it a go. Rattle cans work too but can be really tricky to get a good finish thanks to over spray and the old rattle can habit of irregular spray (sit the can in a pan of hot water first, then shake really really really well).
You don't need a top line paint job on a bike because of the small paint area and lack of flat surfaces, not to mention the usual layer of road grime. Just so long as the metal's protected you'll be right.
My son recently redid his bmx with KillRust - primer and top coat - brushed on. A fussy sort would wrinkle his nose at it but he'd have to go looking for the defects, they don't jump out at you.
Richard