Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Spray-Painted Frame: Reflections + Pictures

I recently stripped, primed, painted, clear-coated, and assembled a conversion for my lady friend. Here's what it looked like before:

(click on the pictures for larger versions)

http://pictures.sultanik.com/albums/motivtriadpainting/cimg1666.sized.jpg (http://pictures.sultanik.com/motivtriadpainting/cimg1666)

I don't know about you, but I think that gray-white-pink fade scheme is pretty FUGLY. It's a Motiv Triad frame from the late 80s, I believe. It came with a full Shimano 105 group, minus derailleurs. The frame has a surprisingly tight geometry, perhaps due to the fact that it is so small and it still calls for 700c wheels.

Here's how it turned out:

http://pictures.sultanik.com/albums/motivtriadpainting/img_0824.jpg (http://pictures.sultanik.com/motivtriadpainting/img_0824)

The smudge-looking things on there are just from the latex gloves I was wearing (they wiped off afterward).

Here is a picture of the bike assembled:

http://pictures.sultanik.com/albums/motivtriadpainting/cimg1672.sized.jpg (http://pictures.sultanik.com/motivtriadpainting/cimg1672)

We still need to wrap the bars and adjust the seat and stem height.

Many more pictures of the entire process are available here (http://pictures.sultanik.com/motivtriadpainting?page=1).

Here are my thoughts:

This project took three times as much time as I had originally anticipated, particularly because I had to wait a day or two before the paint had dried enough to mask out the lugs (even though the Rustoleum paint I used said it was handleable within an hour).
Properly masking the lugs was a PAIN.
The bike looks good from far and far from good. With that said, both my lady friend and I are very happy with the way it turned out, given the fact that it was a do-it-yourself job.
A heated garage is a must when doing this in the winter.
The aircraft stripper from PepBoys didn't work as well as many people on this forum had claimed. I ended up having to make extensive use of an electric sander.
Properly sanding and priming the frame is very important.
Wait as long as possible between coats.
It's easier to apply multiple thin coats than to try and undo the effects of few thick coats.
I'm glad I did this once, but I don't know if I'd ever do it again.


That's about it.

P.S. If anyone uses the "R.C." term in this thread, I am not responsible for what MLPROJECT (http://www.bikeforums.net/member.php?u=29693) will subsequently do to you.

glad to hear you didn't paint it with a brush or a roller. Did you use a proper spray-gun, or a rattle can? ;)

Oh yeah, and nice rack.

fashion faux pas: your rims and lugs are not quite the same color. (joke)

looks nice though.

****ing rattlecan.. jesus ****.. i'm with mlproject on this one.. that **** is no good.

in any case, i actually like the original paint.

Oh yeah, and nice rack.

http://pictures.sultanik.com/albums/bikerack/cimg1629.sized.jpg (http://pictures.sultanik.com/bikerack/cimg1629)

And that's with neither my mountain bike nor my girlfriend's new bike. It's a disease!

fashion faux pas: your rims and lugs are not quite the same color. (joke)

looks nice though.

Thanks. In person, I was actually surprised at how close the lugs match the color of the rims. The picture is deceptive because the rims are very shiny and I didn't use glossy paint.

sweet I was thinking about doing the same paint scheme so it was nice to see it beforehand.

The chainring on that looks massive. But then again so does the cog.

But yeah, it looks pretty nice for a can.

I dig the gold bike in your stable. What is it?

Rattlecan was my knee jerk response. I wish I had a huge oven so I could paint frames properly...

i like the original :)

RATTLECAN!!!!!! A noun! A verb! Your undoing!?!?!?

The chainring on that looks massive. But then again so does the cog.
But yeah, it looks pretty nice for a can.

54x20 gearing. There is a fraction of a mm between the chainring and the seat stay!



I dig the gold bike in your stable. What is it?

Lugged aluminum ALAN road bike, circa 1975. I just recently finished it.

What follows is an old picture, before I slapped on a Brooks saddle, Vintage NOS Campy Record cable guides, and re-build the wheels as clinchers (gold aluminum nipples for good measure). Everything on there is either vintage Campy Record or Dura Ace (except for the cranks, which are anodized Shimano 600, and the bars/levers). Oh yeah, the chainrings are BioPace!

http://pictures.sultanik.com/albums/ALAN/cimg1624.sized.jpg (http://pictures.sultanik.com/ALAN)

I actually only use the word "rattlecan" to provoke language Nazis. True it's stupid sounding, but it is descriptive unlike "spray paint" which could describe any paint delivery system that sprays. Professional painters usually use the term "paint-gun" as the generic term to describe air powered paint application devices, and I favor the term "spray-can" to describe an aerosol based disposable paint application device. Air brushes also spray paint, as do robots in auto plants, house painters also use paint sprayers, but I wouldn't recommend using one of those on your bike.

So yah, don't use the term Rattlecan if you don't like it, but if you're going to demand others stop using it to satisfy tour own sense of propriety, at least come up with a better alternative than "spray paint". That's like saying "I think Cup 'o soup is dorky, just say soup", or "I think PB&J sounds silly, why not just call it a sandwich"

SyntaxPC - Nice bike, paint job, rack, and stable.... What did you use to mask off the lugs?


... at least come up with a better alternative than "spray paint".

+1 and you did with "aerosol based disposable paint application device." Everyone should type that five times as fast as they can.

SyntaxPC - Nice bike, paint job, rack, and stable.... What did you use to mask off the lugs?

Thanks! I used good ol' masking tape. Is there an easier way? I painted the entire frame black, waited for that to dry, and then masked off everything *but* the lugs, and painted them red. Other people that have done similar: is it easier to first paint the lugs and then the frame? I was afraid to try the latter method, as the masking might inadvertently produce spots that had no paint at all. I've also heard of people spraying the entire frame and then hand-detailing the lugs with model paint or nail polish. In retrospect, hand-painting the lugs would have saved a lot of time.

+1 and you did with "aerosol based disposable paint application device." Everyone should type that five times as fast as they can.

Yeah, and I also offered a slightly more succinct version as well "Spray-can". The word "can" is only 3 letters, but hyphenated in with the word "spray", goes a long way towards describing a disposable application device often used for applying cheap paint. It's been a part of the vernacular at least in the midwest since the mid seventies when my dad used a spray-can to transform my orange/white fade bannana seat bike into a badass black BMXer.

Hey syntax... Now I get to see a before shot. I thought it looked great regardless, but seeing the before shot makes me realize how much this paintjob was needed.

I was the guy at the bike church who helped you press the headset cups in(and then couldn't figure out what to do with the dust covers)

I was the guy at the bike church who helped you press the headset cups in(and then couldn't figure out what to do with the dust covers)

Oh hey! I didn't realize you were Rikardi. Thanks a lot for all of your help.

For anyone else who ever has to install a Shimano 105 headset: there are some dust covers that sit between the cups and races. The dust covers are directional! If you install them the wrong way, the fork will feel really sticky.

^ Yeah... plastic rings dont make as good bearings as metal balls.

(haha .. You had everything under control... I think you just needed me to find the headset press for you)

i spaypainted my frame about 6 months ago. granted, it looked much better then than now. but its black metallic and silver metallic.

http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/3716/beater8kh.png

Not to detract from your work, but I think the grey-white-pink neopolitan scheme was awesome. Cultural relativism can make it dificult to appreciate an 80s color scheme but I think its worth the effort!

Got any of that old 105 stuff sitting around?

I'll take it off your hands.

Got any of that old 105 stuff sitting around?

Just the downtube shifters; the frame came derailleur- and brake-less. PM me an offer, if you're interested.