Our 1993 Burley Duet is showing a fair amount of missing paint and surface rust. Still structurally sound, but needing attention. Wheels, componets, have been replaced from time to time, and the bike is in good mechanical condition. My options at this point appear to be, clean the rust off, and touch up paint, pay for a professional repaint, or sell it as is and buy something new. Option 1 would appear to be effective, but ugly. Option 2 would be expensive, for a bike that probably isn't worth that much, and Option 3 would be really expensive,, given the likely replacement candidates.

Anyone had their tandem repainted? How much did it cost? Reccomendations for a good paint shop?

XL- check the seattube inside, the BB inside, the head tube inside, etc... for interior corrosion. Steel bikes do rust out sometimes.

Touching up paint usually looks pretty awful: I've done some of that damage myself. If you strip the frame all teh way down and do the prep yourself, you may find a auto body shop that will spray it for a reasonable fee so long as you're willing to take the next color car paintjob they have lined up.

Koolbikes.com: http://koolbikes.com/painting.html
Near Clemson, SC.
- Chemical striping or handsanding 95.00
- Single color solid or metallic 405.00
- Packing and Shipping back to sender - VIA UPS ~75.00

Mary Pfieffer does very nice work, but the prices have been on the rise. Add in the cost of shipping to and it does get to be pricey for anything but a fondly coveted frame.

There are several other shops around the country that do very good work, perhaps even some local shops that your LBS will know of. Prices will probably be within (+/-) $100 of Koolbike's prices based on what I've seen in the past.

Stripping and prepping for a simple repaint isn't too hard and, ad ElRey notes, you can usually hit up the local auto paint shop for a quick shot of enamal for not a lot money... just don't set your expectations too high on the finish quality. It could be great or not so great.

Powdercoating would be the "best" way to go for a utility frame in that it's very durable and goes on with a single application and a bake in the curing oven. Check your yellow pages for powercoaters. Prep work is critcal in that you need to keep all the threaded areas and tube openings covered so that they don't end up being "coated". Removing powercoating can be a PIA unless you have all the correct taps to chase the threads. However, depending on the powdercoater, a lot of their prep activities -- chemically stripping and what not -- don't always allow for you to get your hands back on the bike before it gets sprayed.

Tear bike down; sand/primer for paint; use automotive spray paint/clearcoat any color/combination you desire. Not professional but will look pretty good for a few more thousand miles!
Auto spray painters are usually not to good doing small tubes on bikes, however local motorcycle shop should be able to recommend painter.
Last simple paint job cost me $550 on tandem.