Bicycle Mechanics - Painting my bike!!

After removing the bottom bracket and headset to replace them.. I figured since the paint was quite chipped I would go ahead and repaint it.. It is a old le Mans centurion steel frame. Never really did care for the red white paint job anyways :) At the auto store I found this dupli-color mirage paint, will change colors from red to blue.. Here is a picture of a fender done in it. So far got the old paint stripped off and a base coat on the bike. I figure I will wetsand it with 600 sand paper now.. then do the mid-coat next after that.. and then wetsand down with 800-1000 sandpaper.. then do the clear coat next after 1-2 coats wetsand down with 1200 grit sandpaper.. then put a final 1-2 coats on then use 3m rubbing compound on it to finalize the nice smooth finish. Then use polishing/was compound to finish up the job! Will update everyone as I go.

Sounds like you're doing this the RIGHT way!:thumbup:

I did some research a long time ago about doing a gloss black paint, for a project I was working on.. never did do that project, but was interesting to learn. I figure this will take me a while to paint, but better to do it right the first time. Wish I had a paint gun, but will do best I can with spray cans. Still not positive on how many clear coats I should add.. right now thinking 3-4 should be good.. but not positive. Should bring some new life to this old bike. Been sitting around for a while since needed some repairs I've been putting off, when I picked up a old bianchi the other week got me to thinking about it. Bianchi was to large for me :( so asked my brother if he wanted it.. why could I not fit a 58cm bike.

Don't forget to FrameSaver inside the tubes before reassembly. Nice color!

I forgot about that stuff, I will be sure to pickup some. If anyone has any advice, I would appreciate it. This is my first painting project so I'm sure to make some mistakes. I already noticed a few spots I did not sand down well enough by the bottom bracket, where the rear stays come together, but not to bad atleast.

Originally posted by ParamountScapin
Don't forget to FrameSaver inside the tubes before reassembly. Nice color!

Is this equivalent to Rust Check? (put out by J. Weigel)

Wish I had a paint gun, but will do best I can with spray cans.

you can get an attachment you put where the cap goes, makes a can feel a little like a sprayer. gives a little more control. i got one at walmart.

dont forget to post pics along the process, maybe write up a guide? :D

later

Definately post pics as you move along. Even the ugly states. I am very curious to see the process, and the end result!

4 coats of clear should do it, although let me tell you- the quality of the clearcoat paint matters more than the number of layers you go with. i've finished some parts of my car with clear and the gloss does wear off. i'm guessing that if you use the kind made for cars (i used regular home depot stuff) it would last. good luck and be sure to post up pics- that fender looks great!

Fender is from dupli-color's web site.. I'm hoping for something close to that.. will have to wait and see..

True paint for car's, requires a paint gun and also normaly uses a catalyst. You would most likely get alot better and long lasting paint job that way, but also costs more :)

I'll see if I can borrow the digital camera from work, to take some pictures right now is a nice flat black. I know enamels paints take quite a while to dry compared to other paints. Heard up to 48 hours, so not sure how long I should wait between painting and sanding, anyone know? I figure earliest I will get to wetsanding will be on monday, so should not be a problem. I work 7am-7pm sunday and monday so no real time for that.

Not sure if anyone else can help here, normaly on painting and sanding sanding in two directions is normaly prefered to get a nice smooth finsh, but on a bike frame especialy steel the tubes are fairly narrow. So I can't see a easy way to do this same pattern, would nice even sanding strokes down the tube be alright?

You know, there are places that you can rent a spay booth that will have the paint gun and possibly a heating sourse to help the paint dry. That is how I paint the bodywork on my race bikes(motorcycle).

:beer: :beer:

hi there could u post where, what kind and how much u got the
base coat, clear coat, and primer for?

im thinking of painting my bike too...

and would everything be available in AEROSOL cans?

i bought some primer, enamel paint, and some Polyurethane coat (which the shopkeeper said was "clearcoat")

but im not too sure if the poly urethane coat is indeed clear coat or not..... coz its meant for wood!!

please update me ! thanks!

Poly Urethathane I'm not sure how well that would work, you really should not mix different types of paint though. I know acrylic paint will compltely ruin enamels will cause it crack really bad immediately. I got mine at Kragen I think it was, the 3 can kit was $20, you can buy the can individualy to. I picked up a 2nd can of the base coat other day since I did not feel I had the base coat on well enough. So I'm up to $25 at the moment, and about another $6 in sand paper. Yes it is in aerosol cans.

Spray booth sounds like a good idea, but I think I will stick with my current method currently. To keep costs down and so I don't have to spend more on the paint. I'm estimating total time to do this around 2-3 weeks. I'm in no rush, and I get off work at 7pm most days and still want to go riding in the mornings.

Here is a link to dupli-color's web site, and where you can purchase there paints. I would stick with enamel paints, they should give you a good strong finish, and since they are designed for cars should work very well on a bike. But be sure to spend the time to do it correctly. Just dont' spray coat after coat, the hardest color is gloss black since will show all imperfections. Wetsand between coats of paint to smooth it all out and preferable after the final coat use a rubbing compound to finalize the smooth finish. I would suggest the 3m products.

http://www.duplicolor.com/solutions/wheretobuy.html

Oh yeah let me just state, I have not done this before. I'm basing what I am doing on what I have read on painting cars and painting something to get a piano black finish. High gloss black is the hardest paint job to do though, since every little imperfection will come through.

These guys are helpful. Check out there site.

PW Paints (http://www.pwpaints.com/customfinishes.html)

lots of primer and lots of clearcoat- from my experience with paint, this is essential.

Just to give a update, I got delayed on working on this project for a bit. So far got the basecoat done, then I wetsanded with 400 grit sand paper, then did the top coat and wetsanded with 600. Here is a picture of it so far. Not completely dry yet, when it's completely dry looks 100x better.

To give you a idea of the color of it, here is another pic at a different angle.

Holy Smokes Kev, that looks awesome!

i agree- looks nice kev!

nice job, looks like that paint cost a pretty penny ;)

I started the clear coat last night, will probably put one more coat of the clear coat on tonight. Then next weekend will get out the rubbing compound, then the polish to finalize the finish. At some angles it looks blue, red, purple or even gold color at times. Makes a interesting finish.

Wow - I can't wait to see the entire bike!!!!

wow that does look amazing, inspiration to repaint old frames of my own, keep us updated

I finaly got a digital camera so will try to take some more pics. I ran out of clear coat paint tonight. I probably pick up another can tomorrow night, to add a few more coats on it. I read that I need to wait 3 days after the clear coat to use the rubbing compound. So I figure I can put another 1-2 coats on mon-tue and do the finishing rubbing compound on friday/saturday.

Just a minor update and a new pic. Things I have learned so far, don't try to paint when it is getting dark. Reason I learned this it is to easy to overspray and get drips. Don't try to fix the drips while paint is wet with rag. This will take off the clear coat look ugly and take some paint off from underneath. Atleat did this on the bottom side. I'll wait till it is compltely dry and wetsand it smooth.

Other thing I learned, I used airplane paint stripper to remove the paint. It works great!! ONly minor sanding needed to get rid of small specs here and there afterwards. But don't get it on your skin, it BURNS!!!!

Here is a pic of how I hang them and paint the fram.

Here is the latest update, I got around 80%, ended up taking the fork to my LBS to get the race installed on the fork, I guess they did come in different size at one point. So here is a pic fork installed, stem, handlebars, crankset, derailleurs and wheels.

looks pretty damn good... i might try that color scheme if i find something to paint

Kev
I saw a Klien Pro Carbon in a shop today with the same colour as yours. It look awesome! maybe somebody in Klien is traking your progress and is copying you?

I was wondering whether it would be possible to powdercoat a bicycle frame as a home project. I really do not know what is involved.

what clear coat do u use?
and how much was the paint?

thanks!

The paint for the kit base, mid and clear coat was $17 (at walmart, $20 at auto store)it took two of them primarily because I did not take the time to make sure I got full coverage with the first coat. Take your time, visualy inspect after every time you spray paint so you get full coverage. Then I got another big can of clear coat from dura-color. And put nice thick clear coat on. Total investment in paint was probably around $40 give or take..

Powdercoating I believe takes more speciailized equipment, so is not cost effective.

if u don't mind could u give the exact brands of the paint kit?
what was this paint kit for anyways? auto painting?

also, where did u get the dura color clear coat? all i could find in my neighbourhood was some polyurethane glossy wood finish which the guy said was clear coat..


Thanksa billion!

The brand is Dura-Color, you can find it in the auto section of wall mart, or most auto stores. So originaly designed for cars, label states anythign from metal, wood and plastic.

i believe it is duplicolor for the mirage paint kit.