Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - HELP with paint

So i just finished building up my first fixed gear...well almost im waiting for my cog but i can ride it a a single speed. i made a dumb mistake but thats not important.

I have used the search but has anyone had their bike painted at a car body shop? if so how did it turn out?
How does it compare to powder coating?

If anyone knows some pros and cons to either it would be greatly appreciate

I just used rattle cans, and i already have some wear to it.

Side note....anyone have a color suggesition (yes i know ive already done a thread) for my frame.
right now its white...but it gets dirty
I have purple deep v's and a gold sugino rd crankse. i just ordered some nitto bullhorns and a stem.

im trying to get this done before i go off to college and would like a durable paint i will be confident with holding up


ill try to post a picture of what it looks like now

There is a thread in the CV forum titles "Fram Painters." You can also google it thats how I found this article. http://www.instructables.com/id/Repainting-An-Old-Bicycle/ There are a lot of articles on fram painting at that site.

I would try to find a local powdercoating shop & have it powdercoated. Something about them having to bake it at 400 degrees. I got mine powdercoated & banged it up & it's still virtually scratch free. Looks like it came that way.

I would try to find a local powdercoating shop & have it powdercoated. Something about them having to bake it at 400 degrees. I got mine powdercoated & banged it up & it's still virtually scratch free. Looks like it came that way.

thanks for the help

anyone out there had their bike painted at a body shop

or color reccomendations

i'm picking up my gf's peugeot this afternoon from the body shop. i'll chime back in with the details on how it looks/holds up after i see it. my thought was that car paint doesn't chip/scratch/crack very easily so why would it on a bike.

The patina of use that comes along with a nicked up frame is sweet.

It's all in the prep work when it comes to auto paint. You've all seen cars with bad paint jobs.

With powdercoating, the frame gets an electric charge, then sprayed with the powder, then baked at 400 degrees for like a half hour (then the same process again for a 2 stage, which is what I got).

I don't know if automotive paint can compete with that, even if they bake it.

i'm picking up my gf's peugeot this afternoon from the body shop. i'll chime back in with the details on how it looks/holds up after i see it. my thought was that car paint doesn't chip/scratch/crack very easily so why would it on a bike.

Sweet let me know how it turns out


It's all in the prep work when it comes to auto paint. You've all seen cars with bad paint jobs.

With powdercoating, the frame gets an electric charge, then sprayed with the powder, then baked at 400 degrees for like a half hour (then the same process again for a 2 stage, which is what I got).

I don't know if automotive paint can compete with that, even if they bake it.

yea the body i'd go to is pretty good they just fixed my moms car and it looks good


but powder coating just seems like it would be more durable

but my one problem is getting the bottom bracket out
my frame is a late 80's centurion and it has hte stock bottom bracket i would assume still.
and getting the headset off was no walk in the park so im not sure how easy hte bb will be

So the most important pro of automotive paint is the ability to customize a lot easier than powder coating. So if you want to do multiple colors or any kind of detail work, you might want to do the automotive paint. I'm going to paint my alien (if it ever arrives) myself using automotive paint and something called a prevalve sprayer.

Joe Bell from campyonly uses the same paint as some automotive shops. You can see his work here (http://www.campyonly.com/joebell/jb_gallery.html) along with a guide about how he paints. His techniques are a lot more advanced and require equipment that I dont have though.

alright thanks guys for the help so far

since im keeping it a basic single tone paint job i htink ill try powder coating

any color suggestions now

purple deep v's, gold sugino rd crankset....i know white works so its my fall back color but any suggestions on what would look good with those components

When I took mine I left the BB in. He taped it up for me.

When I took mine I left the BB in. He taped it up for me.

did you have it powder coated?
cause i talked to a company and they said there couldnt be any bearings in the bike cause when they bake it grease would seep out and ruin the coating or something