Bicycle Mechanics - Frame painting

My wife wants to paint a road bike frame she owns, and I can't seem to talk her out of it. She's read any stuff I have on painting frames, as regards how many coats, proper drying times etc. but thinks that paiinting it carefully with a brush and gloss paint as used for metal railings, gates etc. would do a better job. The frames old and nothing special... comments please....

It'll do a fine job. And it'll look like a metal rail, gate, etc. That is, it won't be very glossy, and it'll have orange-peel and/or brushstrokes. And, like paint on a metal rail, gate, etc., it will probably chip more easily than spray. Note that these aren't value or quality judgements, just observations. It might make the bike look very cool. It'll probably make for a great theft deterrent.

"The frame's old and nothing special" and she'll enjoy the experience and learn through the process. So what's the downside?

Since she is apparently inexperienced at painting bikes, cars, etc. she may very well do a better job with t abrush than with a spray rig. However, there is virtually no way she can lay down an even coat of paint without runs or marks using a brush.

That being said, consider that the worlds greatest painters used brushes and made great advantage of the texture left by the brush.

"The frame's old and nothing special" and she'll enjoy the experience and learn through the process. So what's the downside?

If the frame is steel just search around for a local powder coater. They can do it up nice and its gonna last forever. I had a quote once for an old steel frame i was going to paint, right around $50. Also i did end up just getting a can of rustoleum and doing it myself.

-Brent

Hi - please excuse the long posting... :)
I have just finished re-painting the steel frame of my older road bike for the second time, so thought I might share the experience. I assume part of the attraction here is for your wife to do the painting herself - as it was for me. Now, the results you get are directly related to the time and effort spent on preparation. One can simply paint the bike as you find it, with minimal dismantling or preparation of the old paint surface. Chances are it will look worse than when you started and as the paint peels, will go downhill from there.

In my case, I wanted a finish as good as I could get so preparation was thorough - all the old paint and surface rust was removed using paint stripper, plus emery paper and a wire brush to get down to clean bare metal. This is by far the hardest part of the job, but well worth the effort to prevent further corrosion. Spray paints were chosen, and first up was an anti-rust primer. I let this dry for a few days to get a good bond before adding colour coats (silver with blue detailing). Then a coating of clear laquer was added for more protection and to enhance the finished appearence. It was tricky to spray evenly, and into all the tight spots without overcoating and the resultant "runs". Now patience is required to allow the finish to harden before I attempt to re-assemble.

The time taken to do this: For a full breakdown of the bike (I have all the tools required) about an hour. Stripping & cleaning the frame, probably 3 hours. The painting step involved 10 minutes spraying, then waiting for each coat to be dry enough for the next application. 2 coats primer, 2 coats colour, detailing colour, 2 coats clear laquer. The colour & laquer coats were applied in one afternoon. Overall, quite an investment in time and effort, but I want the bike to be protected from rust and to look nice. I was able to hang the frame outside from the washing line whilst painting - good ventilation and plenty of room to move around the work.

I mentioned that I had painted the bike once before. On that occasion I used a product called Hammerite - I believe similar to the rustoleum products in the US. One thing that influenced this choice was that the "hammered" finish would disguise any poor spraying techniques on my part than would a smooth finish. It lasted well and looked pretty good. This time I was more adventurous and used Plasti-Kote gloss spray enamels. The finish is much better, though time will tell how it stands up to use & weather etc.

The bottom line is: how much work are you prepared to put in? It is best to do a job like this in a thorough manner, but I can understand that some would find it daunting or offputting. On the other hand, it is very rewarding to see the end result and own a truly individual bike.

Good luck,

Ed

I just finished painting my lugged fuji frame. It came out pretty good but if I did it again I think i would strip the old paint completely. I just sanded it smooth. also i didnt use primer. I did however use hammerite also and it hid alot of the blemishes that were left from my lack of preperation to the frame. also i tried painting the lugs with a quality rust-oleum paint but i think i will have to go back and do some detailing by hand. i dont think my masking skills are really up to par. overall the bike looks pretty good though. lots better than what i started with. the frame was free anyway!!!

I've used hammerite and its OK. Beware of clogging up threads with paint. The finish is more utility than artistic, but that is what I wanted.

The frames old and nothing special... comments please....

I've just finished a repainting project on a 20 year old Fuji frame. Old, yes. Special? It isn't if you want to compare it to the new materials frames are constructed from today. Personally, I love an old fashioned steel lugged frame. If you spend the time and prepare the frame properly for new paint, the results just might surprise you.

I can post some before and after pics if you are interested.

Cheers!

Like mentioned, prep is the most important.

Also, there is a proper technique for spray painting. If you just shake and spray, like most people do, it will be an absolute mess.

I have seen a paint called POR-15 that is a really hard industrial coating. It comes out amazingly smooth when painted on with a foam brush. It is hard to work with and if you get some on you, it will be there for a couple of weeks. I have seen it used to paint suspension and undercarrage parts on several kit cars. I thought the parts were powder coated when I saw them. I don't think that there are many colors.
http://www.por15.com

POR-15 is designed for Painting Over Rust. It works really well for that and is an amazingly tough surface that can be painted over in another color if you wish.

A word on POR15, it doesn't hold up to sunlight very well! A friend put it on his Land Cruiser FJ40 and it has faded quite a bit.

When I find a half-decent used bike to refurbish, I'm going to strip it with aircraft stripper or similar, then have my brother in law paint it (he paints cars for a living) and then I'll mask it and have him paint the details too. Blue/white :D

Now for a commuter beater, I think hammerite or POR15 or just about anything would be good. Or, you could do like I'm doing on my wally-world bike, and cover it in stickers :D

Professional painting is expensive, and hard to justify except on a collectible or otherwise valuable bike. I had the Capo redone at CyclArt and the red-and-white finish is gorgeous (see "show us your classic ride" thread for a couple of low-res. glimpses) and FAR better than anything I could have produced, but if I ever decide to repaint one of the Peugeots, I'll probably grab a can of spray paint.

I've just finished a repainting project on a 20 year old Fuji frame. Old, yes. Special? It isn't if you want to compare it to the new materials frames are constructed from today. Personally, I love an old fashioned steel lugged frame. If you spend the time and prepare the frame properly for new paint, the results just might surprise you.

I can post some before and after pics if you are interested.

Cheers!


G'day, can y'all post any pics that you have to your newly painted bikes please please pretty please??
Before and after pics would be awesome, but really, any pics at all will do.

I'm in the mood to paint my 10 year old road bike, and just want to see the possible outcomes before I start.

Thanks for the input, probably going to go for the Hammerite hammered option. The frame is an early eighties steel Viking (I think, no decals) with heart shaped lugs, so with some atention to detail it could work out better than it looks now. I'll trya nd take some photos and post them at a later date.