Framebuilders - Paint/prep question

Hello,

My uncle recently gave me an old lugged Bianchi frame that had been sitting in his garage for years. I just had it sandblasted, then dropped it off to have new dropouts brazed in (it had vertical dropouts and I'm planning to build it up as a fixed gear/ss with a flip flop hub).

What I would like to do is either polish or chrome plate the lugs, and paint the rest of the frame. I would prefer a high polish over chrome.

I'm thinking that if I polish the lugs, then have a clear powdercoat applied over the whole bike, the polished finish will be fairly durable and the powdercoat will act as a base layer over the rest of the bike. Then just mask the lugs and let the painter do his thing (I have a buddy thats a very good automotive painter, I'm gonna have him spray it for me).

Does this sound like it will produce good results? Should I forget about the polishing and just go with chrome? If I do, should I have a clear powdercoat applied before I have it chromed?

Thanks in advance for any advice. I'm pretty new to cycling and I've already picked up quite a bit of great info just by searching this forum...thanks to everyone that contributes good info, I'm sure there are many other lurker's like me out there making good use of it!

Thanks,

Chris

Doesn't sound like a good idea to me. One issue is you have this frame of little real value (?) and you are going to sink a ton of dough into it, when the only real value it has is as an original mint condition vintage bike. OK I could be wrong. And anyway, I got into custom bike making so I could do stupid things on my personal bikes without having to get anyone else's permission... So welcome to the madness.

Chroming lugs can cause enbrittlement, particularly to the adjacent tubing some of which will also be chromed. It gets done, so it can't be that bad, but it is expensive and not necessarily a step in the right direction.

Polishing cast carbon steel lugs will not give a chrome or stainless look. If I wanted a more detailed look I would probably look into contrasting lug colours used on Bs, or similar bikes.

I don't think a clear powdercoat is a good idea, because it basically means no real primer. That is the problem with clear. So to do it as a primer is going in the wrong direction. An epoxy primer with a linear poly over it is the best finish.

For what you are probably going to spend, you could get a real bike painter to put a real finish on the bike. Money well spent. My local bike guy who has won international awards will do his basic finish job for about what the chroming would cost around 300 (WAG on the chrome).

Try the vintage bike group here.

Doesn't sound like a good idea to me. One issue is you have this frame of little real value (?) and you are going to sink a ton of dough into it, when the only real value it has is as an original mint condition vintage bike. OK I could be wrong. And anyway, I got into custom bike making so I could do stupid things on my personal bikes without having to get anyone else's permission... So welcome to the madness.

Chroming lugs can cause enbrittlement, particularly to the adjacent tubing some of which will also be chromed. It gets done, so it can't be that bad, but it is expensive and not necessarily a step in the right direction.

Polishing cast carbon steel lugs will not give a chrome or stainless look. If I wanted a more detailed look I would probably look into contrasting lug colours used on Bs, or similar bikes.

I don't think a clear powdercoat is a good idea, because it basically means no real primer. That is the problem with clear. So to do it as a primer is going in the wrong direction. An epoxy primer with a linear poly over it is the best finish.

For what you are probably going to spend, you could get a real bike painter to put a real finish on the bike. Money well spent. My local bike guy who has won international awards will do his basic finish job for about what the chroming would cost around 300 (WAG on the chrome).

Try the vintage bike group here.

You're right that the frame is of little value (its a taiwanese made boardwalk from the late 80's or early 90's I think), but I'm not sinking much in to it. $80 for sandblasting and powdercoating...~20 for the dropouts + whatever the guy charges me for brazing them in...the painter is going to do it for the cost of the materials if I do the prep (he owes me a favor). I'm planning on putting maybe $200 in to the frame all told, maybe a little more. It isn't particularly interesting or exotic, but it fits me, and the geometry is perfect for what I want to use it for (riding around town).

I'm a little confused by your comment about polishing carbon steel...carbon steel will take a beautiful, true mirror polish if you're willing to put in the time and effort (I've polished many carbon knives and straight razors). The downside is that its a very difficult finish to maintain, which is why I wanted to clear over it.

Regarding the clear powdercoat...can't I just scuff it up well and have my painter spray a liquid primer over it? The only reason I was thinking of having the clear powdercoat applied over the whole frame (instead of just the lugs) is that I thought masking wasn't particularly feasible...am I wrong?

Thank you very much for taking the time to respond so thoughtfully:)

Chris

Clear paint over carbon steel = FAIL. It will rust despite the protective finish. Chrome is serious money these days since all the environmental regulations are in effect. Your best bet is to just let your buddy paint the frame and then ride the crap out of it.:)

Clear paint over carbon steel = FAIL. It will rust despite the protective finish. Chrome is serious money these days since all the environmental regulations are in effect. Your best bet is to just let your buddy paint the frame and then ride the crap out of it.:)

Thats what I was afraid of:( Thanks for the advice:thumb: