General Cycling Discussion - Needs a paint job?

Can anyone give me any advice on painting a frame. I want to do it successfully (obviously) and I want it to look professional. Does it matter what the frame is made of, etc. Mine is alum.

well the material really isn't that critical, however if you want a professional looking job I would take it to a professional unless you have painting experiece. but if you still want to do it yourself you will need, primer, paint, catalyst, lacquer, and clear coat. depending on your primer and paint you may not need catalyst and lacquer, but it will say what you need on the can as well as how many parts of each to mix at. You will need to sand (using a 250 grit first to remove the paint, then something like a 400-600 to remove the scratches.) the bike down the the metal (assuming the primer is not useable) then prime the bike, allow to dry then paint the bike, then apply any decals and finish with a few coats of clear coat. If you can salvage the primer (depends on the bike) you can just touch up the primer if any spots are down to the metal, then paint. This is essentially how you would paint a car, and it will give you the nicest finish. however as I said before you need to know how to paint before you attempt this. Trying to learn spray pattern and how far away to hold the spray gun is going to waste a lot of paint. Most body shops will probably paint the frame for you. one last thing, Do not paint the bike with spray cans.... that will be the farest thing from professional looking, and you will not be happy with it.


hope this helps... good luck :)

Most body shops will do a poor job painting a bicycle because they are used to painting relatively flat surfaces. Applying paint to round tubes is an entirely different task.

bah, not the shop I was in ;) but you are right, maybe a place that powder coats would be a better solution.

BF link on painting (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5913&highlight=painting)

Check out this recent thread. Or do a search.