danarello

I have a 1987 Schwinn SS with some surface rust and chipped paint issues. I'm going to touch it up before I put it back together. So I'm looking for advice, preferably from someone who has expertise in painting steel road bike frames. My bike has the white/Magenta "Miami Vice" style paint job.





1. I have a small can of Rust-Oleum Rusty Metal primer (red/brown color)
2. I have a small can of Rust-Oleum Gloss White Stops Rust Protective Enamel (oil base) for the white part of frame
3. I'm going to buy some nail polish that matches the magenta part of the frame.
4. I have Lacquer Thinner
5. the Rust-Oeum paints call for Mineral Spirits to clean brush.
6. I'm brushing on the paint.
7. I read the Sheldon Brown website section on painting steel frames.

Now I have some novice questions:

1.Can I use the lacquer thinner for cleaning my brushes or should I buy mineral spirits?
2. should I use a different type of primer? (My frame just has surface rust and is white/magenta)

AnkleWork

There's a few answers here:
https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-me...nt-issues.html

TimothyH

Powder coating is dirt cheap and looks fantastic.

-Tim-

shelbyfv

You need to get that rust off chemically, before you paint. Search for threads about oxalic acid.

IrishBrewer

Powder coating to touch up a vintage frame? I don't get it.

IrishBrewer

You can use a rust converter prior to priming/painting.

easyupbug 

+1 if light rust as shown and lacquer thinner will work.

fietsbob

rust of steel, is coming thru paint. go down to bare metal then once it, rust, is removed, then anti rust primer, and top color coat..

mstateglfr 

You are brushing on the paint?...how much of the frame is in need of paint? The pic you provided is just a few scratches which could be touched up with a paint pen.

As mentioned, get rid of any rust before painting. Evaporust is available at car parts stores and doesnt harm paint. soak paper towels in the solution, wrap the tubes tight, then cover with saran wrap to keep the towel from drying out. Wait a few hours and the surface rust will be gone. Repeat wherever necessary. Its extremely minimal work and you can use the rest of the Evaporust to get rid of the surface rust on your components(if there is any).

Be careful of white. There are seemingly infinite shades of white. 30 year old white is also faded and often times a new white will obviously clash. You have to adjust and buy an offwhite to match what was originally white.

A paint pen or a can of testor's paint in the correct shade with a toothpick or something really small to drop the paint in the scratch will be the least invasive. Paint, being a liquid, will fill the scratch if dropped in versus brushed on, and you then dont have brush lines.

As for your specific questions, if its touch ups just use the paint on the frame. If the frame is clean and dry itll stick fine. Again, less invasive than primer and paint.
...if I completely misunderstood your post, sorry.

ypsetihw

I did a full frame restore and sanded the whole thing to bare metal . . . by hand. it was a HUGE PITA but it made for a nice finish once I was done. the thing looks brand new, albeit without stickers/decals

Grand Bois

Rustoleum makes a white primer. The red oxide will be difficult to cover with white paint.


Get mineral spirits (AKA paint thinner). It's cheap and it's great for cleaning parts and for removing oil spots from concrete.

TimothyH

I'm not talking about touchup.

I'm talking about stripping the parts off the frame, dropping it off at the powder coater, pick it up a week later, put it back together and done. The whole thing will likely cost $125 plus whatever decals he wants and it will look brand new.

I had a frame powder coated this past summer. Couldn't have been easier or less expensive and looks spectacular.

Unless the OP wants to DIY which I totally understand.


-Tim-

bikemig 

I'll have to try this out. My XO-2 has some surface rust and I want to deal with it next summer. This sounds better than my usual solution which is a bit of sandpaper. I like to use a flat white rustoleum as a base before trying to get a color match.

Something like this might work even better for a frame though, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B014LR5PA2?psc=1

I've seen a few threads discussing rust converters like this.

markwesti

I love lacquer thinner, acetone also . But for cleaning goop off good paint I use alcohol . For paint you sound like you are in good shape . The only thing I would say is sandpaper , various grits and 3M Scotch Bright , careful sanding to start with and in between coats . Good luck and pics after your done .
PS , if you have trouble matching paint try a Testors kit and mix your own . https://www.amazon.com/Testors-9115x...=testors+paint

IrishBrewer

Can they still do the two tones in powder? The OP was talking about touching up both the magenta and white. I'm not disagreeing that powder coating makes a super nice finish for a bike but if you are trying to keep the original character of a vintage bike, it is often hard to make it work.

TimothyH

They can do two, three, five and eleventeen tones, fades, irridescent, metal flake, candy, pearl, glow in the dark and just about anything anyone wants. Keeping the character of a vintage bike is not a problem. Lots of people do it.
I have problems with flash on my PC but hopefully the link will work for everyone else.

Best bet is to go to a small, local shop, someone who specializes in custom car and motorcycle parts, firearms, etc. Avoid big, job lot or batch shops where your bike frame will be hanging with 250 washing machine lids or a bunch of lawn chairs. My guy in Marietta does two or three bicycles very week, knew to mask off the derailleur hanger, cable bosses, etc.




-Tim-

TimothyH

This is what I had done. $120 for a two coat "Illusion" metal flake on an old 2002 Fuji.

Spoonrobot 

I've done a few full-strip repaints and although the end product always looked good it never compared to the original factory paint. Most of the stuff from the 80s is just about impossible to duplicate at a reasonable price. Now I remove the obvious rust with steel wool, knock down any chips with a high grit sanding block and then touch-up any bare steel with clear lacquer.

Keeps you from having to do much to match, preserves the original paint/character and looks cool. There are less and less of those vintage paint jobs floating around every year. Be a shame to replace it with cheap powder coating.

Also, when I stripped my pink/white '87 Super Sport I was surprised to find it had chrome socks front and rear. Made the repaint a little more interesting that I expected.

TimothyH

The perception that powder coating is somehow cheap looking is a vestige of the past. The technology has vastly improved.

I guarantee that a good powder coater could replicate the finish of the OP's bike for under $200 and that very few if any of you would be able to tell that it is not paint.
















-Tim-

danarello

Hello All!
I really appreciate all the great advice and knowledge being passed on my thread. Very helpful! I am not opposed to Powder coating a bike that needs new paint. For the Schwinn SS however, I'm just going to touch it up and get it on the road. I've attached a couple more photos of my bike that will explain/show the paint issues better. I think I have all the necessary materials I need. For the magenta, I will probably touch up with magenta nail polish.

One small question I still have is: If I'm using Rust-Oleum oil based enamel primer and paint, can I clean brushes with Lacquer Thinner? or should I use Mineral Spirits/paint thinner?
(I just happen to have a half gallon of lacquer thinner in the garage which I never use. If it doesn't work, I would take it to the hazardous waste disposal sight and just buy mineral spirits.)

markwesti

Don't through away the lacquer thinner ! You need it to clean your brushes . For cleaning a small touch up brush first I clean it with a paper towel then I pour a little in the laq. cap and clean the brush . When I'm going to use the brush again I pour a little laq. in the cap again and get the brush nice and wet and then dry off with paper towel . Another thing the laq. is good for is if you get to much paint on and maybe a drip just wipe it off and start over again . Also it cleans paint off your hands .
PS For a touch up brush I like a 1/4 flat and a 1/8 round . I get them a art supply store .

danarello

Got it! I will hang onto the lacquer thinner! thanks

danarello

I sanded the paint chips and applied phosphoric acid. Cleaned and dried the areas. Now I am brushing on "Rustoleum clean metal primer" I'm giving it 3 coats to be on the safe side. Finally, I want to finish coat with some Nail Polish Enamel. I'm trying to match the 87 Schwinn SS magenta as best as possible. I just found some "Nail Lacquer" that is a fairly close match at Walmart. I hope "Nail Lacquer" is the same as "Nail Polish Enamel."

danarello

Awesome idea Markwesti! the Testor's Kit will eliminate the need to hunt and try to match colors with Nail Polish.