thegunner

sorry if this has been asked (i did search, but found mixed opinions on how to proceed with this).

basically, i have a scott speedster frame that has a matte paint scheme on it. i would love to paint it in a glossy two tone black/white pattern just so that it isn't ridiculously branded, and just... more my own.

in what steps would i have to proceed for this to be successful?

a lot of people seem to strip the initial paint layer with some paint remover (any suggestions here?) and then prep the surface for the primer... no clue as to how to do this step* before doing a primer base, and then the color coats, followed by the clear coat.

i guess in addition to the prep, i was wondering what types of paint should be used for each step (is paint from a spray can unacceptable?). basically i'd love to have a color scheme similar to the pedalforce rs2, but want to do it for an alum frame rather than a carbon one.

thanks everyone, and happy holidays!

CCrew

media blast and powdercoat from a decent shop. Unless you have quality paint equipment anything you do will not equal a professional finish. Certainly not spray cans.

thegunner

student, on a SRSLY limited budget. i do have decent painting equipment since my friend does in house auto painting, but i was kind of just hoping to get a decent glossy finish of solid colors.

Bikedued

Just wet sand the exisiting finish with 600 and warm water with a little dish soap in it, making sure to get every square inch of it. Rinse it well, dry, wipe it down with wax and grease remover, tack rag it, then shoot it.,,,,BD

operator

I had my frame blasted and powdercoated for $75.

thegunner

any pics of a frame done up like this?

@operator i would love to know where you found that done, cheapest i've heard in NYC is around 150-200

ScrubJ

This!

If possible remove any/all of the decals. Any under clear coat will probably be OK. If your friend paints cars, he should know the drill. Use a decent quality automotive paint, clear coat for best appearance.

Bikedued

The decals are under the clearcoat, at least they were on my Speedster. the gunner, his friend has painting equipment and paints cars. He doesn't sound so hopeless that he can't sand
the frame down himself? I don't know of a single shop that doesn't have leftover paint, and painting a frame and fork you will use way less than a pint for base anyway.
I imagine if he threw in a few bucks the clearcoat could be taken care of with a leftover amount after a paintjob, before it begins to solidify. I would take $75 to shoot this frame
in a heartbeat, if I had the materials left from a job and they were going to go to waste anyway.,,,,BD

HillRider

I'd be very reluctant to have any aluminum frame media blasted. The tubing is soft and thin-walled and who ever does it better understand exactly what they are dealing with. I think Bikedued's advice is the most useful; wet sand, clean up and shoot.

thegunner

yeah... the weird thing is i bought this frame NOS and it's not glossy like most of the other scott frames, it's matte and i'm pretty sure the decals are just... painted on, thanks for all the advice, looks like i can make this a winter project

Bikedued

It's a Matte clearcoat. You mix an additive with the clear, and it gives that finish once it cures. They used it around 05 or so, mine was the same kind
of finish. The name Scott was on the frame EIGHT times. It looked like a rolling billboard, lol. I definitely feel your pain. They're more tasteful now,
I guess it was just a phase they went through.,,,,BD

DannoXYZ 

Aircraft paint-stripper and steel-wool works very well on removing paint from aluminium without damage. Any kind of blasting will remove aluminium and pock-mark the surface. Just minimally if done correctly. Probably no more than prepping the surface with 400-600 grit W&D sandpaper for primer. And the main difference between prepping aluminium versus steel frames is that you MUST use an etching primer for aluminium followed by the standard sanding primer. Zinc chromate primer is good as an initial primer for aluminium.

Bikedued

Which is why I suggested leaving the original paint intact? 400-600 w/d paper will not remove the finish, or even touch the metal? There's absolutely no reason to strip an aluminum frame, if the paint is in good condition. If it has deep scratches, by all means feather them out. It's not rocket science.,,,,BD

DannoXYZ 

Well, laying new paint on top of old paints can sometimes cause issues. We don't know what kind of paint is used on that frame. You may end up with bleed-through or snake-skin effects (from laying down fast-drying paint on top of slow-drying paint).

The other thing is how nice of a finish do you want? Sanding down tubing is difficult and paint is a lot softer than aluminium. So if you just sand the surface of the existing paint, it's very easy to end up with waves and uneven finish because it's hard to sand tubing perfectly even. It won't be obvious because of the rough surface, but will be very evident when you lay down a fresh glossy finish.

If you don't want to strip the bike to bare metal, use sandpaper tape to wrap 360-degrees all around the tube at an angle and "floss" it back and forth to sand the tubing perfectly even all the way around.

Bikedued

Okay, you win. You know more about paint prep than I do.,,,,BD

DannoXYZ 

Well, there's no one "right" way to do it. Just different results from different techniques and I strive for as high quality as possible. I'm not sure what level the OP wants, and I wouldn't want him to be disappointed. Here's some sandpaper tapes that makes sanding tubing much easier:


https://www.tooltopia.com/_img/STB/STB713095.jpg

thegunner

i honestly just wanted a more subtle black/white paint job on the bike rather than having 'scott' written on every single tube. how bad would the final product be if i simply took a lot of time to wetsand the tubes pretty thoroughly then used a self etching primer (would something like this work?) then hit it with auto paint + clear coat work?

thanks you guys, i really appreciate this.

Bikedued

Not to be critical, but 120 grit would cut though the middle of a butted aluminum tube in no time at all.,,,,BD

Just a heads up..

ScrubJ

Mountain, meet mole hill. Everyone is making this thing way too hard. Wet sand, hit it with some prepsol or the like and paint. The OP has a friend that paints cars, not much different here.

Bikedued

Yep, no need for etching primers, stripping the frame, media blasting, etc etc.. Hence my first post.,,,,BD

jayfromqns

+1 on the paint stripper and steel wool suggestion. I got great results with this process on a cannondale frame I just stripped down to bare metal.

Bikedued

I have seen a polished out C'dale before. They're a thing of beauty. A polished Scott might look equally as nice. Just keep it indoors, and it won't dull much. I've been tempted
to do my 88 C'dale mountain bike. I bet it would look really sharp,.,,,,BD

HillRider

Were these really bare polished Al or were they either clear anodized or clear coated?

Bikedued

I dunno, I think the one I saw was owner done, as it looked like bare aluminum. No decals on it, but there's no mistaking a C'dale frame. I have sen some of the ones you're talking about. Equally as cool.,,,,BD

CCrew

Sand yes, but walnut shells or a similar media? no issue A good media blast will actually give something for the new paint to "bite" into rather than the alternative of iridite or similar to get a quality job.