Painting Titanium: Tips?
01-29-10, 09:37 AM
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C'mon DJ...
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Painting Titanium: Tips?
Hi all, I'm considering painting my titanium Seven. I am quite fond of the bare titanium, so this would just be some detail and accent work rather than an all-over paint job. I'm an experienced painter but I've never painted titanium, can anyone offer me any advice? Any tips on achieving good paint adhesion (recommended paint types, additives, any special prep work, etc) would be most appreciated. Adhesion is my biggest concern, and since this is accent work I'd like to avoid clear-coating the entire bike. I'd be doing this work primarily with an airbrush, and probably Createx AutoAir paint unless someone can suggest something better suited to the task. Thanks in advance!
01-29-10, 11:57 AM
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nice idea, poor execution
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I'd send an email to Seven and ask for their recommendations if you can't get a good response here. They're usually happy to answer questions from customers.
01-29-10, 12:05 PM
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Step one is to talk to the paint supplier about recommendations for pre-painting prep, and primers. The paint companies have solid knowledge on how their products perform on various base metals, and can best guide you on product selection and application.
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01-29-10, 12:13 PM
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if it's just going to be some accents and detail work, why not decals?
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01-29-10, 03:54 PM
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I have a Ti Lemond that came with a Trek supplied paint job. The paint peeled and flaked within 2 years and then went back to Trek for a warranty paint. That too peeled and flaked. I know that Ti can be troublesome to paint and if it were me, I would not paint titanium. I also know that Trek/Lemonds reputation for frame painting is atrocious.
That said, I had my Lemond stripped and painted by a local guy this past summer. So far so good.
SB
That said, I had my Lemond stripped and painted by a local guy this past summer. So far so good.
SB
01-29-10, 07:57 PM
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Litespeed used to offer a paint option on their Ti frames several years ago and one model (their entry-level Natchez) came painted a rather garish Yellow for a model year or so.
I found it interesting that the paint option their higher line frames was a $300 extra and it allowed Litespeed to do a much rougher metal surface finish to improve adhesion. So they charged more to do less work.
I found it interesting that the paint option their higher line frames was a $300 extra and it allowed Litespeed to do a much rougher metal surface finish to improve adhesion. So they charged more to do less work.
01-31-10, 04:06 PM
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C'mon DJ...
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Decals are an interesting idea, but I was considering some designs that wrapped around the stays in a complex way, so I'm not sure how well that would work. Paint is also very inexpensive, whereas big custom dye-sublimated decals are pretty spendy. I also just think the artwork will be fun to apply by hand with paint.
Thanks for all the input so far, I will email Seven and a few paint vendors on Monday and see what they have to say.
Thanks for all the input so far, I will email Seven and a few paint vendors on Monday and see what they have to say.
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