Catnap 

I recently restored two vintage 3Rensho aero road frames, one a 53cm and the other a 58cm:




When I originally acquired these frames, the smaller one had a pink paint job and the larger one was purple. Both were quite worn, with many scratches and some rust as well. I decided that I would completely restore the frames myself. While I’ve painted at least a dozen frames and wrote a tutorial on the process, I’d never before tried to fully restore a vintage bike, complete with decals.

After documenting the original decals, I sandblasted both frames. Then I laid down several coats of primer / filler from Duplicolor, finishing with a layer of white primer so the top color would appear brighter. For the main coats, I used three cans of Duplicolor “Perfect Match” automotive spray paint on each, with Barcelona Red Metallic for the large frame and Blue Streak Metallic for the smaller one. I let each frame cure for a week, then wet sanded any drips and touched them up. Painting with spray cans is difficult because they have an unpredictable output and despite my best efforts, it’s almost impossible to avoid drips.

After the paint had cured an additional two weeks, I applied the decals. I bought the decals from “Global Bicycle Decals,” a UK-based seller on eBay. These are reproduction decals printed on vinyl, and lack some of the quality of nicer water-slide decals, but are much easier to apply. After applying the decals, I clear-coated the frames using two cans each of Rustoleum’s automotive clear. Again, because of the sub-par flow from spray cans, I had to wet-sand a few drips and re-apply a fresh coat of clear. The end result, however, was gorgeous! The metallic paint has a lovely sparkle to it, and the clear brings that out even more.

Overall, I’d say it took me 15-20 hours per frame to restore them, and about $180 each in paint supplies, decals, and sandblasting costs. Financially cheaper than having a pro restore them, but when you factor in the time, well… let’s just say it’s not a good business plan.

You can read more about the history of 3Rensho and the design of these frames, along with lots of hi-res photos, on my blog at:
3Resho Super Record Export Aero Road Frames ? Complete Restorations « djcatnap.com

orangeology

those seatstays looks beefier than ones in keirin trackies...
i mean, awesome!

plonz 

Incredible looking restorations! I love that 58cm and am thinking it would sure look good in Texas!

And thank you for the honest assessment of the savings (or lack thereof) by doing this yourself. Now that everything's cured, do you feel like the paint will be as durable as a "pro" job?

Catnap 

Hi Plonz, if you're interested in buying the 58cm frame, it's up for sale in the For Sale thread. or just PM me. given that the actual paint is the same as would be used in a pro setup, and that i spent a lot of time prepping and laying down multiple layers at each stage, i feel confident that it would be as durable as a pro job. i've painted a lot of other frames in the past and they have held up well. this is my first time using this brand of decals so I don't know how they will hold up, but they are covered by many layers of clear coat to help protect them.

dailycommute

Great job, always thought 3rensho were some artisan level frames and would love to own one, perhaps in the future!

OldsCOOL

Very nice! What most may not realize is the difficulty of painting a bike frame is the absence of flat panel surfaces, all curves and bends, angles and pinches. They are difficult and often frustrating.

Catnap 

You're quite right - it takes practice and "can control" to lay down even coats and avoid drips. And even with a lot of practice, the cans themselves do not have an even flow / output the way a professional spray gun system has. Inevitably you have to do some wet sanding of drips in between coats to get a truly flawless finish.