repainting an old bike
 

i have an old steel trek that i would like to repaint (the pait is chipping badly an dthe bike is rusting...thats not good:o), the logos and such are unimportant to me, i just want to know what i need to do in order to get a good durable finish. what paint should i use, will i need to prime, i should sand down the whole Frame right? give me the hookup.

I would look up powder coating in your local phone book. They should be able to sand blast the old paint off and put a nice powder coat color for you for less than $110. I found a local guy who powder coats dirt bikes and wheels and now has done 5 of my frames(beater and nice).

that would be a realy tough finish right?

what parts of the bike should i mask off, i assume the botom bracket shell and the headtube openings shouldnt be getting powdercoating on them

powdercoating
 

I had my 1979-1980"s ? Centurion Super Lemans powdercoated with safety yellow and a emerald illusion clearcoat for $75 at my local powdercoater and the look is just awsome in sunlight with the little metalflakes. Its a tough finish (way tougher than paint) and cheaper than having a bike painted. I did that also and it cost me $300 and the darn stuff chips way too easy. Just make sure your powdercoater keeps the coating off any threads, especially the head tube where the headset goes and the bottom bracket theads. The smaller threaded fittings like bottle bosses and fender eylets can be tapped and cleaned out later. Also watch out for the seat binder bolt braze on if you have one. I had to sandpaper mine but it only took five minutes and the bolt fit fine after that. Just take off all the parts and degrease it, they will sandblast it and coat it. Mine was done in one day.
Take photos of the stickers and have your local vinyl lettering, auto sticker guy remake the lettering for about $20.
My bikes:

http://myspace.com/eccentriccyclistcharlie

i removed my downtube shifter levers, but there are still little peices that look important sticking off of the frame, i dont want them to be messed up during the sandblasting process. How do i remove these bits? the shifters are shimano 105's. The peices im talking about are between the actual lever and the downtube, im not sure what they are called.

what to blast
 

They are brazed on bosses for the shift levers and sandblasting won't hurt them. The only way to get them off is to heat up the tube and melt the brazing or grind them off. If you don't want them blasted your can use a paint stripper and tape them off with some type of tape so the blaster won't blast them. Just talk to your powdercoater. Ask them if they have done any bicycle frames and if they have experience with quality steel bike coating. Ask your local bike shops if they can reccomend a powder coater that knows what they are doing regarding bicycles. Most powdercoaters are pretty savy especially if they coat motorcycle frames (not much difference between the two) Sandblasting a light/thin guage tubed bike may demand that the blaster use less pressure on his blaster to avoid "eating" the tubing away and some shops can use glass beads or soda blasting if the material is thinner and more delicate. My bike was a fairly heavy guage chrome moly frame so I didn't worry about it. I'm totally happy with the job my coater did. The new Surly frames are all powdercoated so its not a big deal and nothing to worry about. Pick a nice color and have at it!:D

so, generally speaking, if i want the lugs a different color than the tubing, would that require a couple days, or would they be able to do it in a day?

also, what's usually used to outline the lugs, and would it work on a powder coated surface?

A common suggestion for outlining the lugs on a painted fram is to get a paint pen at an art store. I have seen them in paint departments at hardware stores also.......I do not know how it will work with powder coat...but you could try on a place where no one will see first

testors model paint
 

A good powdercoater can do mutiple colors by carefully masking but its a pain. Most powdercoaters do one color with pearl or metaalic clearcoats if you want to get fancy. You can line the lugs using Testors enamel model paint and a thin brush, if you are handy and steady. Definately not a job for the impatient.;)

good info, thanks!

is it easier to strip powdercoat later on than to mask? for instance, if i want the lugs to be polished steel, or if i want polished steel bands, or stripes on the tubes.

From what I've read powdercoat is pretty much a "one time" deal. Because getting that stuff off is very difficult.
Polished steel bands? Chromed lugs? Chroming is expensive. If you're going to get fancy it could cost you as much as a new bike. Here's are two links with pricelists for paintjobs from respectable dudes. http://www.cyclart.com/refinish1.html http://www.bikyle.com/Repaints.htm

Research, my son...., research..

under the BikeForums title bar is a feature called "Search the Forums"

"Painting" in the search window, with "search by titles", results in many threads asking all of the above questions.

Good luck to you, and remember to have fun painting!
Ya learn best by doing!:D

i got it done, pics on the way, i have advice for everyone else, be sure to keep the paint/powdercoat/whatever else away from anyhting you have to attatch anything to, the thick buildup on the shifter bosses made it a pain to put the shifters on. They also powdercoated the steerer tube of my fork making instalation of the crown race realy hard.

Your Raliegh looks great. Nice job


Tim

right on
 

Thank you....its pretty much original paint but most of the parts are newer. I may paint it when I have my van painted but I am not sure I can get those nice original decals. Powdercoating would be my choice but for purists, its not totally the way to do it, unless you want a "rider". I do, so I am not trying to make a show piece. Its nice to see what some folks have done restoring a bike to original like new condition. I prefer to make a bike function and be nice to look at but I don't baby my rides or it would drive me nuts, trying to avoid chips, scratches and dings. I really like the way the yellow bike turned out appearance wise and I plan on some more detailed photos soon. Next project may be a folder or a repaint of my recumbent in some unusual color with the addition of disc brakes.;)

Let me know if I can help. I do do bents as well...:D

I did this one for Gardner before his passing;
http://mbent.net/cycles/paint_gallery/target8.html

And Charles, I love that picture of the tangerine BB with the Campy logo on the chainstay.
It's looks almost edible!