Skuda25

Can a titanium road bike be re-painted**********?

chzman

sure, but why do it? raw Ti is so niiice.

Ramjm_2000

Absolutely. Spectrum powder works does nice work.

slowandsteady

The only reason people don't paint Ti is because the main reason they bought Ti is to show it off. You can't do that when it is painted like a steel or alu bike.

Blue Jays

Titanium looks very nice when it is cleaned extremely thoroughly and then clearcoated.

maxine

I bought ti in part because it is low-maintenance. Which is also why I never painted it.

bianchiboy71

My Ti was ready painted when I got it.

slowandsteady

And what Alum is high maintenance? The frame itself should be no maintenance.

gfrance

^^^ paint may chip or scratch = maintanance

triggersd

x2

I've always appreciated the look of naked metal.

merlinextraligh

Aluminum oxidizes.Thus an AL frame needs painted, and touched up when the paint chips.

My 9 year old Merlin looks just about the same way it looked at 3 weeks, and the only maintenence it gets is wiped with a rag about once a year.

whitemax

Mine was custom painted and I got the best of both aspects. Had a 3/4 paint job done leaving the chain and seats stays natural ti. You'd be amazed at the folks that come up to me and ask (experienced riders too) "what's that bike made of?"

Volfy

I'll try to answer your question instead of philosophizing over "to be or not to be".

The answer is: of course! just about anything solid can be painted! The real questions should be: how easy is it, and any special process?

I assume from your question that the frame has already been painted? If so, the best way to refinish depending on the condition of the original paint job, and whether you are talking about doing it yourself.

If the orginal paint is badly chipped or peeling, then it would be best to strip it clean down to bare Ti and refinish. You can either do it chemically (paint stripper) or mechanically (sanding or bead blasting). If the existing paint is in fairly good shape, it may be easier to prepare the surface and refinish directly over the existing paint. This is true especially if you are thinking about doing it yourself.

Unlike some of the myths I've overheard, no Ti doesn't flex more than other metals so as to make paint adhesion difficult. Even if the particular Ti part is somewhat flexible, most modern catalyzed paint (urethanes) usually handle it just fine. At worst, all it may take is adding some flex additive.

Also, contrary to popular believe, Ti does oxidize (rust). So does Stainless Steel. They are only more resistant to oxidation than the more reactive metals, like steel. Ti is actually one of the most abundant metal elements on earth. It just so happen to be in the form of Titanium oxide, which ironically, is widely used as a paint pigment.

slowandsteady

Aluminum and titanium oxidize at roughly the same rate. I have two bikes that are painted. Neither one has any chips despite being 1 and 14 years old. If you bought it because you like the way it rides, fine. But don't say something as ridiculous as a frame needs maintenance. As long as you are not a clumsy slob the bikes will hold up just fine.