I too am in the process of painting a frame. I'm using auto paint. I sanded (I'm still sanding) the factory clear coat of and smoothed out the chips on the frame. I didn't bring it down to bare metal because I want the durability of the factory paint. I'm using Dupli-Color primer and white acrylic lacquer. I've heard the lacquer can be tougher than an enamel. I plan to paint it real soon. It looked as if spring had arrived, then it got cold, windy, and rainy for the last 2 weeks. I'll let you know how it goes.