i rattle canned my steel frame. i sanded it down to the metal first. then like 6 or 7 coats of etch primer, i think i just kept coating and sanding until the can ran out. then i did like 6 coats of black engine paint sanding between each coat. it looks great. it does chip pretty easily, but for like $20 bucks its great. i have had a lot of experience with the paint tho, i used to write as well. i wrapped the top tube with black .25" rope to lean against poles without chipping so it still looks pretty good.

good luck