Made some progress!!!!

It's looking great Kerk. The flames are awesome. Very clean lines going there.

Niiiiiice!!!!!
:beer:

Lookin' good. I like the seat tube touch...

Thanks. You can't see it, but on the front is a matching K. I now have the crank, seat, handlebars, shifters and wheels on. I probably won't have another picture until the weekend.

Finished!!!!

Awesome job. Looks great.

Nice. Gonna reveal the blow by blow details for us. I gotta single speed buildup that is just screaming for a new look this winter.

Here is the paint I used...

Notice the orange cap didn't make it to the end. lol. Since I just got done, I can't swear to the hardness or durability of the finish. So far, so good though. Notice no yellow? The yellow flames were cut on yellow vinyl and then I sprayed the orange fade on before sticking it on the frame.

Here's what I did.
Took everything I could off of the frame.
Sanded the old blue frame with 400 sandpaper.
Sprayed a coat of primer.
Wet sanded with 800 sandpaper
Coat of primer.
Wet sanded with 800.
Coat of primer.
Wet sanded with 800.
Red coat of paint.
Wet sand with 1500 (very light touch) until smooth to your hand.
Red coat.
Wet sand with 1500.
Orange coat on fork and part of frame.
Wet sand with 1500.
Orange coat.
Wet sand with 1500.
Spray vinyl.
Apply vinyl to frame.
Apply clear coat.
Wet sand with 1500.
Apply clear coat.
Polish with polishing compound.
Go to CVS and get matching fingernail polish for quick fixes to your first scratch.
Drying tip - After each coat, leave the frame in a locked car in the sun. It gets very hot in there!
The one thing I didn't like was that I could see all the waste while spraying. It would have been much more efficient to have an airbrush where I could control the spray pattern down to an inch circle pattern or so. Oh well, maybe next time.

Looks really good. I started stripping a frame at the weekend - I forgot the before picture as well...

First rate job there, Kerk. You taking any custom work on? Kudos...

Thanks, Buzz. What model is your late '70s 12 speed?

Here's what I'm doing to paint my fixie...I called a local body shop...told him I had a frame that I wanted painted...gave him a couple different colors I'd be OK with, and told him to call me when he was spraying that color...just a thought...

Big thumbs up!! Thanks for sharing your super top secret process with us :) I haven't painted a frame yet, but I have painted a few computer cases. It looks like you have a better system than I do, I have trouble getting my paint to look very smooth. I'm gonna borrow a few ideas from your process :)

I'm looking forward to getting another project bike to work on, and paint.

Beautiful job!!!

Now go out there and ride it!

Bike looks good. Although no one mentioned it before, the key to a GREAT paint job is the primer...if it sticks and bites, the rest of the paint job will last. I owned a custom paint shop for 7 years. I painted everything from motorcycles to street rods to bicycles, mtn and road. I learned from trial and error, mostly...luckily, there weren't too many errors in the way of durability. I mostly used DuPont automotive products.

Honestly, I wouldn't recommend using an airbrush to spray a frame. They are good for details and graphics, but overall spraying is very difficult if you want a premium finish. The wasted paint you see in the air is really just part of the game. Ask anyone in the body shop or paint shop and they will tell you the same, ESP. when painting round tubing.

Your paint job should hold up just fine. Enamel is very strong, when applied in the correct amount. Too thin and it will flake, too thick and it will chip&peel. Acyrlic Enamel is just another formulation of enamel, so they are similar, but compatability usually depends on the brand. By the way, don't mix brands.

First post: 09-08-03, 07:22 AM. I think they did. But good bike to bring up, love that job.

Flamer! ;)

what is wet sanding? also, do u need a different type of sanding paper for this?

What agreat idea! But for how long, and how do you position a freshly painted frame in a car without it touching anything?

Acrylic house paint is water-based, but the paint used in the automotive industry is acrylic lacquer. It differs from enamel in that it uses a vehicle for the pigment that evaporates much more quickly. Enamels generally use oil, lacquers use toluene or a similar aromatic hydrocarbon. It makes lacquer dry a lot faster than enamel, but that also makes it less forgiving of application goof-ups.

All you have to do is wait for the paint to dry a little then you can put it in the car. I threaded a string from back window to back window and hung the frame in there for a full day. You can tie wood blocks to the string on the outside of the window to keep the string from being pulled inside.

My son rode this bike this summer and the paint is holding up great. Also, my nephew took this bike on a 35 mile ride this summer and a month later ended up getting a bike of his own! A new rider was born!

Your paint job has truly inspired me! I have a old Specialized Rockhopper frame I salvaged from the trash pile. I'm gonna strip and paint it thanks to you and your posts. You did a fantastic job!
Thanks.
Dang

Yer back! and the thread, glad to hear the paints holding.

Quick ? Kerk, please recommend the ultimate clearcoat in rattle can IYO please.

Thanks>jef.

Wow, Thanks! That made my day.

Jeff - I don't know, I haven't found it yet. The Krylon I used was ok, but my next one I am going to try a different brand. I'll probably try something from the autoparts store.