My 84 Trek 500 came to me with an ugly color powder coat about ten years ago. Since then I have rattle can painted it school bus yellow and then red with beige panels. (Sorry, no pics of the red) One of the things I like about rattle canning is that I can change the color whenever I get the urge. That urge has struck again.

Every now and then, I come across a pic of a steel bike that has clear coat over the bare tubes. I love that look. Has anyone ever done that successfully with rattle can clear coat?

I have two True Temper tubed Trek touring frames that I keep raw and occasionally rub down with boiled linseed oil. They are developing a light oxidized patina that looks pretty nice. It's not for everyone, though. I didn't clear coat them as I heard that it is tricky to prevent cracks and as they are on loaded touring duty I didn't want to mess with chips.

Wow! Thanks for the tip. I think I have some boiled linseed oil at the house. Do you have any pics?

This is the most frame-centric picture I have right now of the 520, although it isn't too great. Sorry for the non-drive-side orientation!

That looks great. Worst case scenario if I decide I don't like it, I can always repaint it.

Can you speak more about this? I'm thinking of doing the same with a trek tru temper ox frame I have and turning it into a drop bar tourer. How often do you wide down with oil? Does the oil protect it from the rain and moisture? I see you're using yours as a tourer so I would imagine so.

Thanks!

Clearcoat over bare metal, whether rattlecan, wet clear using a spray gun, or clear powdercoat will inevitably result in spider thread corrosion under the clear eventually. Some folks think it's attractive.

Using boiled linseed oil like tired hands has done is an option, but requires repeated applications at regular intervals depending on the atmospheric environment where you live.

Another more permanent option used for over 100 years to prevent corrosion is having the frame and fork nickel plated by someone who knows what they're doing and will bake the frame after plating to prevent hydrogen embrittlement.

This example of a nickel plated frame is from the 1890s (link to image is firstflightbikes.com).

Whoa, [MENTION=38510]Scooper[/MENTION], talk about track slack.

I should probably wipe it down a little more regularly, but I do it now every month or so. My inspiration for raw steel Treks is the cultural sensation Ultraromance, which is to say that I'm not concerned about maintaining a conventional aesthetic i.e. clean and finished. The linseed oil keeps the rust from getting dangerous, and it does well in the rain. Chain slaps are super loud, though, so I'm going to have to wrap up the chainstay.

It's in a museum, so I don't think it has been ridden frequently.

I would not leave a steel frame bare. There are clear powder coats.

My GT 6061 I polished and left bare. A quick wipe now and then with carnauba wax keeps it protected and attractive. But that 6061 aluminum is not prone to corrosion, a little inattention and your ferrous frame will be a disaster.

Another thing to consider is the that original PC underneath all those rattle-coats is going to be difficult to remove. If you have your own media blasting setup, it's just a matter of time, if you're paying a professional shop to do it, it could easily come to $100 or more. Unlike conventional paint, PC is really hard to get off.

Since Ultraromance came up...

Rivendell used to do the clear finishes... but they stopped without a word.

I really dig the clear bare frame look, but I think it's not turned out to be the most durable of finishes.

What I've read seems to corroborate with what Scooper has said, that the flex of the frame will cause cracks in a clear coat which will lead to rusty spots. Brompton offers a clear powdercoat of their frames which looks rather handsome. I wonder if that's more durable than on a full-size frame as the folding frame might not flex as much?
I intend on experimenting with intentionally rusting and preserving with shellac on my next Trek project, a 510 with Reynolds 501. (the paint's already too trashed to recover). Much in the same way user MeatloafOvadose has done to their GT over on the Dropbar MTB thread. This is nothing I'd try to mess with on a frame with thinner tubing, that's for sure. I figure that as long as I make sure to apply frame saver to the inside of the tubes, any rust that forms on the outside can be managed.

Oh, I already struggled with removing the powdercoat a few years back before I knew how difficult it would be. I hope I never have to do that again.

I've had powdercoat come off almost as easily as paint by simply using a chemical stripper. Probably depends on the quality of the PC and the stripper.

There were places that came off real easy with stripper and others that required a lot of scrubbing and hitting with a wire wheel.