KDTX

Ok, before the ridicule, the original chrome stays and the chrome fork were in bad shape. Lots of pitting and the chrome had to be stripped off for a complete redo. That said the a combo of chroming and then professional painting were out of the budget (would have been over $1000). I went with Blue-Berg color from Prismatic Powder. My PC media blasted and PC within my budget.

As far as powdercoating a lugged bike, I think my guy did a great job. The only embossing that got "lost" was the small stuff on the dropouts. The embossing at the headtube and the clovers at the BB did not get filled in and I was able to hit that with the white paint. The Colnago wording at the seattube did get filled in a little. I tried a few times to paint it white but ended up not liking it so it will just stay the way it is. The lugs and outlines are all still well defined.

As far as decals, the bike is an early Master but it has a combination of a few models of decals. There are just so many variations - I just picked what I liked and combined them. Yes I know the GILCO decal usually goes right under the seat but I prefer it in the lower location as the top would have been too cluttered.

The plan is to build this up as a retro-mod. The only thing retro will be the frame, fork and headset. Planning all new components, wheels, etc. It is not a show bike - it will be a rider!

and yes....Campy!

ok...flame away!

CountryBiking

Beautiful bike... no flames from me.

bargainguy

Yep, it looks just fine. Nice job.

malcala622

One of the cleanest PC jobs I've seen. I was expecting was less quality from my experience but its a nicely done job.

Andy_K 

This is the second drool-worthy powder-coated Colnago I've seen this year. The other one was at Velo Cirque last month sporting a retro build.



Personally, I fully approve your choice of modern components. Potenza?

OldsKool19

wow looks great love the finish

Drillium Dude 

Today's PC finishes are really, really nice. This is another one that was done right. PC doesn't look too thick (I guess the proof will be in the pudding if you highlight the "Colnago" lettering in the seatstay caps) and the color is fantastic. Not a fan of the fork decals (too much over-branding to these eyes), but the rest is perfect.

Surely a frame deserving of a resto-mod, and that's the best route anyway since you decided to go chrome-less. I hope you post up some pics of the finished product.

DD

KDTX

Thanks all!

Actually, I was curious of opinions on the fork decals. I understand the overbranding but that is a Colnago thing. I have a Colnago Dream track bike and I think it has the name on it on every tube.

Drillium Dude 

It seems about 4/5 years ago everyone was branding each tube and to me, the aesthetic was terrible. It was really getting out of control. Recently, it seems the industry has decided to go a little more low-key, and I have to admit some of the new carbon frames are quite attractive because of that.

Sure, Colnago did go over the top for quite a number of years. In fact, I'd say it started around the time of the Master: more decals, funky fades, onion-bag graphics. However, they did stay away from the fork and rear triangle for quite awhile, mainly (I believe) because they were chroming those areas.

In any case, just my opinion. I still think the frame looks great!

Btw, where did you find the panel decals? They look very accurate - and believe me, there are some horrendously inaccurate ones out there!

DD

Lascauxcaveman 

I've had one PC job done, with similar results.

I asked the guy doing it about making sure he didn't bury the frame details and he said "Sure, no prob." Definitely the best $135 I've ever spent on a refinishing project. Heck, I've spent more than half that on materials, done the work myself (probably 8-10 hours total) and gotten much less satisfying results. I'd recommend it to anyone who's looking to make their bike look nice; not looking for a 'project.'

Barabaika

Are there alternatives to professional painting?
Can an auto painter do the job?

zammykoo

That's a lot less than what I thought it would cost for a powder coat job. I've had friends who powdercoated smaller motorcycle parts for about the same price.

And to OP, fantastic results!

bikemig 

I had a 1978 Trek TX 900 powdercoated. I'll be doing a build thread later this summer. It was cheap and it's a good choice I think for a bike that is a rider.

Your bike looks great. No flame from me.

bargainguy

Sometimes auto painters will take a small job like a bicycle to fill in between other jobs. Some auto painters have full access to PPG colors, so that's a plus. The usual caveats apply - make sure the painter understands the importance of masking off threads and the like.

top506

Works for me.

Top

jiangshi

My Cinelli SC is in the paint shop right now, even painting over the chrome (rusted) lugs, so no negativity words from me.

I would fill in the seat stay engraving, though

tyler_fred

Nice color. I look forward to the build.

Sir_Name 

Wow, looks good. Interested in more on the build!

qcpmsame 

Take off the asbestos crash suit, nothing to flame there. The 'Nago looks right nice after all you put into it. Please continue the thread as you build it up. Modern Campag sounds great on that frameset.

Bill

feesh

Your bike your rules - but I think it looks great! Really nice colour.
I'm with DD though, imho it would look better without the colnago decals on the fork legs.

Slightspeed

Great job on the Colnago. I just finished a '73 Raleigh Super Course. The frame was an alley find, straight, but needing some brazing, and I added water bottle threaded inserts. I was really leaning towards powder coat, and saw a couple of lugged steel bikes that turned out well. I paid a lot more to have automotive paint, Toyota Spruce Mica, sprayed, decaled and clear coated. It took forever, cost too much, but I love how it turned out . I went with paint to have the same guy do the frame brazing, repairs and finish job all at once. Next time I may go with PC. My chrome was in decent shape, but the fork was black powder coated, so I went with a NOS chrome fork, and had the upper area painted. The bottom picture is "as found".

DMC707

You took a bike that was looking a bit tattered (by your description) and make it look like a show - stopper to me

A fresh Potenza, or Chorus group, - along with some modern wheels (don't go too deep ) and some thick current style handlebars and that bike will be ready to run with the pack !

( the big bars and resulting adapters and chunky stems are not everyones fave I know --- but on a recent build I did, they really seemed to stiffen up the front end and made the bike a lot sportier feeling compared to the quill 26.4 setup it was wearing

Stevensb 

OP the Colnago looks great.

General question about PC: can it be stripped from a frame and the frame then painted?

Thanks.

Brad

High Fist Shin

Remember these? 2004 model. I had one. It was a little over the top.

OP, I think your Colnago looks great. Ride it like you stole it.

-Shin

repechage

"Onion bag graphics" sums up that paint style very well, and here I thought it started with the painter rambling around a red light district picking up discarded fishnet stockings from the sidewalk...