i'm pretty sure there will be more than a few different answers to this question, but i'll ask anyway.... i'm looking to find a really good brand of gloss black spray paint that is tolerant to impatience on the part of the guy applying it, goes on OK if it's a little below the recommended outside temps, covers well, and looks phat and glossy.

Not to sound unkind - good, fast, cheap - pick two.

Your nearest powder coater.

looking at paint on amazon... looks like the prices have shot way up. must be the high price of petroleum ...

The best paint for looks and durability is polyurethane enamel. That is what us pros use to paint bicycle frames. It is an epoxy type of paint where the catalyst is mixed into the paint to make it harden. Of course you need professional equipment to do it right but you can come close with a rattle can product called Spray.Max. It is an aerosol system where your local auto paint supplier can fill Spray.Max rattle cans with whatever paint you want including black gloss. When you are ready to paint, there is a button on the bottom of the can you hit to mix the catalyst with the paint and now you are ready to spray. They advertise that there nozzles are superior to ordinary spray cans.

Of course if you want to do it right, you will spray a primer 1st and wet sand that smooth before applying the black. And if it goes on rough then you can wet sand the black and spray on a clear. I've never used it because I've got pro equipment but there was a subject thread about DIY paint jobs on Paceline and some of those members have used Spray.Max with a good result.

I had the fork on the bike of my logo photo painted with enamel hobby paint. I do not know the brand. I was having a new fork built in a rush so I could ride it in three weeks. Well tubing had to be sent so brazing was pushed back to to the last possible moment. No chance for a pro paint job. I went to the big chain hobby shop and asked about rattlecan paints. (Didn't say "rattlecan". ). They pointed out two lines of paint that would work well, with the caution that neither wold have the hardness of a good pro paint job. The afternoon before I picked up the fork, the builder applied a beautiful paint job with the primer and enamel of one of those recommenced paints. That was August 2014. Last winter I replaced it with a pro job. Real step up but that $15 paint job served very well.

You can also brush paint 2-part epoxies. While setting up, they flow and the brush strokes disappear. I did this with two bikes long ago. First was with the same red I painted my boat with. Very durable but the color faded as did a lot of the red paints of the day. Second bike was gloss black and looked quite sharp up until it was stolen (The red might have kept the bike in my hands longer. )

thanks, everyone. not looking to get spendy for paint with this project. it's going to be a rat rod build with a stripped down 1948 CWC western flyer. picked up a dual springer fork with a disk brake bracket, a donated from my mad scientist gran son mag front wheel, a rebuild 62mm fat bike rear rim on a campy hub with a single speed freewheel with some fat franks for sneakers. i have an adapter for the big ass bottom bracket so i can use a modern alloy crankset. a 1941 wards hawthorne art deco stem with a pre war torrington u bar (both well patina'd) and a pre softened B67 will give me a place to sit.

IME, not happening.

first no matter what paint any imperfection under is going to show and with gloss black really show.

impatience and painting do not go together, i have proved that many times

Rattle can is not going to be anywhere as durable as auto paint or powder coat so even a super nice finish is not going to look super nice long

doing it right takes more time an bucks than you think

just get it powdercoated

otherwise:

buy a good mask $40 to 60 if you don't have one
get a box of disposable gloves, rags, tack cloth

strip the frame to bare metal (chemical strip recommended) don't touch bare handed after this
degrease frame
acid etch prime coat (assuming steel)
coat of sandable primer
Sand
inspect and possibly repeat primer and sand
tack cloth
3-4 coats of you gloss color, thin, following closely temp and respray times

I agree with Squirtdad above. I did a frame with Rustoleum, but after the media blasting, paint, primer, tack cloth, sandpaper, drop cloth, mask, etc., I am approaching (if not exceeding) the price of a decent powder coat. After all that, the results are so-so enough that I am strongly considering getting a powder coat anyway if I keep the frame.

You could try this,

https://spraybike.us/

Here is the ad for the paint:

PRAY.BIKE - DIY SPRAY PAINT FOR BIKES

No drips, No dribbles, No fuss!

The acrylic color coating we've developed is unlike traditional metal or car paint and is suitable for steel, aluminium and carbon parts.

Spray.Bike paint is a dry matte powder coating that doesn't drip, dribble or misbehave in any way and gives a deep thick layer with just a single coat.

Spray.Bike's super easy to use, and perfect for repairing, restoring and refreshing a bike.

I've used their products... that might actually be a good idea for a rat rod look.

In my opinion, there is not quick, easy cheap way to paint a bike. If you want easy, relatively cheap, good looking and durable, accept the suggestion already mentioned and have the bike powder coated by a professional shop.

Painting a bike requires knowledge, skill, preparation, patience, work and more patience. There is no alternative if one wishes to come up with a nice looking paint job. As mentioned, it will lack durability. It is as simple as that and, believe me, I have painted quite a few bikes with rattle can (lacquer, water slide decals and clear over every thing, then rubbed out)...



or a paint brush (vinyl stickers no clear coat)...

I used the high heat krylon, not sure it comes in gloss though. The paint dries super quick and re-coat can be applied anytime. The paint is also pretty forgiving.

Black is the high heat. Red is farm equipment paint which takes 12 hours to re-coat. Recommend clear to protect color

i admit to being impressed with what you did with a brush job on that torpado. a few years ago i repainted our wrought iron fencing with rusto gloss black and it looked great. i'll consider everone's input and give it some thought.. part of me wants a total rat rod look and wouldn't mind leaving it rusty and unpainted with a yearly touch up with krud buster, and part of me wouldn't mind a paint job, but this is not the kind of bike that needs the expense of a professional paint shop. the image of this bike has me excited to go the rust is a must look.. and i realize that this forum isn't probably the best place for rat rod appreciation. (and yes, i'm also a member of the rat rod forum...) i think i'll just build it up when all the parts trickle in and decide what to do then.

I like it!!

i can only imagine the looks from the carbon bike crowd when i roll in amongst the herd of flat black sloping top tube clones while wearing cutoffs and an offensive tee shirt with a beer can duck taped to the rusty handlebars, as i mingle with the cycling shorts and designer water bottle drinking newport biking folks.

As long as you have appropriate expectations, you can get this done with rattle can. It's a job that does reward additional work. The more sanding and preparation you do, the better it will look. But if you just want to slap some paint on and ride the thing, you can do that too.

I have a Raleigh Competition that I had bottle cage bosses and mid fork braze-ons added to. I wanted to keep as much of the original black paint as I could, so I sprayed the modified bits with Rust-Oleum Gloss Black Enamel (after proper priming).

Here it is before my paint attempt:



Here it is about a year and a half later:



Most of the time when I see a spot on the bike that looks bad it turns out to be either the original paint or an aging original decal.

That is a nice looking frame (and stem) cocoabeachcrab . I used Rustoleum Gloss Black on this Schwinn Heavy Duti back in the 80"s and it is holding up well. If I were to do it now, I would go with Doug Fattic 's advice and get the 2 component paint. It is much tougher than a single component enamle spray paint. And the spray nozzles that they put on those more expensive spray systems are better than the "made for a low price" rattle can spray nozzles. Eastwood has a 2K "Rat Rod Satin Black". Eastwook 2K Black .

Of course, you know what they say about getting a good paint job. "It ain't the paint, it's the prep".

i hear ya! and thanks for the link.

Not to beat the powercoat horse anymore, but I did find out that it was significantly more expensive to have a bike shop powder coat a frame I had as compared to a shop that does a lot of auto parts and whatnot. They obviously aren't bike experts to you might have to do more prep so they don't powdercoat something they shouldn't, but the price was right and the powercoat came out well.

the rat rod idea works....maybe do the like auto guys do with clear over patina. see if you can get a can of catalyzed clear )rattle can with a bulb on the bottom you push to start he catalyzation process) from an auto paint shop an use that for a top/preservative coat. Just saw a lowered 56 or so GMC pick up with that type of finish (and flowers and other designs painted on the bed....didn't get a pic

that frame is so heavy that it might be better for the rust to eat away some of the metal, just to lose some weight! i put some krud kutter on the rusty bits, and that will slow things down some... if i go the rusty route, it might be fine to just slather on some KK every few months and let 'er age!

If this hasn't been mentioned, Old Shovel (YouTube) has painted several bikes with a brand he recommends (can't remember it) and they look pretty good. I've had reasonably good luch with the large hobby shop product (Krylon, AIR).

Good tip