A $300 Sharpe MGF HVLP gravity feed detail gun bought used on eBay for $40. A rebuid kit and oil will cost about another $15.

Click on MGF

http://www.sharpe1.com/sharpe/sharpe...ay+Gun+Manuals

FWIW, I thought I'd share the cost estimates I received from three powder coaters here in California (central, southern, and northern). I sent the following inquiry to each powder coating company:

I have an aluminum bicycle frame and a chrome-moly steel bicycle fork that I would like to have powder coated. What would be the estimated cost for the media blasting and 1 color? What would the cost be if the color was candy or metallic?


Here are the three estimates I received:

Crosslink Powder Coating, Salinas, CA
Standard color $175.00 with fork
Candy metallic $250-300 depending on what color


Andrews Powder Coating, Inc., Chatsworth, CA
The cost to do the bicycle frame will be $175 and the fork will be $45. If the frame is currently powder coated and chemical stripping is required the additional cost will be $95. We will then do a light media blast top clean the frame and to etch it in advance of the powder coating. If you wish to do a metallic finish the cost is an additional $125 for the base coat, this is our minimum set-up charge. We will do all of the masking that is required and we understand how to do bicycles correctly.


Leons Powder Coating, Oakland, CA
$90 for the sandblasting and powder coat, or $60 for just the powder coating.
turn around time is 1 or 2 days


Stan
.

Although the price is appealing, I've heard they don't do very good work. There was a post or two in regards to this not too long ago.

I guess that "You get what you pay for" may apply.;)

Thanks for the heads up Dr. D.

For the benefit of others, here is the relevant thread with pictures :eek:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=374497

.

I was talking to a guy who used to put together motorcycles back in the day, and he was talking about how they used to paint them by hand. One method he said they used was they would fill a large enough tank with water, pour paint in it, dip the motorcycle frame in and it would make all of these swirls on the frame.

It sounds pretty interesting and I was wondering if anyone here has ever tried it. If so, what exactly did you do and how did it turn out?

P.S. Sorry if this is a repost or if it's in the wrong thread. I'm a noob :rolleyes:

I've marbled a lot of paper, as well as a few guitars, by that method. The results have varied, depending on what kind of paint, what kind of prep, the phases of the moon, and what kind of soap scum was already in the bath tub, and luck.... Results are not predictable, but can be spectacular! You'd have to completely paint the frame with a solid color before you get to the marbling stage; marble it, apply decals if desired, and then clearcoat it.

A lot of things can go wrong. Basically, as you said, you fill a tub with water, put a thin swirl of paint on the surface of the water, then dip the frame into it. As the frame goes through the surface of the water, the paint pattern on the water surface will stretch and change; once the frame is all the way through the water, the marbled paint on the water seals itself up again. If you've done it just right, your frame now has a single coat of marbling over it. But when you pull the frame out of the water you make a second pass though the paint, giving you a second coat of marbling, which may or may not improve the first coat.

I did this to the top of a friend's acoustic guitar, which was a big flat surface, ideal for this kind of finish. I also did it to an archtop guitar, but that didn't work as well because the curvature of the top of the guitar caused the paint pattern to stretch in strange ways. I had to dip that one twice, front and back, creating a seam on the side where the two dips met, and that didn't look so hot either. That problem would be exaggerated on a bicycle frame. So... well, I don't think I'm going to try it, but I'd love to see someone else's results!

Fuji Special Road Racer make over. Done!
 

Here is the photo of my (finally) finished Special Road Racer. Thanks to everyone who provided advice of some type.

Before and After Pics Attached

For more pics check out this:
http://flickr.com/photos/asellars/se...7604262721620/

A

I just had an Peugeot I'm restoring powdercoated. I blasted the interior with air compressor to remove sand. Then I packed the bearings. Make sure ALL sand is out. Needless to say I ended up pulling the bottom bracket out again and repacking due to the amount of sand in grease.

By the way- I payed $150 for my PC and I don't think I got what I payed for. I guess I expected higher quality

A question for those of you who have been there. Is it more cost effective to professionally touch up or to strip,repaint and apply decals to a vintage rider? Lp

This may be an ignorant question....but are those shifters on your down tube? If so, I have never seen them before.

yes, they are downtube shift levers.
popular format for many, many years. ;)

I'm looking for a good value frame painter in the mid-atlantic region. I got some money just for marrying the woman I love. Since we (she) decided I have too many bikes to justify a new one we compromised on getting my Paramount repainted. I'm trying to find a good paint job in the 350 to 400 dollar range with decals.
Any recommendations or warnings would be appreciated.

Barrio Special

i airbrushed it

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...2/d2e17f19.jpg

Does anyone know of any good painters in Boise, Idaho?

You might email Waterford. They do complete restorations of those Paramounts and I am sure could give you a price for strictly repainting. They are the ones who built those so the job would be done right.

1073 Raleigh Sports
 

Before and after. Semi-gloss black powder coated frame, Brooks B17 saddle in Honey, matching leather grips, reversed handle bars, rat trap pedals with clips and straps. Still need to add the fenders and chain guard.

Put the frame in the bathtub, then pour in the paint, then pull the frame out?

Wow!

I have to strip the powdercoating off my frame because the powdercoater didn't prep the frame right and after 7 months or so, there is major rust, Grrrrr!

I seem to remember reading that powdercoat has to be removed from the frame with a chemical stripper.

Is that true? If so what stripper should I use?

From the good Dr. Deltron himself (I think from early on in this thread):

I used Jasco to strip the finish off my C'dale--this stuff works like magic. Ihad a completely nude frame and fork within 20 minutes. Be sure to wear rubber gloves and long sleeves--a pin point of Jasco on the skin feels like an intense bee sting. :o


stan
.

Thanks!

In Los Angeles, there's Palms Cycle at Venice and Motor. Definitely a C&V kind of place. Here's a link:

http://palmscycle.blogspot.com/

I once had a Serotta that had been raced in the Tour; the quickie paint job the team had put on it (7-11) wasn't very good, so I wanted to get it clear-coated to preserve it. I got an auto body shop painter guy who said he knew all aobut painting bikes to do it, but it was a mess. I ran over a dog & destroyed that frame anyway, but when I get my old custom Clark-Kent re-painted, probably this winter, I'm going to have a real bike painter to do it. I won't use another jake-leg wanna-be & I won't try to do it myself.

www.c4labspc.com

shameless, I know....

Where are you located? Don't see an address on the C4 website.