I am trying to decide what color to paint my 1990 specialized Hard Rock...I am probably going to have it powder coated, if I can afford it. I was thinking either white with black decals, or really dark blue--almost black with white decals. The original paint was an ugly golden greenish paint with purple decals...

Any opinions?

Check out Joe Bell Bicycle Refinishing in Spring Valley, CA. I've got three frames out there at the moment. His basic single color 'Deluxe Finish' is $300 and it goes up from there, depending on what you want but be prepared to wait a while as his turnover time is running around four months.

http://www.campyonly.com/joebell.html

Boy, San Diego is like a hotbed of these guys. Check out Wanta Frames.

http://www.wantaframes.com/

Click on the "Painting" link. Don't know about the prices but that's some nice work. His CL ad indicates that he does new paint finishes, complete restorations, even steel frame repairs.

More info: his CL ad says prices start at $175.

I'm surprised he's not been mentioned yet so I will. Keith Anderson is doing incredible work and really likes vintage stuff. His turnaround time and prices are very good as well. He's done a few frames for me and I would recommend him for anything from a re-paint to serious restoration.

Check out his website:

http://www.keithandersoncycles.com/K...on_Cycles.html

Make sure you click on his flickr link as there's many cool vintage bikes in there (including my Pierce)

Miele Before:
http://home.cogeco.ca/~pl2/Miele_before.jpg

Miele After:
http://home.cogeco.ca/~pl2/Miele_after.jpg

Powdercoated @ SES Powdercoating, just outside of Windsor, Ontario Canada
http://www.sespowdercoating.com/

Cost - $45 That was for the frame only and I already had the old paint stripped via sandblasting. It was painted Crysler Safety Yellow and Clear coated. Durable and looks good

Omaha Nebraska
 

Picked up the frame from paint today. Josh and Jeremy at Trail Performance Coatings did a nice job of powdercoating the frame, forks, cogs and guards. They stripped and coated all of the parts in the pic for a very reasonable $80.

Here is their addy and phone #

Trail Performance Coatings
1115 Applewood Dr
Papillion, NE 68046
(402) 932-7821

They charged me $50 for stripping and coating the frame and forks (stripped with aluminum oxide grit blasting, chemical stripping of frame and forks is available for an extra $25). The cost for coating the cogs and guards was $5 each and I requested metal flake in the base color adding $10 for the grand total of $80. All in all they did a good job at a good price

When you guys take your bikes into the powdercoater or painter, are you stripping it down completely... i.e. bottom bracket and head-set?

I just finished spray painting my gf's old cruiser and despite how good it came out for being spray cans, im thinking about having it powder coated.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y23...g/IMG_7734.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y23...g/IMG_7752.jpg

See pics above. Powdercoats are heat cured at 400 degrees! Strip it completely.

"Classical and Vintage Bike Restoration (We Pick-Up and Deliver)"

Another SoCal painter ... Mike Salazar (Mike's Custom Bikes and Trailers) in the 562 area code.

Restorations and custom paint jobs.

http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/bik/1025734275.html
http://www.dubtempo.com/mikescbt/

I'm having my Schwinn World powder coated this weekend by a mass powder coat co's. salesman, he is doing the job for $30.00 for a "stock" color, Azure Blue. I'll post when I get it back for critique.

Powdercoat recommendation for NorVA, DC, MD
 

I just had my Bridgestone RB-1 repainted by an outfit in Northern VA. I had been waiting to find someone that would be willing to do it for a reasonable price which wasn't more than the frame was actually worth. Part of this equation included not having to pay to ship the frame. I was initially looking for paint, but after seeing their powdercoat work and speaking with the owners, we decided to go with a powder basecoat with a urethane clear. These guys take the PC very seriously, and I was impressed with the finish. The powder is thin and does not obscure the lugs. The decals were applied accurately, and they even took time to bed them so that you can't feel the decals over the finish. Most paint places charge extra for this. They baked the finished product, so I don't have to wait to build the bike up. I'm happy with their work, and the owner's flexibility in meeting with me in the early morning hours to exchange the bike. I pass along my recommendation if this company for anyone looking for a PC job that excudes quality without breaking the bank. Their contact info is below.



Len McCreary, Jr.
Figure Finishing, of Figure Engineering, LLC
9208 Venture Ct, Unit C-9
Manassas Park, VA 20111
www.FigureEngineering.com
Mobile: 804-852-5520

That's a FANTASTIC powercoat job, but...
oh no... you powdercoated the shifter bosses. They may be too thick for shifters now. I had to file the PC off of mine there. (It was a candy, though.)

Yes, it was tough getting the shift bosses on, but more because the threads were coated.

Ouch, Fast505, ouch.

Here's the finished product. Bike weighs in at a shade over 20 pounds with significantly different build than stock (sorry purists). Not too shabby. A friend of mine has the same vintage B-stone repainted by Tom Kellogg. His paintjob looks better as you might imagine, but not significantly better in my opinion (not $300 better anyway).

No offense, but I like Miele before!!!

Re: Powdercoat recommendation for NorVA, DC, MD
 

I'd like to second Fast505's recommendation. Len did a fantastic job on my '61 Schwinn Paramount, and unlike some competitors in the general areas Len was happy to do the extra work to preserve the chrome lugs. See Pics. He is a good man to boot. I highly recommend him to anyone in the Washington DC, Northern VA. MD area.

Re the pics. You should have seen it before. Maybe two or three bad rattle can jobs. I think the finished product looks great. Don't worry about the missing headbadge -- it hasn't been reattached yet. Len is looking into options for restoring it.

Len McCreary, Jr.
Figure Finishing, of Figure Engineering, LLC
9208 Venture Ct, Unit C-9
Manassas Park, VA 20111
www.FigureEngineering.com
Mobile: 804-852-5520

What?
Oh yeah...fahrenheit...

I'd say deciding on spray vs powdercoat depends on how she'll ride and... how serious is the relationship? lol.

Every bike i've built up, refinished, resprayed, refurbished for a girl (including even my mom) has been lovlingly and tenderly...mothballed.

Anyone good and affordable in chicago? I'm thinking of having a bunch of frames done, and I'd like to come in at 90 or under on each.

Thanks!

Ask if the shop has leftover paint that you could use. You can get a discount that way.

Hand painting a bicycle - yourself!
 

I collect old lightweight road bicycles and I do not like to spend a lot of money to Street Restore or Convert them. With that in mind, I cannot even consider the notion of hiring someone to paint a bicycle for me. So I do it myself and find that about six hours work and $30.00 for supplies results in a pretty decent paint job. If you decide to go with art, expect to pay more.

The early eighties Cambio Rino 2000 was the first bicycle I painted this way and the results speak for themselves.

My sixties something PX10 was painted in my kitchen with a couple of cans of paint which I applied with a paint brush or two. See for yourself how it looks. For what it is worth, I detail step by step how to achieve similar results in MT "TEN SPEEDS". Again, for what it is worth, the next paint article to be published is how to make and install your own art work.

Anyway, for those who want to have a nice looking old bicycle and don't want to dip into retirement income to have the bike painted by a professional, consider trying hand painting yourself. The results will not be show worthy but the bicycle will end up looking just great.

Finally, I will be putting the primer on my 1975 CCM "Tour du Canada" this morning. I hope to have the base coat and off white panels painted before the weekend is out. As soon as the bicycle is Street Restored, I will add more pictures to the "Tour du Canada" feature bicycle article on MY "TEN SPEEDS".

randyjawa, where can we find your painting articles? I'm interested in trying.

Did you do those paint jobs? The PX10 is gorgeous and looks original. I'm afraid I can't see the Cambio well, since, as the picture is named, it's low res.

Any suggestions for painters in the Connecticut area ? I have a steel bike in need of a re-paint with minor rust removal, and some downtube cable stops added.

TIA

Yes! Peter Weigle in Lyme. He did a wonderful job on my frame. Mention my name, though it was a very long time ago, and he probably won't remember.