elguicho 

I'm restoring a 1973 Paramount with chrome lugs and having some problems getting it painted. I decided I didn't want to paint the bike myself and took it to a body shop to get painted, I thought it would come out better. After a couple of days the body shop called me and said they didn't feel comfortable painting the bike because of the chrome that bled from the lugs to the tubes. They say their paint would not stick to the chrome. I know there's a special way of prepping chrome but this bike was already painted before so what's the deal. Did they use some special paint at the schwinn factory back in the day? I don't know if the body shop guys just changed their mind about working on the bike or were giving me BS. Has this been an issue for someone else?

kpug505

All they need to do is mask it off, spray it with self etching primer (which chemically etches the chrome) and continue on with the process from there (prime, prep, seal, basecoat and then clear)...Any shop worth their salt has the stuff on the shelf and uses it often. Find a better shop or send it to someone who specializes in bike redo's.

cudak888 

There's a liquid masking product for this purpose, correct?

-Kurt

elguicho 

I masked the lugs and drop outs with masking tape, is there a better way?

Grand Bois

https://www.ehow.com/how_4422511_pain...e-surface.html

cudak888 

Yes. Waterford used this method on the 70th Anniversary Paramount (see "paint and decal" > 3rd photo):

https://www.schwinnbikes.com/paramoun...ery/index.html

Masking tape will almost always come out rough, and the etching product might even bleed underneath.

Unfortunately, I'm not exactly sure what the liquid product is called (haven't asked around about liquid masking fluid; haven't had need for it yet). Check around on some paint detail sites.

-Kurt

Grand Bois

Peruse tcpglobal.com for painting supplies.

mudboy

Liquid Mask

unterhausen

I think that bike painters are pretty evenly split between masking tape and liquid mask.

repechage

This guy uses tape, and LOTS of Xacto blades

https://www.flickr.com/photos/27880623@N05/

https://www.keithandersoncycles.com/paint.html

lots of how its done on the flickr pages.

Your problem is why auto body shops usually do not do bikes well, they are both metal but very different.

BobHufford

You might see if there is a shop that does motorcycles as a specialty. More experience spraying tubes ...

Bob

Grand Bois

Read the original post.

The painters were concerned that the paint would not adhere properly to the chrome. There was never any mention of a problem with masking the lugs.

repechage

The two are tied together, paint won't adhere to chrome as well and so if the masking is not done well and or removed at the wrong time it will lift. There are etching primers that will even bite a bit into chrome but they will also bite into the areas you wish to keep clean if the masking is not done well.
While the body shop stated the problem was the chrome, it could ALSO be the masking.

This does bring me to a question that only an old Schwinn employee could answer, Paramounts were pretty well masked off AND they used electrostatic paint application, the paint gun and paint were charged one way and the frame the other so the paint would be attracted like a magnet to the frame, how was that done with the paramounts?

elguicho 

I think I'm going to stick with masking tape and the Xacto knife for now. I will go on monday to a couple of shops to get some quotes, a body shop and a bike store we'll see what they say.

Has anybody else re-painted a paramount around here? Did they have any issues?