Is doing a primer/enamel/clearcoat job with a rattle can in my garage sacrilegious?

It's not sacrilege, but it is hard to do/get right.

I see powdercoat and spray as being right for different frames and purposed. My Peter Mooney with its beautiful workmanship will always get spray as will the painted portions of my two ti customs. My Raleigh Competition has workmanship that is not a good testament to Raleigh and is powdercoated. Likewise my old Trek workhorse. Both of these bikes are all weather bikes and powdercoat is entirely appropriate. (The two powdercoats are quite different. The Trek is thick and tough. The Competition is thinner, looks better, feels harder and does chip.)

Ben

I repainted my bike with rattle cans in 1957.

It will probably not be as tough. I had a new steel fork painted by the builder with a rattle can. He did a beautiful job, but routine bumps against the paint knock it off. (He had 2 weeks to build the fork but did not have the tubing on hand. Finished the fork about a day and a half before I had to take delivery. That red fork in my photo is it in action 2 weeks later. Now, 3 years later, there is a lot of brushed touchups on it.

Ben