maddmaxx 

It appears that we all have a photo album section on our profile page. I'm not sure but it appears to hold several under 96M pictures. I'm going to document this winter's project there. I have made mine public, you only have to click on my screen name to view it. (I think)

Only one picture present at the moment.

Retro Grouch 

Not showing up, Maxx.

maddmaxx 

Sorry, after you click on my screen name you have to select view public profile. See if that works. It has worked for Solveg but she also has a red star. It would be disappointing if it were limited to that but possibly...........

Retro Grouch 

OK, looks like a hard tail mountain bike frame. I didn't recognize the brand with the gusset between the top/seat tubes.

So what is this bike going to become?

maddmaxx 

That is my old Haro V4 frame (Ebay 3 years ago @49). It's just back from the sand blasting shop down the street where it was taken down to bare metal for $40. It will get a rattlecan paint job of a color yet to be determined. I was thinking about a Rustoleum 2 part simulated rust kit but after seeing the sandblasted frame I'm now leaning toward a Duplicolor textured metal finish in "Graphite". With no markings, it would be a reparable paint job. If I do that, I will do the whole bike in a functional machine shop motif.

In the corner of the workshop is a Marzocchi EXR Fork so this project will probably become my "hardcore hardtail".

The albums in everyone's (I hope) profile page appear to hold up to 60 pictures of <97.7 meg or 600 x 600 pixles. Seems like a usefull feature that not many are using yet. You could post rides there or projects or other stuff and anyone could view it by clicking on your profile.

Retro Grouch 

I could? Guess again kemosabe.

I had to have my daughter come over to show me how to post pictures on BF. She set up my avitar and I managed to successfully post one (1) thumb nail. Now I can't make it work again.

I'm pretty good with things that have chains and sprockets but this electronic stuff might as well be magic. Is there an incantation that I'm misprouncing?

maddmaxx 

Perhaps an adult ed course? It's a lot of fun to learn how to use a small program like Photoshop Elements to improve and modify your pictures. You can put together albums of the grandkids etc. Some of this electronics magic is a lot like working with machinery. You work on one small thing at a time untill the whole thing comes together.

Retro Grouch 

I actually looked into that. The local community college offers the perfect course. Unfortunately, it's only offered at a time that won't work for me. {sigh}

RoMad

maddmaxx,I just viewed your profile and saw the picture. I went to mine and I do not have that option. It might only be available to those of you who have the red star. What else do you get with the red star and how much are they?
A question on your build. Since you have gone to the trouble and expense to have it sand blasted why not pay a little for a paint job? If you found a small local body shop you could probably get it painted the same color as a car or truck while they are doing one. The only problem with that might be that the most popular color car doesn't look that good on bikes.

Retro Grouch 

Maybe he doesn't want to pay somebody else to have the fun of painting his bike.

maddmaxx 

Absolutely will not pay anyone to have my fun. I actually contemplated buying my own blaster to do that part of the job too. If it were summertime, I would have used chemical stripper and about a weeks worth of elbow grease to do the job. If I choose to, I also have the equipment to do a small spray job at my house. The problem is, at this level, if you can't shoot something like Imron and have a baking booth, then you can do just as good a job with a rattle can as with an airbrush. To make it easy, I'm not going for a high gloss smooth paint job. I want to experiment with some of the textured paints. hammertone, textured metalic (looks very much like the bare sandblasted frame in your choice of shade) or something else.

I favor the metalics cause back in my racing days we never had enough money for pretty, so everything was finished in brutal functional "industrial basement". The concept of simulated rust on the frame and fork and high end carbon for the running gear also tickled my fantasy.

One of my customers bikes was finished in bare aluminium with a swirl finish. Time to clean it........get out the scotch brite...

The only remaining step to learn to build my own bikes is frame welding..............

I already have my own custom downtube decals for when I get that urge.

Retro Grouch 

Do you think?

I've done several rattle can bike paint jobs and am interested in upgrading.

I have an air compressor but no spray painting equipment. I don't want to spend a ton of money but, I don't have a problem with spending a little money to develop new skill and knowledge. Do you really think that a spray gun won't give me better results than spray cans?

BillK

Or, find someone to powdercoat your frame. I found a local place who did it for $25.

Retro Grouch 

What part of post #10 do you find difficult to understand?

BillK

I apologize for not having read maddmaxx's posting (#11) closely enough. But now I know why you chose your screen name.

gcottay

You could do it if you wanted. Really. No doubt.

About the only thing required for this consumer-oriented stuff is a combination of confidence, patience, and RTFM (Reading The Friendly Manual or other helps.)

On the other hand, having a daughter do it leaves more time for other things.

Retro Grouch 

Yeah, every time that I act nice for a little too long the moderators threaten to make me change it. Somehow "Retro Nice Guy" just doesn't get it.

Retro Grouch 

You're leaving out the motivational element. Mine comes and goes.

maddmaxx 

There is no doubt that you could learn to shoot a georgeous finish, hi gloss, metalics, transparents etc. The problem is that very few home painters can produce a more durable finish. Automobiles and a lot of bicycles are painted with toxic materials (imron for example is so toxic that the painters must have breating masks and hoses to external sources of air) and then the paint is cured in ovens and under lights. All of this comes after chemical cleanings and etchings of the metal to prep it for paint.

Its hard to get paint to stick to aluminium (your usually painting steel so san blasting, etching primers and something as simple as rustoleum works) so I'm going to try a surface that can be touched up later in the high wear spots as well as an agressive etching primer.

There are some good techniques to make rattle can spray jobs better. Soak the can in warm water untill its nicely warm. This will raise the pressure and thin the paint. Warm the surface to be painted and put on very thin coats (this is the part that requires more patience than most have) Don't shoot a coat of paint that's wet enough to dry very glossy untill the very last coat.

On a bike frame, spend all the early painting time on the joints of the tubing. When the tube junctions have an almost finished paint job, then start on the main tubes, just lightly overlaping the joints with the final finishes to make everything glossy. Understand that most paints have to be recoated relatively soon or that you must wait some number of days for the paint to dry completely.....

stapfam

Thanks to the EEC (European Economic Community) that lays down all sorts of rules to govern our lives and what we can do with it- Most car finishes over here are non- toxic and water based paints. No twin pack epoxy coats- or cellulose based paints over here now. One small way in which they are making our living safer- but it has probably bought other problem like Colour fade and paint durability.

And as to the material priming before painting- Literally every material will use a different primer- so make certain you get the right one.

maddmaxx 

I've been looking at paints and tests and results and......................(its a lot like Tom looking at bikes.) I had a sudden thought that one of the features of a bicycle paint would be the ease of washing, wiping or brushing off mud. By by textured metalic paints. They have the surface of a fine diamond file and I suspect that dirt would stick like a magnet.

But wait......what's that in that can over there. Rustoleum Hammered Texture spray (the outdoor kind, beware of the indoor stuff). The assistant clerk in the hardware store take me out back to show me the ramps he takes his Quad on and off of his truck with. They are painted with the stuff and it seems to be holding up well.

Voila.........Rustoleum automotive primer followed by 2 coats of Rustoleum Hammertone Grey. Remember those old toolboxes your dad had. That's it. Hanging on the drying rack now and I won't be able to post pics for a day or so.

Sorry Louis.....Devo was an excellent project name but........... "Its Hammer Time" ....

maddmaxx 

Pics up. This is what you can do with the album function.

DnvrFox

Here is a link, if you can't find it:

https://www.bikeforums.net/album.php?albumid=61

maddmaxx 

Thanks Dnvr..........I was begining to suspect that a link like that would be a good addition to a project thread.

Has anyone been able to confirm that this is a feature only available to Red Star's and probably Titanium Level members? It seems that it would be such a good feature to document rides, projects, your own bikes or anything else to share.

DnvrFox

I added a picture to my album - but I have a red star. I will sign in as my wife and see if she has an album - she has no red star.

Neither do other signed-in participants with no red star.