the big advantage of rattlecan enamel versus automotive paint is safety. Unless someone is willing to invest in equipment, rattlecan is much safer. I have wondered if my asthma is related to my use of isocyanates under less than perfect conditions. I was probably one of the first people to use urethane clear in the bike industry, the autoparts guy recommended it. Said the local NASCAR team used it over lacquer. That was back when catalyzed acrylic enamel was meant to be a topcoat. You can still get paints like that for a single topcoat application, I have considered it.

Got to thinking about the quality of the air around me when I rattlecanned the frame. Was choking on the fumes and was outside with a slight breeze, too. Seriously considering brush on paint next time around. Likely better for my lungs.

Yeah, but the buzz is not as good, doesn't last as long. I didn't think the stuff was bad when I was spraying it at all, it was the gassing out period where the fumes really got to me, when I left the drying frame in an enclosed area. I just about passed out from those.

a mask good enough for rattlecan paint jobs is not that expensive. 3m sells a really nice mask with many options for filtering. They will work for catalyzed urethane for a while. The fact that they fail silently after some period of use is problematic.

You want a mask that will take filters for VOC, they have activated charcoal

may be too late, I am no expert (I have painted 2 frames one rattle can and one automotive paint) Auto paint is hugely more durable

I did a lot of research and it suggested that an acid etch primer first coat (rattle can from autopaint) will help end result longevity, followed by sandable primer, then color, then clear

I don't use spray paint of any kind without out a basic 40/50 dollar mask with replaceable filters

Thanks for the responses and after rattle can painting a set of car wheels and pricing various rattle can solutions I'm leaning toward Spray Max 2k rattle cans of epoxy primer, color and clear from 66autocolor.com. I might include a sandable primer too, not sure.

Those who prefer enamel from rattle cans, where do you find interesting colors? Unfortunately I'm only finding basic colors in enamel.

Thanks again.

Tractor Supply seems to have the widest variety of colors, but none of them exactly excited me either.

Finished the paint job this weekend. 3 coats of primer, 4 coats of color, 3 coats of clear. Super easy to chip the frame. I bumped the drop out against a board and off came some paint. Put the rear wheel in and removed the paint from the slot. Will go with a brush next time just to see the difference. Will use the boat poly urethane paint, too.

Colors are not too bad, and I saw quarts of the stuff on Ebay for 35 bucks:


http://www.jamestowndistributors.com.../large/64s.jpg

Which type of spray can primer and paint did you use?

Thanks

Valspar Premiun for both the primer and top coat. About $5 a can at Do It Center. I believe it is made by Rustoleum.

$5 dollars a can? Why that's outrageous! Isn't there anything cheaper? :D

I have dozens of friends who have had really good results with https://us.spray.bike/ . My friends at Squid have done some amazing spray jobs with it.

I sprayed my first frame with Spray Bike. I think that for the most part it came out really good. I had a few interesting things happen that I can't exactly explain with one of my colors and the clear coat. The blue is considered a flouro and because of that it has more power in the paint. It is/was certainly more finicky. The orange came out beautiful. I don't think I'd use a flouro color again but I'm getting ready to paint my second frame and have already got my paint.

The clear seemed to take forever to cure, like weeks. Even many days afterward, the frame was sticky to the touch in places. I live in a very dry area and humidity is almost non-existent, but almost think it was more humid than I thought. Not sure. Maybe I'm an idiot too. Could be.

Overall I'm happy with the results as a first time user. Second frame will be done once it cools down here.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...26a56b8196.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6c526f5e09.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...63c60a1a78.jpg

Because I don't want to spend the extra money on a proper respirator for spraying automotive paint I checked into the spray.bike guys. Unfortunately they're currently out of primer. I sent them an email asking when it will be available again and if they had any suggestions for other primers that will play well with their paint. Hopefully I get an answer soon, I need to get this frame painted already.

fwiw I am of the firm opinion that you should use a respirator for any type of spray paint

I agree and I do. I just don't want to spend the kind of money for a positive pressure respirator.

I wouldn't feel comfortable using isocyanate-based paints without a supplied air mask. When I was looking into DIY solutions, I found Breathe-cool. They sell a system for about $400

got it ......all of this is why if I need to redo a frame it will be powder coated or painted by someone else

Please let us know what they say regarding other primers. I'd like to know as well.

Here's the Spray.Bike response regarding primers:

We are probably at least two weeks out on having the primer back in stock.

We have painted quite a bit with rustoleum primer from the hardware store and had pretty good luck. Definitely no reactions with Spray.Bike that we have run into.

now that it's getting colder here, finding a place to spray is going to be a problem. I was looking at spray tents in the garage, but there is no ventilation other than opening the door, which would get back to the temperature problem

Doug Fattic, in SW MI, faces this temp issue by trying to not paint when it's cold out. With good/healthy venting it's impossible to keep the booth warm enough. And IIRC the additives to help the paint's flow out/curing also take away from the paint's final finish and durability, Andy