WHat would be a good set-up for a stand for painting a frame?

I hang mine from a chain. A hook in the seat tube and one through the bb shell. Do the top of the front triangle, flip it, do the bottom of the front and the rear, flip again, and do the top of the rear. That way you keep the paint wet enough to avoid dry spots.
It's also nice to be able to freely spin the frame while shooting.

Thanks for your reply.
I had an idea ofsome way of running a pipe through the head tube so that I could pivot the frame around. Your idea of the chain and hook sounds better. But how do I attach it so it does not interfer with the paint?

I assumed that the chain went through the seat tube and hooked at the BB. I would think that a wire rope with a loop to stick something through at the BB would work pretty well with a standoff at the seat cluster area so the wire rope doesn't touch the paint. You want to have something to be able to rotate the frame around with, I have used a handy 1" dowel. I've started thinking about painting again, it's probably not a good idea, but the idea won't go away.

When i was painting, and before I learned that it was the paint job that most people judged (not the actual metal work), I had various handles and loops that would thread into the frame. BB cups with long bolts sticking out, gear hanger bolts with a eyes welded on, wedge expanding post with an eye welded on, rack or fender eyelet bolts with loops welded on. My favorite was the gear hanger loop. It was dimensioned so the loop's eye was centered between the rear drop outs. The frame hung straight down and there was a lot of clearance for the hanging wire to not touch the frame while moving it around during the painting. At one time i envisioned a bar that would go through the head tube with "O" rings keeping centered and from sliding around. At both ends would be an eye to attach a wire. Before I would remove any of the aids I would cut the paint as to not have a chip develop at the border.

I wish I remembered how I supported my tandem, that was a fun paint job

This works for me in my 4' booth. Dowel through BB over tube blocks lets you set it aside easily. Dowel in ST w/eyelet is held in with the top bottle boss bolt. I also use a 1" pvc pipe through the HT held in with a rubber band around it to provide friction. You can grab and rotate the frame from either the BB or HT dowels to get all areas. I hang it on a rotating hook which makes removal easy.

Thanks for the great ideas!

I have a simple stand with a forked tube base and a single 4' upright tube at 10* off vertical with the top 10" bent to another 10* off. The headtube is slipped over the top and released, and the frames own weight holds it in place with every part of the frame exposed and accessible, and the frame stays put as I spray. I have used this same setup for over 25 years and it beats the hell out of hanging a frame from a chain or cable because the frame remains static during the process and cannot spin or drift in the air.

You could do the same thing with any vertical tubing though, even if it was supported by a patio umbrella stand. I would avoid a free-hanging setup if at all possible in favor of a stand that keeps the frame static while you are spraying it.

Pics, or it didn't happen

This makes sense, and it's what I would do if I had more space. Because I work from a 4' booth I hang the frame.
Stealhammer, how high is enough to let you get under it? 4'?

I have to get down on one knee to get under the BB and chainstays so 5' might have actually worked better. The stand is in a friends garage where we used it to paint his bike about a month ago, but I get a picture this weekend or next when we have our BBQ get together.

now that I read it for the 5th time, I think I get it, but it would be nice to have pics, thanks

+1 thanks

This is what I do in combination with a home made quill seat post to hold the frame. it allows me to rotate and spin the frame which is huge on many levels.


photo by DORNBOX, on Flickr