I have a new bike and the frame seems to have some kind of plastic coating. Is this a common treatment? It's a Giant FCR. Just doesn't seem like normal paint to me. Almost as though the whole frame has a decal treatment. Any ideas? Am i just wrong?

I have not seen the model you mention, but it sounds as if your bike was painted and then it got a final "clear coat" to protect the paint. A tough, "chip proof" clear coat can insure that your bike looks good in twenty years. I have a 1984 Centurion that has a goldish metal-flake paint that was protected by sturdy clearcoat, and when the bike is clean, it looks more like it is 23 days old, not 23 years old.

Thanks, Alan. That might be it. The thing looks great. But there's a slickness to it that is not like regular paint and in a place where it got scratched, it seems as though the paint's fine but there's a slight plastic rip. I don't mind it. Just new to me.