Paint keeps chipping off :(
 

Hey Guys,
Just finished my first fixed gear build. I took an old nishiki and stripped it down, took all parts and paint off. sanded. sanded. and sanded some more. then put 2 coats of white montana gold, then some stickers, then 2 coats of green montana gold, then more stickers, then 2 layers of black montana gold. Let that dry then took off all the stickers and slapped on a clear coat, also made by montana gold. Let that dry, then rebuilt the bike. But after only 2 days of riding, the paint keeps flaking off in random places and its really making me cry.

Any ideas?
http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/39497/bike.grope.jpg

No primer for the lose. the paint isn't bonding well directly to metal.

I guess metal is a bit different to work then walls.

I used primer, then industrial quality rustoleum spray and it still chips like nothing.. best idea is to not use spray paint on a bike if you care about appearances very much.

Also it seems Montana gold is an artist's paint for different (non-metal) media. You should have done your homework, buddy. The normal recommendation is to use at least dupli-color, but better would be auto body paints through a gun with a superior quality auto body clear coat. and plenty of primer.

hope you got more stickers and more time. still a month before school starts.

Well that sucks. But everyone i talked to said the white montana gold is just as good as primer if not better. Are you familiar with the said paint? I'm not totally ready to just buy that as the reason.
I'm pretty sure most graffiti artists don't prime their steel structures and come back in a day when they throw up their piece.

You have no idea how long that pixel art took. no way in hell am i just going to re-do it all cause you don't know your paint. thanks for the tips though. but Montana gold IS for metal media.

dude it's kindergarden logic. the paint is engineered towards graff artists and other artistic uses where steel is not the primary concern. plus who cares what graffiti artists do, you need to know what other bike painters do to get a good job. and that's a good (self-etching, I prefer) primer coverage with a product _engineered_ as primer, with paint _engineered_ to work on top of a certain primer on a certain medium. it makes sense that the paint used should be for metal vehicles that move and get dinged up, not cinderblock and heavy iron and steel bridges that no one ever touches.

ok dude, at the end of the day its your work and you put time into it, i can't fault you for that. but i'm just sayin': when moving from one type of application to another, spend 20 minutes on google and see what the pros and more experienced use before embarking.

Have you ever even painted anything in your life?
Sigh, i knew i shouldn't have brought this too the internet. everyone is waiting around for some "noob" to point fingers at and call names. get a life. go outside, and paint something. Come back, and we'll talk.
Thread closed. I'm done with this. If anyone needs advice with pixel art i learned a lot in the process feel free to pm me.

less paint,
more foot retention

get duplicolor rim enamel clearcoat. the end.

I have painted two CRT monitors, two bass guitars and a bookshelf. That's in my room alone. A bike frame, a kitchen cupboard for my mom, some tables in the garage, and other bike parts. And a zillion rooms and house foundations/steps. I've done quite a crap-ton of painting.

Look, I'm not calling you a noob, the art looks impressive, but I'm saying you should have lost your preconceived ideas. I _have_ painted before and I realize different applications need different types of paint. I am not going to carry over the roll-on rust-oleum I used for a low-traffic, low-abuse cupboard to a high-use bass guitar. I spent time researching what paints other luthiers and guitar enthusiasts used and followed them. If I were an artist I would also research what paint I should use for my bike. That's all I'm saying.

By "go outside and paint something" I assume you mean graffiti. For one I am against unlawful modification of others' property and trespassing which is so often tied to the graffiti scene. Organized, publicly-approved mural collaborations and movable, non-permanent graffiti walls are fine though.

Two, any painter knows you don't "go outside and paint." Painting even a piece of furniture is a much more complex art than going out and tagging some walls. Sure there is more visual structure and planning in a graffiti piece but you have to know hard chemistry and be knowledgeable around finish to do things well. And you certainly only paint in an indoor, humidity-controlled place. It would suck to have a bug stuck to that topcoat you spent 20 hours working to achieve.

Sorry bud, but in the game of painting media besides artsy canvas, walls, and such you need to have some scientific knowledge and years of facking up on crappy furniture, guitars, metal components, etc to know what you're doing, what paint is used when, etc. That's why some people make livings off of and there is marketable demand for skilled, experienced finishers in every material realm. These people might be able to do your pixel art but they can also tell you the applied chemistry of every component in the paint they use and the subject they're shooting. The fact that you ignored all of this and transferred a specifically engineered paint across two different realms of painting--and, to top it off, forgot to use primer, something so basic--is why you are having unfortunate trouble with your bike.

stems and bars always look weird painted
get some clips for those pedals
i like the space invader guys

You sure sound like a victimized sore loser: you're defensive and are throwing personal attacks to someone who merely offered some pointers. It is through peabodypride's old post about frame-painting process that I painted my conversion, which has held up for several weeks now, and it seems that it will hold up for a while longer.

What kind of chipping are we talking about? Do you have an pictures of the chipping paint?

You probably didnt clean the metal with degreaser after you sanded it. You also didn't prime, and you also didn't sand between coats. Additionally, you didn't use paints designed to paint metal.

Nobody is calling you a noob, even if they did, why would you care? You are the one asking for tips on the internet, why should you get upset when somebody questions your shoddy paint job?

All things considered, get some real paints, sand a lot, use primer, use lots of clearcoat and hope for the best.

He'll be back...

Think he'll learn what primer is for while he's gone? Or metal prep?

he went to the beach ?

dude probably went to go graffiti up some sick walls or train cars with all the white, black, and green montana gold he had left over

I've painted more cars than you've (the OP) had hot meals in your life. One thing I can tell you for sure: Nothing good that lasts comes from a spray can. It lacks the proper catalysts for hardening for one.
Metal prep and paint bonding is a chemical process, not a mechanical one. Sanding only will not give good bonding. As a matter of fact, you get no bonding at all. Proper primers will give you that chemical bond, both to the metal and to the overcoats. Dupont and PPG to name a couple of major companies offer a wealth of information on the topic. The other thing I can tell you is that proper products are NOT cheap.

I've rattlecanned my bike several times and never had paint chip off as you describe. All I used was noname rust paint and spray right over the existing paint. Makes me think you are using the wrong paint.

OK, I concede this will work OK. Rust paint provides the correct chemical etching for the bare areas, and most of them offer so-called 'hot' recoat properties, meaning they soften and bond to any undercoats.

I'm also lazy when it comes to painting my bike. I just repaint it a new colour each summer to 'protect' it through the winter. Most recently the racing green in the pic you saw. Also been red and flat black, actaully bbq paint that time.