My friend bought a fixie from CL yesterday. The paint is chipping off but there's no rust on the frame. He is going to sand down the paint today or tomorrow.

Is there a guide somewhere online for painting bike frames?
What paint would be good to use for painting frames?
Also, is there a disassembly guide for bikes?

Thanks.

First, what kind (make, model) of bike is it?

For utilitarian-city bikes.

Several threads on painting bikes. Search will work. If the frame is TIG welded or not so nice, sending it to a powdercoater is the best route for the money. Powdercoating is cheap and very durable. Rattle can painting can be a fun project but takes a lot of work and time. Especially time in order to do it well. Won't be nearly so durable.

For a good frame with lugs and/or chrome, a professional paint job is the best.

Yes, there are "guides" online for painting bike frames. Keep in mind anything can be published on the interwebs.
Those guides will likely suggest using a primer and then spray paint.
To answer your third question I'm gonna ask you, did you try this?

Knowing the bike you're working with would be helpful. If it seems worth the time and money, powder coating is the way to go. If this is gonna be a beater bike for commutes or rainy days, then leave the paint imperfections alone.

What will be the purpose of this bike?

Here you go:

https://tinyurl.com/6edlq2m

Thank you for all the replies

Vintage Scrod.

Since when is powder coating cheap..? I had my girlfriends bike blasted/powder coated and it was around $150.00 all together.

A good paint job is only as good as the prep work.

I do think that powder coating is worth the money if you are not trying to re-sell a bike and you want it to last.

People tend to forget to factor in that their time is worth money. My free time is worth a hell of a lot, so dropping $150 on a powdercoat job that will last is worth every cent. Compare that to spending a weekend (or more) sanding, prepping, painting & clear coating only to have the end product chip like a DeBernardi. Totally not worth it.

^ 'zactly.

well, powder coating didn't cost that much, but with the sandblasting and stripping it did. It seems like painters always want to gouge you on stripping.

I always find it best to pay someone under the table to sandblast your stuff, someone that works in a factory with a blaster. Saves you quite a bit money, it doesn't really take much time/effort to SB a frame anyway.

just my two cents though...

Nope I have the receipt and talked to the people myself. The place I went is a nice little family owned place. It's around 50 bucks an hour for blasting. Powder coating cost 90 flat rate for any one color they have on hand.

Like I said I think it is worth the money, but I also think painting things yourself is much more gratifying, it can be just as strong with the right prep/ paint, and you have a lot more options when it comes to doing color combos and painting different parts different colors.

Also why do people insist on telling people that they are wrong like saying "well, powder coating didn't cost that much". I'm not stupid so I would appreciate the benefit of the doubt.

When I shopped around, I found a small business that would sand blast and powder coat for $125. That price required you pick from his stock colors, which I'm sure would suffice.

But during my shopping, I heard quotes as high as $600 just for powder coating. You were on your own to get it sandblasted. So "cheap" is not relevant to the individual shopper, but also to that shopper's experience. Once I heard $600, the $125 quote was like getting a punch in the nose instead of getting decapitated.

Home job:

If its a light weight steel- Chemical strip not sand. Sanding takes off metal and thus creates weak spots.
wire brush to get any unsean rust out of the pores of the metal.

If thicker steel- sand but still use a wire brush to clean the pores.

Nest- ETCHING PRIMER, not regular primer. Alloy steels dont respond to regular primers as well.

Sand and prime again, then sand again.

Very light 1st coat, sand and 2nd coat, sand and 3rd coat. (use 320-400 grit for this, I like 400 if the coats are even)

If all is looking good then you may not need to do a 4th coat.

Let paint sit for at least 3 days, more for some paints. (I like epoxy paints ad they take a week but you can paint rims and brakes with it)

As a side note- use rubber gloves and surface prep pads, and red scotchbrite.

if all this sounds like too much powdercoat is the wat to go. home (even done nicely is cheaper just more time)...

i've had bikes frames powder coated for 80.00 complete. everyone above is right on. If you factor the time it takes to disassemble frame (correctly with proper tools) , clean,strip,prime,paint,clear. 80.00 is worth every penny....not to mention spray paint will chip first time out. If you're going after this as a learning type exercise maybe it's worth it. this frame was powder coated by streetworks locally.


Untitled by stanridgespeed bicycles, on Flickr

Powder coating must vary by location then because I could not find a place here in Seattle area that would do it for less than $100. Keep in mind you can't factor out sandblasting unless you have someone who will do it for really really cheap or free because the frame has to be bare steel for powder coating to work.

Once again I think that powder coating is worth the money depending on the bike, your free time, and how much you paid for it.

In Chicago, I've found 3 places (that have good rep for coating bikes - not just any powder coater can powder coat a bike and make it look halfway decent) that quoted me between $75-$100 to prep and clear powder coat my bike. Clears and colors cost the same.

$100 is still pretty cheap for something that will last.

I got the final quote for blasting and powdering my frame. $70 from a reputable dude with 3-4 day turn around. $90 for a frame and fork.

I understand your position but personally I don't have a lot of extra cash and rebuilding/repainting bikes is something I absolutely love to do in my free time (prepping, sanding, all of it). I appreciate the durability (and look) of professional powder coating but the first time someone wants to know where you got your bike painted is worth the time spent doing it yourself. But don't get me wrong. If I had the extra money, a lot of extra money, I would consider powder coating.

Speaking of, I can't wait until I get a free weekend to tear my grand record apart again and get it ready for paint. It's age was showing when I got the thing.

Yeah, the thing to remember is that when you're dealing with someone capable of doing a specific job that requires specific tools for a specific result, you're going to end up paying a premium, depending on their own local competition. That's the reason that places like portland may be cheaper, as there's probably a stronger concentration of people with a similar skill set vying for the attention of consumers.

Dupont Imron

I like the feeling of having a project goal and doing things myself. Personally I have the time and no way of using it to make money, so even if it takes a while no big deal.
It's also a great way to learn more about your bike. taking the whole thing apart and learning how o put it all back together.

^+1

So much more satisfying than just burning a hole in your wallet.