adam_internal

I've noticed there are a lot of people from Boston posting here, so I have a question.. Is there anywhere in the city to get a paint job done at a decent price? I really beat the **** out of my bike while I was working this past spring/summer and need to get a paintjob before it starts to get really ****** out.

iamjberube

same goes for nyc/brooklyn if anyone knows. i was thinking about taking mine to a car painting place. any ideas?

bostontrevor

I hear Applied Plastics does A.N.T.'s work. www.appliedplastics.com

You might try contacting the guys at Indy Fab in Somerville (https://www.ifbikes.com/) and see if your stuff could ride along with theirs or if they might otherwise be interested in helping you out (quoting you a price, telling you who else could do it)

(both of the above are powdercoats)

Or you could go DIY. Strip the frame (optional) with chemical stripper, sandpaper, or sandblasting. If sandblasting be sure to mask off the threads in the BB shell. If you don't strip the frame, be sure to at least sand off any surface rust. Apply a few coats of primer (optional, but highly recommended, esp if you didn't strip it). Paint with as many coats as you can stand to put on in your favorite colors of spray enamel. Remember, lots of thin layers. If you think you've put on enough coats, go for another 4 or 5. Then repeat with clear coat. A few cans of clear coat does wonders for durability. Viola.

iamjberube

what about if it's brand new- but really ugly, and not in a good way- paint underneath? primer still necessary?

bostontrevor

Not necessary, but it'll help keep the original paint from showing through and also provides a nice textured surface for the new paint to adhere to.

H23

Powder coating is said to be more environmentally friendly. There should be multiple powder coating facilities in your area.

About spray paint.... If you care at all about quality, don't attempt to DIY this job, it really is for professionals.

If some trouble areas bother you, touch them up with paint to check the rust.

robertsdvd

I haven't had much luck finding powder coaters either... found one on the South Shore but as they never got back to me I decided they indeed didn't want my business. Generally, I like bikes looking ... used. So I DIM ... do it myself ... one bike I actually stripped for the most part... but the one I'm working on now... had some rust on it and scatches (Raleigh Twenty frame) ... nice paint jobs are nice, but city paint jobs I like better. So, I dremel wire-brushed the rust off... then I got this rust-fix stuff from the Auto Zone which turns rust into black primer... I masked off the parts I wanted to keep Raleigh Green (where the markings are - the text on the frame)... the front was ok, so I detached it and only worked with the rear of the frame... rust-fixed it all though - so even where the green is you can occassionally see black bits which I think looks hot... anyway, masked off the parts... went to the park and hit it up with primer, color and clear coat... looks nice and rough. The Twenty is in no shape for riding yet (no parts)... but the other bike that I painted has held up just fine! Granted, if I could find a pro-house to do it for a reasonable price, I'd still prefer that. Alas, I can't find one.

bostontrevor

True about powder coating. It's a plastic coating that doesn't involve nasty solvents. Also true abou powder coat places, I just only know of the one and only by second hand. I've only resprayed frames myself. I do know that IF used to outsource, but I think it was in Worcester and I think it was actual painting.

Finally, home sprays can look almost pro. If you're really concientious, you can even go to an autobody store and pick up car enamel. It's all around higher quality than Krylon. If you have little dings get some touchup paint or even some nail polish. But if your paint's totally jacked up and you can accept something less than factory finish (really, my orange Krylon job looked pretty damn good until some jackass knocked it down scraping a sign all the way, just not showroom shiny), then spray enamel's fine and will keep out the salt water.

Also, to keep from smashing up your paint again, you should wrap the lean points. Some say electrical tape, I say it wears through in about 5 leans. Go with an old inner tube cut open, wrapped around the frame tube, and tape at the ends.

robertsdvd

Autozone has Dupli-Color which I'm more impressed with than the stuff at Lappen's... as for lean points - indeed cover them up... electrical tape works... I used some but classed it up further by getting some vinyl leather'esque material from Jo-anne's fabric, some eyelets and a run of leather shoestring and crafted a jacket for my top tube... you can sort of make it out in some of these pictures: https://www.the-wild.net/puch/

dirtyscratches

I had my powder coating done by S&D Powder coating out of So. Attleboro. Contact Steve sdpowdercoating@msn.com and talk to him about what you want. If you strip it yourself (I did) it's very cheap. If you can't get out there, shipping from Boston is still cheap.

robertsdvd

That's the place I tried to contact to do it... maybe I'll try again next time I need something... did you know how much it'd cost to have them strip it too?

bostontrevor

And it looks very nice. I remember noticing it when I stopped by for those pedals. (which are doing great..thanks!--saw your 1x1 go by on Craig's List a while back too, thought real hard about it)

robertsdvd

Heh, thanks... ah the 1x1 - its now up on ol'ebay trying to fight for a reasonable price ... its doing alright...

dirtyscratches

He quoted $80 to strip and repaint pearl black. That was for a frame already powder coated. He said it depends on how much prep work he has to do. Personally, I stripped and sanded mine myself. He will still do some stripping after that, but it makes it a lot cheaper.

jinx_removing

I've sent a few emails back and forth with Steve also. He seems like a really nice guy. I haven't sent anything to him yet but he seems like he really wants the business. He quoted $30 for the strip and $50 for the powdercoat. Wicked cheap. Makes spraypainting not even worth the hassle.

bostontrevor

Did he give you a estimate on turnaround? Spray still make sense if you're really cost concious, it's going to work out to like a max of $20 or $30, no stripping required. But for me, if he's got a reasonably quick turnaround, $80 to have it properly powder coated is definitely worth it.

dirtyscratches

The turn around was a little over a week for mine. He did a nice job.

YoHeartFrijoles

I think you might be talking about Hot Tubes out in Worcester (www.hottubes.com). It is actual painting, and it's damn pricey too. Clearly there are more economical solutions being discussed in this thread.

Plus the place is called "Hot Tubes"... I bet the guy that runs the place wears clothing with stash pockets. So kind.

bostontrevor

Yup, that's the place.

NYCBM

Any pics of a bike painted with spray enamel? B-trevor, which brand of spray enamel you think is the best?

bostontrevor

In photos it looks about the same as a factory job (other than there's usually a lot less embellishment...one or two colors in the norm). It's only in person that you can see that the finish just isn't the. Also, it tends not to be as durable, esp. when compared with powder coating. But a lot of clear coat can help with that.

I'm a fan of Krylon, it seems to be the hardest and smoothest finish, but I've only tried a few different brands and the others were store brand indoor/outdoor stuff. If you can, look for spray enamel especially for metal or outdoor use, it tends to be harder. Or you can go the car enamel route and get a really nice finish if you want to be a psycho about it, but then you'd probably be better of just going with a powder coat.

Alexi

toby at hot tubes is a swell guy... there I said it, hot tubes is swell.