Fixie Conversion - PAINTING HELP!
#1
Newbie
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 3
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Fixie Conversion - PAINTING HELP!
Greetings! I'm planning on converting my '84 Varsity into a fixie, and from repainting several times, I've decided that I would like to try having the steel exposed with only a clear coat. I've read threads on here about this, and I know powdercoating is probably the best option, but I'm a broke student. SO. Has anybody had success with a spray-can clear coat, and what brand? I've never seen Dupli-color primers mentioned here - the Adhesion Promoter seems to be a clear primer:
https://www.duplicolor.com/products/adhesionPromoter/
Anybody think this would seal the bare steel properly? I would use the Crystal Clear Enamel on top. ANY AND ALL OPINIONS!
https://www.duplicolor.com/products/adhesionPromoter/
Anybody think this would seal the bare steel properly? I would use the Crystal Clear Enamel on top. ANY AND ALL OPINIONS!
#4
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Manhattan
Posts: 1,771
Bikes: AristoNYC's PedalRoom
Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 130 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 6 Times
in
6 Posts
#5
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Canada
Posts: 150
Bikes: Peugot 1980 Road FG Convert
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Greetings! I'm planning on converting my '84 Varsity into a fixie, and from repainting several times, I've decided that I would like to try having the steel exposed with only a clear coat. I've read threads on here about this, and I know powdercoating is probably the best option, but I'm a broke student. SO. Has anybody had success with a spray-can clear coat, and what brand? I've never seen Dupli-color primers mentioned here - the Adhesion Promoter seems to be a clear primer:
https://www.duplicolor.com/products/adhesionPromoter/
Anybody think this would seal the bare steel properly? I would use the Crystal Clear Enamel on top. ANY AND ALL OPINIONS!
https://www.duplicolor.com/products/adhesionPromoter/
Anybody think this would seal the bare steel properly? I would use the Crystal Clear Enamel on top. ANY AND ALL OPINIONS!
#6
Newbie
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 3
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Just a heads up: When I was converting my '84 Peugeot I also considered painting. I decided against it because to make a paint job look good requires a good deal of effort and attention. Sanding, priming, painting several coats, and drying will take about a week. Furthermore, you need a relatively dry atmosphere for the best looking paint job.
#7
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Gnv, FL
Posts: 1,890
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
My understanding is that most aerosol spray paints don't adhere well to bare metal and will chip off very easily. I sprayed a frame once and took moderate time on the prep and waited several days for curing but still found the paint chipped very easily. I discovered later it was best to simply rough up the existing paint and then clean it with acetone, or similar solvent, and then paint to give the spray paint something better to adhere to. I've never even heard of a clear primer, so I'd be interested to hear how it works, but I suppose it might be difficult to see how badly it was chipping until you started seeing corrosion on the steel tubes.
Anyway, sounds like you have some more googling to do. This has been discussed ad-nauseum on the internet. I looked a bit and found a decent thread about painting a bare frame on our very own beloved BF.net: https://www.bikeforums.net/archive/in.../t-144045.html
Anyway, sounds like you have some more googling to do. This has been discussed ad-nauseum on the internet. I looked a bit and found a decent thread about painting a bare frame on our very own beloved BF.net: https://www.bikeforums.net/archive/in.../t-144045.html
#8
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Redding, CA.
Posts: 116
Bikes: 1985 Vitus Carbone 3, 1982 Raleigh Super Record
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
https://www.automotivetouchup.com/spr...clearcoat.aspx
This stuff may be worth a shot. I have never personally used it, but have done A LOT of research in the past when I was going to paint my Jeep. And also, what you really need is proper curing to insure the paint is hard. Drying doesn't take long, but curing can take weeks. If you had a way to bake the frame, or get it really hot that would help the strength. I think the hardest part of the whole process would be getting ALL the paint off the frame.
This stuff may be worth a shot. I have never personally used it, but have done A LOT of research in the past when I was going to paint my Jeep. And also, what you really need is proper curing to insure the paint is hard. Drying doesn't take long, but curing can take weeks. If you had a way to bake the frame, or get it really hot that would help the strength. I think the hardest part of the whole process would be getting ALL the paint off the frame.
#9
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Gnv, FL
Posts: 1,890
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
^^^You can't just put clearcoat on bare metal and expect it to adhere properly. OP had the right idea with a clear primer. I don't really mess with paint much because I am not patient and detail-oriented enough to get good results with that kind of tedious work.