mwandaw

My wife and I are thinking about buying a nice, used tandem that is for sale in our area. Unfortunately, we really don't like the color of the bike, and we would have to paint it if we bought it.

We would want a good quality, but "standard" paint job. There's no need for color-shifting paint or super-deep paint. Just a "regular", one-color paint job. I can do all of the mechanical work required, such as removing and then replacing components.

What price range should we expect? We live in Orange County, CA. Are there any good local paint shops?

Thanks!

PMK

I don't know exactly where in California these folks are, but have read about them over the years. If other criteria fits, I would have a look at the work they have done and consider them on my list.

PK

TandemGeek

I'm going to take a wild guess and assume Paul (PMK) meant CycleArt out in Vista, California. They would definitely be a good source for folks in Southern California as they've been around nearly 40 years and have an excellent reputation. Their gallery is eye-watering in terms of the custom finishes they've produced.

Pricing guide is here:
https://www.cyclart.com/OrderGuide.pdf

Quoted prices seem about right, beginning at about $375 for single color powdercoat ($400 with fork) and going up from there depending on the options you select in which case the sky's the limit.

Hill Clark at Airglow in Washington, Georgia just did our triplet and his work is excellent; a perfectionist with an amazing artistic sense whose paint jobs have been recognized at NAHBS. Highly recommended.

Remember to factor shipping and handling for a tandem into the equation if you can't drop-off and pick-up when pricing your paint job and remember that the frame will need to go in stripped of all components, i.e., headsets need to be popped-out, bottom brackets removed, etc.

PMK

Yes, my bad for not realizing the Cycleart link did not stick.

Thanks TG, and they do have a lot of ways to paint bicycles to make it "yours".

We won't see the triple in Georgia, but maybe in St Augustine. It sounds pretty BA.

PK

TandemGeek

Yes, my bad for not realizing the Cycleart link did not stick. Yeah, they keep "tweaking" the software for BF and nothing seems to work the way it used to. Weird.

Thanks TG, and they do have a lot of ways to paint bicycles to make it "yours". No kidding. The deeper your pockets the more amazing the paint jobs can become. I think Hill way underbid our triplet given the amount of time and material that it took to refinish that 8'-long frame. Using CycleArt's pricing list, we probably paid 1/2 of what they would have charged for a simillar project.

We won't see the triple in Georgia, but maybe in St Augustine. It sounds pretty BA. Sorry we'll miss you in Dublin but we're looking forward to STR. Hopefully we'll have a willing 2nd stoker lined-up by then so that we can justify bringing the triplet. It's a PIA to transport/store since it has to be car-topped and doesn't lend itself to being stored in a hotel room. I'm not even sure it would fit into an Odyssey unless both wheels were removed as it's about 10' from fork tips to the rear tire; 11' all told nose-to-tail. And, yeah... it looks BA: as Mark Johnson quipped, "Stealth Bomber!". Believe or not, the inspiration was the black '66 Lincoln Continental from National Lampoon's Animal House. However, flat black with "EAT ME" in blood red paint on the downtube would have been a bit over the top so we went upscale with the glossy black pearl to black cherry pearl fade. It's very interesting to see how different lighting sources changes the look of the frame: we like it a lot. Now we just need to find a willing crew member for future outings! Our grandson Jacob (12) may be drafted for some forced-fun with Nama & Gandad.

oldacura

If you do all of the disassembly yourself and mask all of the threads, etc., you may be able to take it to a powder-coat shop and if they paint it some color they are already running, they may do it pretty cheap for you.

PMK

Quite an inspiration for the paint. I was expecting something ZZ Top or Boyd Coddington, possibly even some HD chopper in your travels.

Didn't that 66 also have the words Deathmobile painted on it also?

As for what it cost you, underbid or the desire to do something different, anything is possible.

PK

TandemGeek

Actually, it was the cake that had "Eat Me" on it.

The Lincoln had "Deathmobile" on the front & back of the coning tower and the fraternity letter for Delta Tau Chi (ΔΤΧ)‎ on the sides.

But I digress... let us return the OP's thread from my hijack.

mibike

We transport our triplet is our Dodge Caravan. It fits up the center with only the front wheel off.

mwandaw

Following up on the powder coating tip from oldacura, I went to the website for Olympic Powder Coating in Santa Ana, CA. I submitted a quote request and received a message shortly after that said in part "...tandems usually start at about $100."

oldacura

I had a local powder-coater coat 4x car wheels for about $200. They turned out great. The color is a metal look alike. Looks like polished stainless steel.

PMK

FWIW, Cycleart lists not only paint, but powdercoat, bright polishing, chrome plus a lot more.

Personally, in my opinion paint or powdercoat each has advantages. Regarding appearance, yes for wheels or a toolbox or just a basic or mild color powdercoat is ok. A good painter with quality paint can bring almost any shape to life.

If the op just needs a color swap with no frills, powdercoat is likely fine. If he wants the bike to be theirs, I'd lean towards paint.

PK

oldacura

Correct. Powdercoat is fine for a single non-metallic color. I think it is more durable than paint. When I had the car wheels done, I had them bead blasted first. This left the aluminum surface with a coarse texture that the powdercoat adheres to well. The owner should do all the surface prep (remove all existing finish) and create some sort of texture on the metal to get adhesion.

diabloridr

Just a datapoint: I had a single - a 1960ish Sunn (defunct British make) - refinished by Cycleart about 10 years ago. Instructions were to repaint and detail off the existing finish to make it look like it did when it left the factory.

Good stuff: paint quality was very good, gold detailing on the lugs reworked nicely, reproduction of decals done well. Their frame inspection found the steerer tube was damaged, they replaced it for a nominal charge.

So-So stuff: Original frame color was a creme, new paint color is closer to a pearl. Not sure if artistic license or the pearl was the original color before aging? They added a new decal "Made in England" on the top tube. I like it, but it wasn't on the original frame, so I was a bit puzzled to find it.

msvphoto

I would suggest cross-posting this to the frame builder's forum (if you haven't already). Back in the day Dupont Imron was all the rage for custom builders here in CA, but I believe you can't even buy old Imron type paint here in CA anymore (Santana tandem customer service recently told me this when I inquired about matching the color for touch up paint for our Elan so I'm not sure it is 100% correct). The frame I built in the mid-1970s (with my cousin's help) was never painted better than rattle can, but with enough polishing compound it looked pretty good. More recently a lot of builders have gone to power coating. Bontrager was doing powder coated MTBs (before selling his name to Trek) and I bought a used Bottecchia (I miss that bike!) that had been powder coated by Bontrager's powder coat guy and it was stunning (single color)--every bit as good of a finish as my old Imron painted Cielo and Ritchie bikes from the 1980s. If you want amazing airbrushing and fades (ala Landshark--one of my favorites) then go with paint from someone like Cycleart (who do have a very good reputation). As has been mentioned already, if you just want a color change and/or nice durable finish then powder coating is the way to go, and as you're finding out, it can be done pretty inexpensively.

These folks are in my area and do bikes, but I'm a few hundred miles North of you.

https://www.sandspowdercoating.com/

waynesulak

I had a tandem frame and fork painted about eight months ago and while considering powder coating I came across the link below which provides some good information. I decided to go with paint because a local painter was recommended to me by the builder. I was unable to find a local powder coating place that I liked. I wanted to avoid the shipping cost and risk of damage. For a no cost limit project I would go with CycleArt. Everybody I talked to had very good things to say about them.

https://www.seattlepowdercoat.com/myths__faqs

Philly Tandem

Santana repaints their tandems, and I assume would do others as well. They are in S Calif. Price is about $600 for a basic one color.

Off topic, we fit our medium size Santana triplet up the center of our Honda Odyssey, only taking off the front wheel (of the bike!).