LexRides

[mcrib]

Trish wants and new paint job on her bike and what the lady wants the lady gets I was wondering what advice I could get from all you internet users out there.
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Albert Einstein trembled when he found out time was water. Seeping through the rafters to put out this burning world.

[brokebike]

I've painted a couple of bikes... you can get really good results with just spray cans as long as you have patience and do it right.

I'd recommend rough sanding the old paint without removing it... let that be your base primer layer. That old paint (especially if it is original to the bike) is going to be your most durable layer, so you might as well keep it on there.

Get some actual metal primer and go over the bike with a couple of coats. When you're ready for your final color, just do very light coats, and wet-sand in between each coat. I'd say, 3-4 coats. You can get wet sand paper at any auto supply store, or auto paint store. Wet sanding is important in getting that really smooth finish... otherwise it will most likely turn out all rough and "orange peel-ish" like spray paint usually does.

[mcrib]

some of the stuff I have read suggested taking off all the original paint and then put primer on but I'm not sure.
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Albert Einstein trembled when he found out time was water. Seeping through the rafters to put out this burning world.

[DHB]

I need some frames painted too, but I was thinking about trying powder coating. I've tried spray painting frames, but it looked like shit (probably because I didn't do it right) and it wasn't very durable (again, probably because I didn't do it right). I've heard that powder coating is cheap, but that's probably relative. I do know that it's durable though.

[Burch]

I had a bike powder coated (the british green Schwinn Ross now has at the Icehouse, I'm sure most have seen it there). I thought it looked fucking beautiful. It was like 80 bucks or so. And the place is right around the corner from your house, Drew.

[DHB]

That's no too bad. do you remember the name of the place?

[catamount]

I believe the place Will is speaking of is Metal Cleaners -920 National Ave
(859) 255-3700 - There are some things to consider if you go with powder coating. They quoted me $80-$110 earlier this year - it depends on who you talk to - one guy was a grump who did not seem like he wanted to deal with it thus the higher price and the other guy was super nice. I think some folks know of other powder coat options in the area.

I have spray painted a couple frames over the last year - it takes deligence and patience. I followed Brian's suggestions mostly - it is really labor intensive and ultimately I cut a few corners. All things considered I was pretty happy with the outcome but time will tell how they hold up.
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"The path of least resistance is what makes the river crooked!” - Utah Phillips

[mcrib]

that bike won't Heineken green for long.
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Albert Einstein trembled when he found out time was water. Seeping through the rafters to put out this burning world.

[Burch]

Yeah, it was Metal Cleaners, and every one of them was a grumpy cocksucker. But it turned out awesome.

[brokebike]

The good thing about Metal Cleaners, Drew is that you can basically walk your bike over to them... they're at the end of National Ave. I've had two bike frames powdercoated there (my current polo bike, and another old Schwinn that you guys probably haven't seen because it has been laying around in parts in my garage).

I can confirm that they are kinda hard to deal with. They just make you feel like they don't really want to mess with your job, and they seem to raise their prices arbitrarily depending on their mood.

No matter who you go with, keep in mind that powder coating isn't as exact as painting... meaning, it is harder for them to mask off certain areas, like fork crowns and bottom bracket shells - this means that you will likely have to take a Dremel tool or a wire brush to get the polyester coating cleaned out of areas where things need to be threaded, or have an exact fit... so even when finished, you'll need to do a bit of work before you can get it all back together again.

or, you could take it to a bike shop and have them do all of the facing and reaming for you.

[mcrib]

guess we are leaning towards painting it ourselves. I think the conclusion I have reached is no matter how you go about it it's gonna be a pain in the ass. Thanks for all the advice.
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Albert Einstein trembled when he found out time was water. Seeping through the rafters to put out this burning world.

[jkizzle]

check on www.bikeforums.com they have alot of info on there in old threads about doing it.


im pretty sure you have to get through the clearcoat and then scuff up the paint pretty good. then you prime it, repaint it, and recoat it.

if its carbon be really careful, that stuff can really get messed up by sanding it...

[sailorjames]

I've painted one bike frame and the whole process is something i've taken great interest in during the past few months. My first frame turned out ok, but the job was rushed and it shows.

Out of the stuff I've read I would say the best step by step process i've seen, if you have the time is that of
Joe Bell.

Also, if you're on a steel bike, you'll want to consider that the paint on the dropouts is going to get scratched up from your axle nuts and that will open up a place for rust to start. I've been thinking of getting my dropouts metal plated on my next frame, anyone know where that would be done at and what an approximate cost would be for nickel/chrome?

[DHB]

I'm not sure how durable most spray paint clear coats are, so you might want to try an automotive enamel instead, which you could probably get at most auto parts stores.

[brokebike]