Stiff-up your brush: paint porn

I use a Sealey HVLP736 touch-up gun for my frame spraying. I'm sure there are better (and much more expensive) small spray guns out there (SATA and DeVilbiss for example) but that works well enough for me. Other things you'll need:

1. Pressure regulator for the gun
   
2. Mixing pots and stirrers
   
3. Filters
   
4. Thinners, gun wash and panel wipe
   
5. Respirator (preferably positive pressure if you're using 2k)
   
6. Some form of fume extraction
   
   

Some halogen spots are also handy for speeding up the drying time.

perfect thanks. I will have a look

I want to recreate this paint on my Brompton. I was thinking to have it powder-coated white first without any lacquer, hand paint the spots then give it a spray lacquer once finished. Would this work. I don't want the bike wet sprayed as it chips pretty quickly on Bromptons.

Pic: @muzcali

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I think you'll struggle to get anything to adhere robustly to powdercoat.
Powdercoat is usually polyurethane which has form for being difficult to get stuff to stick to it.

same thought as above, could you DIY paint the whole thing then send it to be clear powdercoated?

Maybe scotchbrite to matt it off before adding your dots and clear.

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Wow, they look amazing. Thanks for the info. I’ll do some more research and fingers crossed it’ll work out in the end.

Sounds like what @TvH did with his jellybean Salsa

I had mine done by a sign-writer in One Shot paints straight over a white powder coat. The painted areas chipped a bit on high-wear areas, but it was robust for what it was, the paint is designed to go onto glass after all. No clear coat or anything

Powder contains no solvent so you'll struggle to have anything bond well to it.

We frequently do this type of finish with customers at Quinntessential.

We'd use an epoxy primer, tougher, higher building and far stronger than an etch priming process. Then we can base coat in your preferred colour, next clear coat and then key it to 600 grit for your mechanical bond.

You could then go ham with your preferred medium - POSCA pens would be our recommendation.

Once you're done, bring it back, we'll clear it again and flatten and polish.

Yes, it won't be as robust as powder but it will hold up well if cared for.

If you were to go the powder route, you could just use nail polishes.
They're enamel and they'll harden without too much encouragement.

If you have nice paintwork that you'd like to take care of, you can't do better than Chris at cyclewrap UK.

Good luck.

Along with this:

I use a Sealey HVLP736 touch-up gun for my frame spraying. I'm sure there are better (and much more expensive) small spray guns out there (SATA and DeVilbiss for example) but that works well enough for me. Other things you'll need:

Pressure regulator for the gun
Mixing pots and stirrers
Filters

Thinners, gun wash and panel wipe
Respirator (preferably positive pressure if you're using 2k)
Some form of fume extraction

Some halogen spots are also handy for speeding up the drying time.

I can add a little to this I think...

SATA/Devilbiss/IWATA guns are worlds apart from any tool you can get from Screwfix etc and they will show differences in the quality of the work that even a novice can spot. Obviously, they aren't in everyone's budget. If you're patient, a SATA minijet can be grabbed for £100-£150 on eBay; it'll need cleaning and servicing and this will help you understand the gun maintenance and upkeep from the get go. The Devilbiss SRi is also a great option at the same level, again second hand for £80-£100.

This more costly gun might seem somewhat prohibitive but it will come with a couple of key benefits that make it worth the investment.
1 - Exploded diagrams are available so you can mend and re-build these tools. They will also show you the names of every replacement part as and when they wear out. This can make a 2nd hand tool a good option.

2 - There are a great many accessories made for bigger brand named guns which aren't always available for entry-level tools. One huge option is the potential for replacing the gravity fed lid and liner cup system. Sata has RPS, Devilbiss has DeKup and then there's 3m's own system called PPS, which has been aped by many and can be bought cheaply. If you opt for the 3m system, you buy an adapter for almost any name-brand gun.

The cup systems are great because...

• They remove the need for a consumable in the form of a mixing cup. Cheaper and better for the environment.
  
• They remove the need for a consumable in the form of a filter. Cheaper and better for the environment.
  
• They remove the need for an additional storage vessel for leftover paint. Again, cheaper and better for the environment.
  
• They allow for accurate colour matching on repairs because you're using the exact same blends of product.
  
• Cup systems are sealed which allows you to paint and any angle, even upside down... your finishes will matter-of-factually be visibly better for this feature alone.
  
• Cleaning is much easier and smaller solvent quantities are used. Cheaper and better for the environment.
  
• You can hot-swap between colour products allowing you to use fewer guns... can make your tooling setup more cost-effective.
  
  

Where guns are concerned, I'd recommend a minimum of three to ensure quality finishes. One cheapo gun for primer... primer will be worked with abrasives before colour is added so it doesn't matter if your gun is a bit shit... all primer goofs can be remedied but base and clear are trickier.

Use an epoxy primer if you can... it will build high and forgive poor quality substrates, it has excellent anti-corrosion properties and can be applied to almost all substrate materials. A further benefit is that it has a viscosity that makes it similar in application style to a clearcoat... this means every time you prime, you're sort-of getting clearcoat practice and this is invaluable because clearcoat takes no prisoners.

Next, you should have a dedicated basecoat gun. this is because epoxy has hardener in it so if your gun isn't cleaned properly, you can contaminate your colour work. Basecoat has no hardener in it and is easier to rinse through.

Finally, you you should have a dedicate clearcoat gun. You should keep it separate from all other guns and never use it for anything other than clear. Never lend it to anyone etc

Now obviously, you can have one gun and clean it thoroughly at every stage but if you value your time, this isn't advisable.

Needle and nozzles will come in a whole bunch of sizes and product data sheets will recommend far larger nozzles than those you'll need on bikes. 1.0 or 1.2 is sufficient.

Its frowned upon but if you aren't colour matching, you can get away with using gun wash (recycled thinner) instead of premium basecoat thinner. Lots cheaper.

Buy the best panel wipe you can afford.
Tack rags.
Crow's feet.
Quality tape and safe storage.

If you're in London, get PPG Deltron basecoat from Stockwell.
Its the best.

Don't mess with 2k if you're a novice... it's quite limiting.

Get a quick-release coupler for all your guns and airline.

Make sure there's a filter and pressure control on your compressor AND your gun - unless you've got a top-end compressor with refrigeration.

UV lamps are great, as are ovens but natural curing is better in almost every instance so just a safe place to hang your wet work is good.

PPE obvs.

Wet the floor for clearcoat... keeps dust down.

For what it's worth, you can pay for a course and come to learn refinishing at our workshop. It will give you all you need to know to get professional results. Lots f brands now paint in-house after having learned with us. We also sell packages of enough 'stuff' to paint a bike start to finish... it can be pricey buying a gallon of thinners only to use 50ml.
If you come on a course and you can demonstrate you're not a twat, you can hire our booth for £100 a day and get top quality results.

Blah blah blah...

Come to this thread and ask questions.
People know what they're talking about here.

Then one more vital part of the process which is woefully disregarded by many...

Flattening and polishing is essential.
It's a whole other world and a completely different skillset - in a pro shop, the polishing and detailing is done by completely different team members than those who paint; you can build a whole career on paint correction.
It can make a DIY finish a professional finish, it will help you understand the painting better and it will help you remedy lots of mistakes.
Let me know when you get to that stage and I'll suggest tools and products.

The knowledge base in this place is just ace.
Thank you.

Stumbled across something a bit different

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNhrKpjJ4qg

How do I safely remove the (quite sticky) residue left behind from peeling the decals without messing up the paint. I really hope there's an easy solution as I need to get clear coating this evening.

https://imgur.com/phymIGB

Lighter fuel (from your local tobacconist) should do it - or you can get purpose made glue removing solvents.
Then give it a rinse with isopropyl alcohol ( from your nearest pharmacy) because the lighter fuel is slightly oily.

Thanks. I always get confused with isopropyl alcohol and acetone, luckily i did a test first. Might have some lighter fuel knocking about.

I have record label remover at home which i think would work but I need to get it done tonight. WD40 is working ok so far.

WD is ok, but again, it leaves an oily deposit.
I'd go for isopropyl over acetone for getting it oil-free - it's less aggressive.
I've plenty of isopropyl here - if you are anywhere near Forest Hill.

Kind of like a South African Bora Hansgrohe

Looks like your sorted it...
Hot air will make the glue soft again and you should easely be able to remove masking...
Hairdryer ore heatgun (with care)

As everyone has said and you've clearly sorted... lots of DIY products will do the job. You just have to make sure you aren't creating chemical conflicts.

The pro product for that process is a degreaser generically called "Panel Wipe".
This sort of thing.

Looking forward to seeing it under clear.
Looks great!

Very late to the party here but I did this with my YT Capra, had the frame powdercoated, went at it with Posca paint pens and then some 2k clear from auto factors on top. It's help up remarkably well and that's as a bike that gets off-road abuse and rough washings so I'd feel quite confident in doing it on a road bike and having good longevity...

...after painting

...a recent shot four years later

Turned out ok, no doubt I'll get bored of it soon enough. Need to get better at taking decent pictures.

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