Roberts build/respray, any tips for paints etc

Just picked up this frame on ebay and planning a slightly mad project. If anyone can give me any tips I would really appreciate it as it's my first paint job. Resources I have near me:

• Proffessional artist's fabricators/painters, going to ask their advice on the painting
  
• Car spraying place, does touch up work for people following crashes, specializes in bodywork
  
• I work in a workshop with lots of spares/second hand parts to try from
  
  

What I am thinking of doing is:
1) Getting the frame sandblasted (if anyone knows a good cheap place in south london that would be great)
2) Doing a 4 colour spray in the style of the table runner shown
3) Building up with sweepbacks as a 2x9 with V brakes
4) Fitting guards and rack and kickstand to make a dream do everything bike, my current one is a 17.5kg rockhopper. Rides like a dream but weighs a ton

Any experience/threads about spraying at home would be great, especially good top coat/lacquering options that are reasonably tough. My current plan is to use washi tape to mark out the shapes between colours once the coats are dry, I have never done this and I'm worried it will crack the paint when I take it off.

Thanks and I will do an update once the frame arrives.

5 Attachments

https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/311144/?offset=925#comment17074561

There's lots of very good advice in this thread, very kindly shared by someone with much more knowledge than most about painting bikes @general_greyharbour.

And why does the bike have that geometry?

Thanks! Sorry for the stupidity but what do you mean about the geometry? That it's so upright?

It's a roughstuff innit?

The guy sold it as a tourer so it could be a roughstuff but it has 700c wheels and I thought the roughstuff was 26" wheels. Basically I am looking for a very upright position for a tourer.

Take it to Vaz in Hither Green for a media blast.
Will take a little while but won't cost the earth.

I'm firmly of the belief that any rattle can finish can only ever be "good for a rattle can job". Spray cans give away control of so many variables, that they simply can't compete with a proper compressor setup.

However...

• Once it's back in your hands, DIY it thusly...
  
• Key it up with 120grit and red scotchbrite.
  
• Then blow it off and degrease it with a quality panel wipe.
  
• Soon as possible after sanding it and keying it, prime it with an etch primer, then an epoxy primer... the spray practice will familiarise you and the higher building epoxy primer will be forgiving at the next stage...
  
• Key it up with 600 grit and grey scotch but try not to break through the primer back to the metal.
  
• Mask off any area that you don\t want to get colour and clear on
  
• Take your time applying the main hue. Warm, your paint in a bowl of water. Shale for longer than you're told. Keep it warm in the water and clean the nozzles regularly. Take your time and don't try and do it all in one coat; aim for two or three.
  
• SpayMax clearcoat next... all over the bike as instructed. Clear it as if you were finishing the project off.
  
• Let it cure, then with a wet 800 or 1000 grit, gently remove the peel, flatten off any overspray or dry spray and get the surface smooth and dull everywhere.
  
• After another cure... a week... yo've given the bike an "interclear coat"... you've protected the main colour underneath and you've given an even uniformed surface for the design to go on there... and you've had some clearcoat practice.
  
• Get your shapes in place for stencilling. Washi tape isn't designed for this purpose so swerve it. Buy some wide crepe tape and slap a bit onto a clean cutting mat , grab a scalpel and use it to freehand those shapes... they don't appear as though they need super precision. Make sure your lines are clean and there are no burrs or frayed edges.
  
• Pop your home made stencils on the bike... and try to arrange them in order to hide any imperfections on your previous layer!
  
• Mask off the rest of the bike with a less expensive automative masking tape or automotive masking paper.
  
• Gently paint in your stencils... don't go overboard... use minimal paint to avoid building big edges or lips of paint product... especially with the white. I'd recommend a couple of dusts of white before you apply that dusty pink too.
  
• Once you're happy it's dry, carefully remove all your masking. If you have any high-build colour edges, you can use a piece of crepe tape to glance it over the work and remove excess paint build up.
  
• Once you're happy, get a new can of clearcoat and go again on the whole bike. You should have had some practice now and feel a bit more confident.
  
  

If you feel compelled o detail and polish it, tag me again and I'll talk you through it.

There are loads of other ways to tackle this, this way isn't definitive... its just a simple approach that gives you a couple of "safety" stages to relieve some pressure.

Good luck.

Thanks so much, I've been reading through the custom paint thread and your advice is so comprehensive and useful! I am imbetween 2 painters, one who does automotive touch ups and the other does high end sculptures/painting (think Tate Modern/4th plynth), but I think this would be too much use to ask of their equipment.
Is there a paint gun/compressor you can recommend that is not too expensive? Something like this? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Timbertech-Airbrush-Compressor-Accessories-Nozzles/dp/B00LO4PKY2/ref=asc_df_B00LO4PKY2/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=294750500521&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8607816303851690642&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=20480&hvtargid=pla-420476380267&psc=1

Both the painters you've described will have the skill set and the correct tooling for what you're looking for. They're normally the right types of people to ask for that type of work... ask politely, let them have control over the colours (so they can use stocks they have in their shop) and pay cash!

For a DIY compressor setup, the link you've sent is way underpowered for a bike... it'll be like trying to colour your bike in with a pen! This will work for some the logos and detail work but the nozzle size won't be big enough for proper metallic paint and the tank doesn't hold enough volume.

A halfway decent setup has a £120 compressor, a £30 gun, a tenner's worth of fittings and then £100 -£020 worth of product... then you have to find somewhere safe to paint it.

I might start a thread at some point with recommended DIY gear from Screwfix etc but for dabbling, rattlecans is the smallest initial outlay. The most important part at this stage is patience.

I think that could be a great resource! I know you've talked about using Starchem to strip before, would you recommend Vaz over this? Just means a trip to Hither Green and an added expense but I'll do it if it will have a significant effect on the outcome.

If you use Synstrip, you'll get four bikes out of one jar... costs out way better.

You'll still have to be meticulous in removing the residue and cleaning up the steel afterwards.

This is excellent esp because of the unusual geo.

I don't know anything about painting but def take it to Vaz in Hither Green. Winston probably built it

yeah that's a good shout. What is so unusual about the geo though? It looks like an upright touring frame to me? Am I missing something

This would be worth investing in I think as we do bike restoration at work

it looks like it has a really long headtube compared to the length of the seat tube and top tube. But I really know fuck all about this. It should be a great ride and project

Ah good, that is why I bought it, I currently have a stem extender on a frame with the same top tube measurement which makes the headtube the same measurement as this. I'm hoping it is close enough to make it comfortable without a stem extender, and I will be riding with swept handlebars a la:

I've not used them myself, but this place in south London (Penge) does media blasting:

https://www.icmhome.org.uk/contact

Thanks, I'll give them a shout

Colourtech in dartford, probably did the original paint, still painting and still awesome finish.

Controversial take but I'd advocate building the bike up as close to your ideal as possible before painting. The frame looks amazing but there's no knowing you'll love shreddin' on it until it's built up. Better to find out now before investing effort/energy/emotional outlay on a bike that might not (but probably will!) be the love of your life.

Controversial take

Not at all. It's absolutely the most sensible move.

Yes good point will definitely build before painting!

Seconded

There are lots of individuals and firms across the country able to provide a finish for a bike. They all have different levels of experience and specific skills. Some are good at one thing and less good at another. It's skilled work and as such, some people are more skilled than others. Colourtech will do a good job of changing the colour of your bike but if you're looking for detail-focussed, show-quality finishes, they're not where I'd personally recommend you invested your money.

I talked to Mario Vaz and he can do a blast and primer for £50, so I think I will just do that and then try to do the rest of the work with the guys/girls near my work. That way I know the basis is solid and I'm not under pressure to get the primer on before there is any rust damage done to the frame

Great plan.

And a choice bargain.
Honestly, I dunno how they make any money!