Painting frame?

or paint it with Hammerite which is a sturdy finish also, but makes your bike look like a caveman used to own it.

:^D

Ah here, not necessarily my bike was rattle canned properly. I did it well and it is holding up to all weather fine, the only chips in my paintjob are on the top tube and that is because of careless storage and they are yet to rust due to a well layed undercoat. Plus my paintjob is almost flawless, nothing that wouldnt compare to powdercoating.

It doesn't have to look shit if you do it yourself, but if you go down that route you have to be infinitely patient, spend a lot of money (more then a pro job), have a lot of time on your hands, be a perfectionist. If you do not have all of those qualities it will only look average at best, and you will still have spent a lot of money.

MattO,

Like had already been said - you'll spend more on primer, paint and laquer cans than a pro job.

I had a frame dip stripped, primer and painted for £30! now thats cheap.

the only way you can get a finish equal to a proffessional job is to spend alot of money on good paint, and lots of it. you can get it good but you might as well just get it done by someone else for cheaper and better durability.

with that said if you want a cheap quick job it can be alright as long as you expect it to chip easily. matt black comes out well and is easy to repair. my mate just has a spare can lying about that he just splashes over the invevitable chips with and its good as new.

hey all, pretty new to the forum. Into spraying canvases, where do i get gear to spray up a frame that won't fall off in the rain?
Thanks in advance

Car spray paint from Halfords or similar shop.

Cheers fried chix, makes life easy and great speed!! couple more questions (not specifically for fried chix), sorry to be a pain!!

1: where do i get clear coat/primer from (sorry if same place)
2: How nessecary is primer
3: how much sanding do i need to do before i start?

Again cheers in advance

1. same place (no problem)
   
2. for a good hard-wearing paint job, it is necessary
   
3. It's more important to sand in between coats, see http://www.londonfgss.com/post218467-7.html
   

thnx again

Only thing is, it will never be as tough as a pro job. I did my friend's bike in white tho, looked lovely. Just have to be gentle! Plus after you spray the last coat, leave it a good few days before you attempt to build it back up. Might feel dry, but it won't be hard...

any rattle can, however well executed is going to chip and scratch easily.
i'll even go further and say that any spray paint on a frame is shit (scratches and comes off).
fact - enamelling or powder coat is zillions better.

I tend to agree with Dylan. Rattle cans will cost you £10 each and you will need 3 (primer + 2 coat). Powdercoating costs £64 and will last ten million times longer.

any rattle can, however well executed is going to chip and scratch easily.
i'll even go further and say that any spray paint on a frame is shit (scratches and comes off).
fact - enamelling or powder coat is zillions better.

True dat. If you wanna go ghetto tho, it can look great. Until it comes off ;) I would say fuck it and get it done pro, it won't cost that much and it will be solid. Fact is, spray can will never be a real hard finish...

I've had some pretty good luck rattle canning beater bikes. Pick a day when it's not windy (or do it in a garage). Sand, primer, hit it with a few coats of whatever color you want and then clear coat the hell out of it. Masking tape up everything you don't want painted. I agree, it's not at the quality level of a professional but it sure beats the rusted out look.

i have found the best paint to be specific graffiti brands. they come in zillions of awesome colours and are really thick!

Vaz Finishes?

Can anyone recommend a pro finisher in the London area. The only one I'm aware of is Vaz Finishes. Are they good/ Any other suggestions please.

http://www.londonfgss.com/thread7309.html
http://www.londonfgss.com/thread20615.html
http://www.londonfgss.com/thread4729.html
http://www.londonfgss.com/thread4538.html
http://www.londonfgss.com/thread2954.html
http://www.londonfgss.com/thread10022.html
http://www.londonfgss.com/thread993.html

etc...

And this one has some Armourtex info

http://www.londonfgss.com/thread17439.html#post636606

Apologies - I did do a bit of a search but I couldn't find anything - guess I was using the wrong terms or it was just v. early in the morning and I hadn't properly woken up yet.

Thanks for the help, Balki.

vaz is pretty good £65 for paint, £20 for decals and £5 for columbus badge
he pick out the moser on the seatstays and the M's on the lugs in gold for free

5 Attachments

so i kinda never really said anything more about my painting so i thought i'd do a quick play by play.

first is stripping the frame.
clean the frame from any grease and dirt and then take a peice of steel wool/wire brush/sandpaper and scuff the surface, especially in any tight sports.

to actually strip the frame i use Aircraft Stripper that you can get here at tons of places (wal mart, auto stores, etc.) You can also use any sort of stripper. it really will attack the frames pretty well. spray the stripper on then let it set 10-20 minutes then scrape of with a butter knife/putty knife/ hard edge metal object. once you scrape the paint off i use a drill with a paint stripper brush on it.
http://hardcoreisdead.com/9.JPG

you'll need to use sand paper to get the tight spots(shown below) clear of the paint . i use emery cloth because its a little more durable.

http://hardcoreisdead.com/3.JPG

then to get rid of all braze on's i get to work with a torch to soften the brazes then use a pair of channel grips/ pliers to pop the braze.

http://hardcoreisdead.com/5.JPG

http://hardcoreisdead.com/6.JPG
http://hardcoreisdead.com/6a.JPG

after i finish that, i sand it down with 2000+ grit sandpaper, then wipe it down with clorox wipes to make sure there is no grease from my hands on the frame (using gloves here aint a bad idea) then dry it of with a lint free cloth.

they will end up like this:

http://hardcoreisdead.com/2.JPG

once prepped i hang the frame in a fashion like this
http://hardcoreisdead.com/7.JPG
the bar prevents it from swinging.

then i use a self etching primer.
http://hardcoreisdead.com/10.JPG

after the frames are coated i sand (with 3000 grit) and prime again with the self etching primer. i do this about three times.

then the frames look like this
http://hardcoreisdead.com/13.JPG

then depending on the color of the paint shoice i will do a coat of white primer or grey.

then i start the painting process. i do all the tubes first. here i do the head tube in almond, and then i painted the top tube, down tube, seat tube, and the stays.
http://hardcoreisdead.com/12.JPG

i found this easier because theyre generally lighter than i do the lugs. if i keep the lugs a lighter colour i will do them first. i then tape them off and do the other.

after 2 -5 coats of colour i do clear coats. between each coat do the same as the primer. the last coat use the highest grit sandpaper you can before the clear coat and between each clear coat.

i used automotive clear coats. there are engine enamals that work great because theyre made to actually take some impact without scratching.

that said here are some tips:
1 do light light coats.

1. don't rush it and try to do it in as open areas as possible. dust will fuck it up. ake sure you don't get any oils on the frame.
   

So I'm thinking, if I were to strip this frame and get it repainted, would the pitting on the lugs and the top tube show under a layer of powdercoat paint?

http://xs140.xs.to/xs140/09234/dscf0375489.jpg
(Photo is far too big to embed)

Aswell, is the pitting on the frame a result of damage to the paint or is it actual damage to the metal frame. If it's the latter, would it be possible to remove?

With powdercoat yes they would...

With a paintjob no, they could easily be filled and sanded smooth...

It's likely that the pitting is in the steel rather than the paint. Once you've stripped the paint you could try lightly filing the worst areas smooth (being careful not to take off too much metal!) before you get it powder coated?