Painting, in a way - weather beaten look

I have a fixie that is pretty crap; ebay components, mix match wheels and rusted frame. I got a new one and this has been left redundant and I thought it would be nice to make it into a track bike (not hipster,but proper track etc) as the frame is not bad weight.
My plan is to make it look cool (as with any plan with a bike) and I have seen the weather beaten, rusty baremetal look with weld marks showing. I guess the first place to start is sandblasting the components but then what? What's the best way to get this effect as I really have no idea where to start as most places on the web are useless. Thanks guys, I understand this is a load of gibberish and weirdness.

Rat bikes thread for a start.

http://www.lfgss.com/thread37365.html

What I was asking is how to get the effect, but keep it that way and not compromise the frame, if you get me

You want this thread:

http://www.lfgss.com/thread15807.html

To strip the frame, I would use Nitromors paint stripper. Then there are a number of options for keeping it raw without rusting. Don't get it sandblasted because it'll give a really matte grey finish that'll be nearly impossible to get looking like normal again.

Mismatch

Damn, thought it. Its one of those things you never write down... just said. Lae, thanks for the advice. Paint stripper I think is the best option price wise and effect. What are these "options" of keeping rust off?

weather beaten paint™

If its a steel frame strip the existing paint job with a soft wire brush, clean up welds with a stiffer one, rub down in coarse paper, dry, spray with brine and shake on table salt to parts you want more rusted, wait a few months, wash and then rub down with a wet and dry paper, wash down, dry it perfectly and keep it by a radiator for a few days and use a matt clear coat.

Hey presto rusted frame thats now more or less weather proof and ratty.

What are these "options" of keeping rust off?

Well you can get a clear powdercoat but that'll only stick to a shotblasted frame (which has a dull matte grey finish itself, but will be glossy because it has a clearcoat). Or you can get a clear stove enamel. Or you could also get a wet paint clearcoat (acrylic or cellulose) but I wouldn't recommend it - it's not very durable unless applied over the proper basecoats. Clearcoats of any kind will generally only stick to shotblasted stuff - un-blasted frame tubes are relatively smooth. They stick to rust okay so long as it's not flaky.

Or you can go for some kinda oil - linseed oil will dry to a hard semi-gloss finish and won't rub off, and I only needed to do it twice in six months to prevent rust, but it's slightly yellow (more noticeable on a rough-finish because it tends to congregate in the pores of the metal - I'm currently testing it on a piece of polished steel and it doesn't look yellow with three light applications). WD40 won't go yellow but needs very regular re-application. Other oils may leave a sticky residue or rub off onto your clothes.

There's a product which is specially designed to be painted over raw or polished metal:
http://www.por15.com/GLISTEN-PC/productinfo/GPCGG/
It's brush-paintable, too, so you won't have to pay for a sprayer to paint your frame. I've read good reviews about it, but I haven't seen it firsthand.

I would recommend linseed oil - it'll stop the rust completely, and you won't need to completely remove all the old paint and decals, either (to give that cool worn-away ancient paint look). Unlike paints or clearcoats, if it gets scraped off, you can just wipe a bit more on. It's cheap, too - about a fiver for a bottle that'll last for probably hundreds of applications. Finally, if you don't like it, it's easy to remove with a rag dipped in turpentine.

Here's my linseed-oiled frame.

Thats quite nice.

I liked it for a while but I think it looks like shit now - to protect it from winter salt, and rather than cleaning it weekly, I just slapped a thick old layer of linseed oil on, and it's gone all orangey-brown and streaky. Kinda like a really horrible old toilet with orange gunge in the crevices. I think this was down to using really thick, dark orange, heavily boiled linseed oil.

I decided to change it, and I've started polishing up the frame. I've got some very chunky 80s black Carlton decals to go on it. I found some really thin straw-yellow linseed oil at a woodwork shop which doesn't even have a hint of yellow when applied over the polished section of frame. Heating the frame with a hairdryer and further thinning the first coat of oil should hopefully get it to penetrate into the pores of the metal and provide good rust protection.

How does the linseed oil technique work? Just slap it on and leave for a while to 'penetrate' then wipe off the excess? Can you pour it into the tubes?

I seem to remember oiling a cricket bat with the stuff...

I splot a bit onto a rag and wipe it over the frame - it dries within a few hours. With the thinned oil I'll do a few coats, heating the frame between coats to open up the pores of the metal slightly more. This might not be necessary, though.

It can be used inside the tubes as well - this is a traditional method of rust-proofing a frame.

It's also edible, so if you're stranded in the middle of nowhere, you can scrape it off your frame and use it for sustenance.

I love the Linseed oil technique, your bike looks real nice and thats the look I am going for... was you bike rusted already or did you sandblast/strip it and let it rust or what?

Stripped it with nitromors and wire wool which left it quite shiny, then I left it outside for a couple of days to become dull and develop a bit of surface rust, then linseed oiled it. This photo was taken after the second very thick winter-protection coat, and as such, it's a little more yellow than it should be.

As I've said before, I'd avoid sandblasting as it leaves a very uniform dull grey matte finish - great for applying paint onto, but not really what you're after!

Incidentally, I've been looking up various drying oils that should perform in the same way:

Heavy boiled linseed oil is the cheapest and most common (any DIY shop), but it is also the yellowest
Light linseed oil (from a specialist woodworking shop) is what I'm using when I've polished the frame - it doesn't appear yellow, but I've only put two thin coats on.
Walnut oil and poppyseed oil can be found on ebay in small bottles (used to loosen oil-based paints and oil gun stocks) and apparently don't have any yellow tint at all, but I haven't used them and can't vouch for how effective they are at preventing rust.