You are reading a single comment by @lae and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
London Fixed Gear and Single-Speed is a community of predominantly fixed gear and single-speed cyclists in and around London, UK.
This site is supported almost exclusively by donations. Please consider donating a small amount regularly.
@lae
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.
