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Thread from the dead!
I know this has been discussed to death and I've read it all but we live in fast times.
I was wondering if somebody found a way lately to properly clearcoat or lacquer a bare metal frame.
Media blast and clear powdercoat.
Click on image to enlarge. this is more than 2 years old,but it's a dry weather only bike. powdercoaters can apply extra coats if you like.
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That is very nice. How polished is the steel?
I sanded it down to 600 grit then used 0000 steel wool.I can just see my face in it,although it's blurry. The powdercoating reduced the gloss level a bit. -
First post...I joined after following a link from retrobike and noticed the comments about clear finishes over raw steel.
I don't know much about the frame.It had a tange sticker on it when I bought it,but it had been resprayed when I bought it.It was light and fitted me so I've never been bothered about the provenance.
I built it up with all new or NOS parts,apart from the Crane derailleur and a Kusuki stem.It has all Dura Ace (F/D,headset,cranks,seatpost,levers,shifters) or 600AX (hubs and brakes)parts with Velocity Synergy rims. The Nitto Rando bars have Velo Orange stitched bar covers. It's really good to ride,at its best on fast winding downhill runs.It was originally intended to be a "Sunday spin around the park" ride,but I enjoy riding it so much that it's usually ridden daily.
I had the fork chromed and a local powdercoater did the coating on the frame after I had it stripped. It looked great when it was first done,but 18 months later there are signs of rust under the coating. i thinks that's down to the skill of the powdercoaters. I usually go to a different place who has done some good work for me in the past but for this one,I took it to a place closer to home. The rust doesn't show in pics and it's pretty minor,but I'm going to have the current coating blasted off and get the old place to redo it,again in clear powdercoat.
Fresh tripe get them from Velo Orange.