Polished steel frame?

[rain dogs]

I'm currently, and painstakingly, stripping a frame that I picked up from a friend. He had repainted half of it....poorly, and I wanted to do a nice job on it.

It's a '90ish Basso Astra - Columbus EL tubing. It's quite a light steel frameset considering its approaching 25 years old.

Now that I'm getting down to the bare metal, and filing out all the paint from around the lugs, I'm growing fond of the bare look (after all I have a hi-bright CAAD8, so I'm a fan of raw metal)

I thought of chroming it, with is too expensive (I was quoted $400) and I also wanted to keep the seattube original black paint and decals, which hadn't been removed.

Question, finally:

What if I polish it and clear coat it? Will it be worth the work? Will it be a pain to polish around the lugs?

Should I just clear coat it over the raw steel and not bother polishing? Do people have any examples of polished steel road frames? Google just turns up chromed or stainless ones.

EDIT: Any tips? Actually, I'm just thinking that if I polish it... maybe the clear will chip off easily?

[maximus]

In the middle of doing the same thing as you. Also digging the bare steel look. I am far from an expert here, but here are a couple tips:

The paint is such a pain to remove in the first place, I am not sure I could handle all the tiers of sanding and polishing involved in getting the frame to have a mirror like finish. I am not even sure it can be done (I know its possible with stainless). I did some tests on my fork, sanding it all the way down to 1400 grit and then used a polishing compound and I couldn't get it anywhere close to decent.

As far as removing the paint, my new best friend is a rotary wire brush attached to a drill. It's still super time consuming, but it's the only thing that will remove the stubborn spots. I did three coats of stripper before getting this thing. (http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202831061/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=avanti%20wire&storeId=10051)

I personally like the "raw" steel look vs. polished. The issue is keeping the steel from rusting. I have done a ton of research, and it looks like it is a crap shoot. Some motorcycle guys do this to their tanks - and the general consensus (if there is one) is that its all about prep work. Get the sucker as clean as possible, use a proper pre-paint prep treatment (grease and wax remover) and a tack cloth. Then you have to clear it - this is where it gets really gray...

I have heard a lot of people say powder coat it. You have to go to a knowledgeable powder coater - apparently there are non-pourous, clear powder coats formulated for this sort of application. Not just any powder will work.

There are lots of liquid clears out there, and none of them are formulated for ferrous metals like steel - expect this one. (www.eastwood.com/ew-diamond-clear-gloss-bare-metal-aero-11-oz.html) It is a product by Eastwood that says it is specially formulated for bare metals (including steel). I couldn't find reports on how well this works on steel - but I am going to give it a shot (I have two cans waiting). Most liquid clears are porous and will not adhere to bare metal - but some guys do it.

Anyway, in both cases have read disaster stories and seen some pretty ugly pics (http://www.flickr.com/photos/reefflop/5546435392/) of the results. At the same time, I have seen beautiful pictures of clearcoated steel with out a spec of rust. I think it comes down to a lot of factors like prep, storage, climate, choice of product, etc. The alternative to clearcoating is to leave it raw and keep it oiled. There are various products out there - but this seems like a pain to upkeep and most of these products smell.

My biggest problem now (other than removing paint in little crevices) is getting a uniform surface on the steel tubes. I have started sanding it down with 600 grit - and hopefully that works. If you have any advice on that end, I am all ears!

Anyway, sorry for the novel - but I hope some of that is helpful.

[Ralph]

I work 1-2 days per week (part time) in a shop that restores old classic Shelby Mustangs. This type of restoration usually runs $100,000 to $150,000 (Just mentioned to make point we do things right). We take every part to bare metal. However we do not clear coat over bare metal.

We usually use a rotary sander or a wire wheel on drill (as mentioned above) to get to the bare metal. (or blast box if a small part) Then we acid wash it. This kills rust, and stops rust from forming. But the acid wash makes the metal ugly.

My son, Jonathan Greene the frame builder, uses a powder coating place to gently blast old frames to remove old stuburn paint before painting. Believe they chage $25 to remove all paint. Much better than using stripping materials. Bead blasting gives a much more uniform appearance, closer to the look you describe you want.

[AOW162435]

I'd vote for bead-blasting as well. Find a powdercoating shop that knows what they are doing and doesn't just blast everything with aluminum oxide. A fine glass bead will give a spectacular result.

I have a blasting cabinet in my shop at home and have used it hundreds of times over the last few years - unbelieveably usefull. But it will not accept a bike frame. :)

For a clear coat that is world's different from your run of the mill clear polyurethane, look into SprayMax 2k urethane gloss clear. This is a unique, made in Germany, product that has its own hardener within a separate chamber. When you're ready to use it, you depress a plunger on the bottom of the can, thoroughly mix, and spray as usual. The finish is very, very durable, crystal clear, and lays down very nice. It would be my choice if I were clear-coating a frame.

I've purchased numerous cans from this source: R&E Paint Supply (http://www.repaintsupply.com/pd_2_part_2k_aerosol.cfm)


Andreas

[palincss]

There was just a discussion of this very point in Mitch Pryor's photostream the other day
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mapcycles/6786899200/in/photostream Mitch brought this bike to NAHBS and was discussing leaving it "bare".

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7209/6786899200_f80634a7e1_z.jpg

A couple of comments on the photo go into detail on finishing techniques.

[eddief]

have dipping tanks. dip it, blast it, clear powder it. would love to see it done.

http://www.flickriver.com/photos/25671211@N02/2480107305/

is there any good reason clear powder would be any less durable than colored powder?

[stephenmarklay]

That looks cool. About 10 years ago I had a bed frame made at a welding shop. I saw something in a catalog... They fabricated it for a couple of hundred dollars. Super heavy, the foot and headboards bolt on. I then just picked up some clear from the auto store and sprayed it.

10 years later it still looks great and my 3 year old now has it as his bed.

I like this idea. This would be a cool stealth commuter.

have dipping tanks. dip it, blast it, clear powder it. would love to see it done.

http://www.flickriver.com/photos/25671211@N02/2480107305/

is there any good reason clear powder would be any less durable than colored powder?

[stephenmarklay]

I'm currently, and painstakingly, stripping a frame that I picked up from a friend. He had repainted half of it....poorly, and I wanted to do a nice job on it.

It's a '90ish Basso Astra - Columbus EL tubing. It's quite a light steel frameset considering its approaching 25 years old.

Now that I'm getting down to the bare metal, and filing out all the paint from around the lugs, I'm growing fond of the bare look (after all I have a hi-bright CAAD8, so I'm a fan of raw metal)

I thought of chroming it, with is too expensive (I was quoted $400) and I also wanted to keep the seattube original black paint and decals, which hadn't been removed.

Question, finally:

What if I polish it and clear coat it? Will it be worth the work? Will it be a pain to polish around the lugs?

Should I just clear coat it over the raw steel and not bother polishing? Do people have any examples of polished steel road frames? Google just turns up chromed or stainless ones.

EDIT: Any tips? Actually, I'm just thinking that if I polish it... maybe the clear will chip off easily?

I tried this once with similar grief. Dip, bead blast all the way.

[Steelman]

Here is a clearcoated Baylis:

http://i994.photobucket.com/albums/af70/lance15488/bbayli4.jpg

http://i994.photobucket.com/albums/af70/lance15488/b_bayl3.jpg

[cnighbor1]

Has an Architiect I got involved with large architectural items intended for use in building. Once for a large ornate stair I talked with the fabricator. this was in seattle. His experence was in a high humitiy areas like Seattle once metal was complete and blasted clean primer had to go than. Than paint Or else very small amount of rust would start in less than an nhour. And not seen. than weeks aferwards rust would work it way up thru paint.
So get frame clean and coat than
In CA not such a problem were I live now
charles

[rain dogs]

This may be a total mood killer, but the frame has just been primed. It's the bike I'm using on our upcoming trip and I don't have time to look for the powder coat solution.

Maybe another time on another frame.

So, now, .... what colour should I paint it? :banana:

[maximus]

Well... if there's one lesson learned from this thread - there is really no fool-proof method to clear coating bare steel.

I'll be sure to post pics of mine in the gallery when she's all built up.

As far as color goes... can't go wrong with orange or pearl white on a classic rig :beer:

[Louis]

As far as color goes... can't go wrong with orange or pearl white on a classic rig :beer:

+1

[old_fat_and_slow]

This may be a total mood killer, but the frame has just been primed. It's the bike I'm using on our upcoming trip and I don't have time to look for the powder coat solution.

Maybe another time on another frame.

So, now, .... what colour should I paint it? :banana:

"Black" is the new black.

Super easy to touch up. Can get black touch-up paint anywhere. Very easy to blend in with surrounding paint when you need to do a small repair. Go black young man.