Home paint job questions...

[SoCalSteve]

Hi all,

I never thought I would be posting something as "Mickey Mouse" as this, but...maybe it will be fun...

My wife has taken to not driving her car on weekends and bought a beater bike with a book rack and basket to make local trips on.

I bought a beater fixie from Dave T. to join her on her local rides. The paint on it leaves a lot to be desired (thats fine, as the price was oh so right).

Ok, my question is: If I want to repaint it myself, how would I go about doing that without making too much of a mess or disaster to me or the bike. BTW, its an older lugged steel bike with a steel fork.

As always, thank you all in advance,

Steve

[pbbob]

you might go to the framebuilders list at bikelist.org and search under rattlecan paint job or something like that. there are a number of replies on this topic. some have used krylon or gone to the local auto paint place and had a spray can of their favorite color made for them.
I've seen a number of pics on the web of bikes that were spray can painted and they came out ok.
I think the only way this could be a disaster to yourself would be if you sprayed the frame in an enclosed environment without ventilation.
good luck.

[jckid]

My ex-husband once painted a frame with spray paint. Actually, it didn't come out that bad. He used dupli-color in a shade of white. As I recall, he did two coats. I think he then lightly sanded it before spraying on the clear coat. He also added a set of new decals. The paint wasn't as durable as a powdercoat job. He rode the bike for a couple of years. From a distance, the bike looked like it had factory paint. Up close you could tell it wasn't, but nobody ever commented on it. It was just a cheap older frame, so it wasn't worth it to put money into a fancy paint job. If it were a nice, higher end bike, then he would have never spraypainted it.

[Tom]

Talk to BBDave. He repainted his MTB over one winter and it came out pretty good. Technically. The choice of colors... no comment. Heh heh.

[Larry8]

Steve,
Revove everything you can off of the frame. Strip all the paint off of the frame(chemicals and scotch brite pads) or sand the old finish down to a uniform smoothness(no chips etc.) Wipe with a tack cloth. Hang the frame from an old wire coat hanger(outside or somewhere protected form the overspray) and spray paint from 12 to 14 inches away first a tack coat just enough to stick but not really cover the old paint. Have a beer. When you finish the beer spray another coat of paint on just till the surface looks covered and wet. Have another beer. Spray the final coat of paint just like the last just until the finish looks wet. Do not spray too much or the paint will drip that is when you have gone too far.
Many years ago I repainted an old peugot this way and it turned out great. I was able to get paint from the local Schwinn store. Your LBS may stock some bike paint too otherwise rustoleum works or maybe a hobby store may have good color choices. BTW if you never used a spray can before practice on some newspaper or cardboard first. :banana:
reassemble and go for a ride.

Good Luck,

Larry

[SoCalSteve]

Great info!

If I'm not too drunk, should I use clear coat over the paint?

Thanks,

Steve

[Ken Robb]

In San Diego one can have a frame/fork powder coated for $85. I wouldn't get into the mess described above for that kind of $$.

[Frank]

In San Diego one can have a frame/fork powder coated for $85. I wouldn't get into the mess described above for that kind of $$.

I haven't had one done, but have seen a few that were and they looked fine to me.

[Louis]

In San Diego one can have a frame/fork powder coated for $85. I wouldn't get into the mess described above for that kind of $$.

I agree with Ken. A buddy of mine at work had a frame powder coated for $60 at some paint place and he was quite happy with the result.

Unless of course, you want to find out what it's like, in which case knock yourself out with the spray can.

Louis

[SoCalSteve]

advice, opinions and wisdom!

So, does anyone know a place that does powdercoating in Los Angeles? I fear that the expense of shipping this very heavy frame will negate any savings that I am looking for.

Or, I could just spray paint it myself and get drunk in the process. Both would work well!

Thanks again to one and all.

Steve

[Louis]

Powdercoat Link (http://yp.yahoo.com/py/ypMap.py?Pyt=Typ&tuid=9602022&ck=1630471008&tab=B2C&tcat=25991494&city=Los+Angeles&state=CA&uzip=90012&country=us&msa=4480&cs=4&ed=PAu9GK1o2TyIMUuoIy1O7Ju6tZHwXrRmkVnuywNVU7w8OA--&stat=:pos:0:regular:regT:1:fbT:1)

[William]

Steve,
Revove everything you can off of the frame. Strip all the paint off of the frame(chemicals and scotch brite pads) or sand the old finish down to a uniform smoothness(no chips etc.) Wipe with a tack cloth. Hang the frame from an old wire coat hanger(outside or somewhere protected form the overspray) and spray paint from 12 to 14 inches away first a tack coat just enough to stick but not really cover the old paint. Have a beer. When you finish the beer spray another coat of paint on just till the surface looks covered and wet. Have another beer. Spray the final coat of paint just like the last just until the finish looks wet. Do not spray too much or the paint will drip that is when you have gone too far.
Many years ago I repainted an old peugot this way and it turned out great. I was able to get paint from the local Schwinn store. Your LBS may stock some bike paint too otherwise rustoleum works or maybe a hobby store may have good color choices. BTW if you never used a spray can before practice on some newspaper or cardboard first. :banana:
reassemble and go for a ride.

Good Luck,

Larry

I second that...good advice for the diy'er. I did this with an FJ40 Toyota Landcrusier when I was in college. Gloss white and black. Came out really nice and from a distance looked custom. Looked good close up but if you looked close or knew anything about paint you would know. Hey, it looked a lot nicer then the camouflage scheme that was on it when I picked it up.

Looked similar to this, just mainly white with black trim.
http://www.stagewest4x4.com/custom/RickW-Cruiser1.jpg

William

[SoCalSteve]

Powder coating and prices in Los Angeles...

First off, no one will touch it without it being sand blasted first. Thats $75.00...

Then, it would cost anywhere from $100.00 to $150.00 to have it powder coated.

A can of spray paint and a 6 pack is looking much better now...

I have a feeling that labor rates and EPA "stuff" in the Los Angeles-Orange County area is what drives the price way up. Thats part of the cost of living in paradise, I guess.

Steve