Help with paint

[johnniecakes]

I need some help and I am sure that someone here can help me. I recently had Serotta Colorado painted. But in my stupidy I forgot to ask the painter to fill in the engraving on the fork crown. So I now have the frame and the paint is dry and the painter is paid. So how can I fill in the engraving with a constrasting color without ruining the surrounding finished paint.

Any ideas?

[Cicli]

One Shot lettering enamel. Works very well and flows nicely to give a great finish. Get a nice brush.

http://www.1shot.com/One-Shot/Products/Topcoats.aspx

[Gsinill]

Toothpick works well too.

[zmudshark]

I am facing the same dilemma. I saw a thread on bikeforums.net about using a paint pen product, but can't remember the brand name. Maybe someone here saw it and can chime in.

I'm going to renew my search and will chime back if I find it.

[zmudshark]

Thanks for reminding me, I found the post:

Short answer, Posca Paint Pen

https://www.bikeforums.net/19366076-post16.html

[mhespenheide]

Wouldn't you want to mask off the top surface, the one you don't want to paint, with electrical tape?

[David Kirk]

Here's how they did it back in the day at Serotta.....

After the frameset was painted and cured it would go into the shipping dept. The guys would take Testors model paint and brush some into the engravings not worrying about being accurate. They'd let it set up for a few minutes and then take a lint free rag that was damp with paint thinner and wipe it lightly over the surface.

This will remove the paint off the surface while leaving it in the low area and you're all set. Many thousand bikes were done with this simple process and it works very well. If you mess it up you can just wipe it all off and start over.

Trying to put the paint in there accurately will be a massive exercise in frustration....it never looks good this way. Slop it on and wipe it off and let the engraving itself determine the shape of the lettering.

dave

[mhespenheide]

Dave.

You rock.



Seriously, it's so amazing having you here letting us in on the little secrets. Even if I never do this myself, it's cool just to hear about it.

[ultraman6970]

THe other way is just drop some paint drops over those letters with a toothpick or anything, even a tiny brush, once you got good and even covering just wet your fingers and pass it over the top, repeat till gets clean. In that way you dont mess with thinner.

[cadence90]

Here's how they did it back in the day at Serotta.....

After the frameset was painted and cured it would go into the shipping dept. The guys would take Testors model paint and brush some into the engravings not worrying about being accurate. They'd let it set up for a few minutes and then take a lint free rag that was damp with paint thinner and wipe it lightly over the surface.

This will remove the paint off the surface while leaving it in the low area and you're all set. Many thousand bikes were done with this simple process and it works very well. If you mess it up you can just wipe it all off and start over.

Trying to put the paint in there accurately will be a massive exercise in frustration....it never looks good this way. Slop it on and wipe it off and let the engraving itself determine the shape of the lettering.

dave

+ 1.
This is how I have always done those small details. The method really works.

One can even wrap the lint-free paint-thinner rag around a stir-stick or tongue depressor, etc. in order to have a flat surface with which to wipe. Works great.
.

[Asudef]

Dave's advice is always how I've always known to do it but with a damp rag instead. I'd be very careful/judicious in the use of paint thinner. I hit my red wet painted (Cycelart) frame with an acetone rag and it came off red.

[cadence90]

Dave's advice is always how I've always known to do it but with a damp rag instead. I'd be very careful/judicious in the use of paint thinner. I hit my red wet painted (Cycelart) frame with an acetone rag and it came off red.
That's why it is always better, for these purposes, to use paint thinner (lightly) rather than acetone. They are not the same thing, and acetone can be much more aggressive/volatile.
.

[Asudef]

Ahh, you learn something everyday. I've always thought of them interchangeably. Nevermind me then.

[cadence90]

Ahh, you learn something everyday. I've always thought of them interchangeably. Nevermind me then.

Your point was a valid one, though. Many people confuse the two products (and others).

Acetone is a great paint remover (think of nail polish remover) but really not a great thinner for paint. Acetone is a sledgehammer to paint thinner's rubber mallet.
.

[johnniecakes]

Here's how they did it back in the day at Serotta.....

After the frameset was painted and cured it would go into the shipping dept. The guys would take Testors model paint and brush some into the engravings not worrying about being accurate. They'd let it set up for a few minutes and then take a lint free rag that was damp with paint thinner and wipe it lightly over the surface.

This will remove the paint off the surface while leaving it in the low area and you're all set. Many thousand bikes were done with this simple process and it works very well. If you mess it up you can just wipe it all off and start over.

Trying to put the paint in there accurately will be a massive exercise in frustration....it never looks good this way. Slop it on and wipe it off and let the engraving itself determine the shape of the lettering.

dave

Thanks Dave

Hopefully it will get warm enough this weekend I can give this a try. The Misses would appreciate the paint & thinner odor in the house.

[Peter P.]

Here's how they did it back in the day at Serotta...
dave

This is similar to how I did it.

I did engraving of two-way radio cases for the company I worked for, using a New Hermes computerized engraver.

After, I would use an ENAMEL "paint pen" whose brand I forget, to ink in the lettering. The pens can be purchased from any art supply store, with a fine tip. I wouldn't use a lot of precision but would casually try to minimize over-use because it make clean up time-consuming.

After the ink set up, which only took a couple minutes, I would use mineral spirits on a paper towel to to lightly wipe over the engraved area. After wetting the paper towel, I would press the paper towel on a piece of cardboard to remove excess fluid which might run into the recessed, painted area and ruin my work, requiring reapplication.

[David Kirk]

No acetone! Paint thinner and acetone are far from interchangeable.

dave

[zennmotion]

Thanks Dave

Hopefully it will get warm enough this weekend I can give this a try. The Misses would appreciate the paint & thinner odor in the house.

You can use denatured alcohol from the medicine cabinet as well if smell and toxicity is an issue, and less fire hazard if you have no other use for long term storage of paint thinner. I've used Testors, nail polish and even office supply white-out and all work well for the purpose.