painting carbon seat stay

[jeffb]

I am close to signing off on a new CXII. It will be a relatively small frame, with 5.5 sloping top tube and a 45cm seat tube. It will have an Alpha Q fork, painted candy apple red to match the main color in the frame. I am probably going with a 1/2-1/2 paint scheme, with quicksilver being the second color. Thus, the bottom portions of the down and seat tubes and the chainstays will be quicksilver and the front of the frame and the fork will be candy apple red. My question is what to do with the carbon seat stays. Leave them clearcoated or paint them quicksilver? Another option I am considering is going with a 3/1-1/4 scheme, in whch just the chain stays and the carbon seat stays will be painted quicksilver. Thoughts?

[93legendti]

I opted for painted carbon stays on my Ottrott ST. Do a search thru the Image Gallery, you might get lucky and find your scheme with and without painted stays...

[jeffb]

In the gallery section of the Bicycle Fan website, I found a blue CDA with the 1/2-1/2 scheme using quicksilver as the second color. The fork was painted blue like the main part of the frame, but the seat stays were not painted. I have not found a picture where the carbon stays were painted as part of a 1/2 or 1/4 paint scheme. I am leaning toward painting the stays. Do you like the way your painted stays turned out?

[93legendti]

In the gallery section of the Bicycle Fan website, I found a blue CDA with the 1/2-1/2 scheme using quicksilver as the second color. The fork was painted blue like the main part of the frame, but the seat stays were not painted. I have not found a picture where the carbon stays were painted as part of a 1/2 or 1/4 paint scheme. I am leaning toward painting the stays. Do you like the way your painted stays turned out?

I love the finish on My Ottrott ST.
http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=28703&highlight=ottrott

I have a Legend ST in plain ti with unpainted stays and I prefer painted stays.

[jeffb]

Very nice bike. Painted seatstays look good on an Ottrott, especially with a painted fork. Thanks for the picture.

[Brian Smith]

Since you're painting the fork to match the frame, I would enjoy seeing paint on the seat stay, too. We all know they're carbon, no need to exaggerate that fact these days.

[93legendti]

Thanks and good luck.

When I am trying to figue out a paint shceme, I like to download paint templates ("naked" framesets) and go to town with highlighters. Zank, Serotta and Tom Kellogg all have them at their sites.

Good luck!