Painting my bike. Who?

[Elefantino]

I know JB is the best. He's also the most expensive. I'm going to have my DB painted this winter, matching (somewhat) my CSI, with a white-to-maroon fade, preserving the chrome stays and fork.

Airglow ... Cyclart ... Danny in Louisiana? Recommendations/ideas/things of which to beware?

Thanks,
Mike

[Chief]

Elefantino, a friend just sent me this message:

piece of trivia .....

Richard Sachs outsources his paint jobs to Joe Bell, one of the best in the country. Joe Bell outsources some work to Dave Simms ..... he lives in San Antonio.

So, if you ever need a paint job ......

Perhaps a Joe Bell paint job could be cheaper if the middle man; i.e., Joe Bell, was cut out of the loop. Unfortunately,the San Antonio phone director doesn't list a David Simms. There are a couple David Sims. Also a google doesn't provide any hits so I don't know how to contact him. Sorry

[lnomalley]

i've had great experiences with cyclart... frames done on time and excellent paint job. good people with nice hairless cats.

[Bill Bove]

If you want to stay local, I had a bike painted by a guy on Port St. Lucie. I can't remember his name but you can check it out in the image gallery. It's the pink one with the red, white and green stripes. I'll try to remember the guy's name.

[bulliedawg]

guy on Port St. Lucie

Used to date a girl from Port St. Lucie. She had a head full of snakes, but she sure was fun.

There's a place in Pendleton, South Carolina that's supposed to do good work. When I get my frame painted, it's where I'm going. Only about an hour and a half from by house.

Linky: http://www.koolbikes.com/

[Smiley]

Try Serotta's ex-paint shop guru , I have sent many to him with fast and good results . My man Billy Lane of North East Custom Paintworks . He advertises in Velo News and he's down the road from Serotta ( I think in Glens Falls ). Billy was the Head Paint guy when I was with the company , he left to open his own shop. I think he has a 3 day turn around at last we spoke . Good prices too. Google his company for his web site .

[Bill Bove]

Smiley, I think they are out of business. They painted the bike I had at the open house but when I tried to contact them to paint the latest one they had disapeared. :confused:

[OldDog]

Inquire with Tom Kellogg. As fine a job as anyone out there, JB included.

[William]

I'll do it! :D

I rattle canned my old FJ40 when I was in College. It was cammo when I got, I painted it a two-tone gloss white with gloss black accents. You couldn't even tell unless you got real close, and even then it was hard to tell.

Seriously, I hear Hot Tubes does great work.

William

www.hottubes.com

[weisan]

Hi Chief,

Glad to see you here....I lived in Austin. I would love to hook up a ride with you when you are in the neighborhood. Occasionally, I would join the ACA rides on Saturday or ride up to San Marcos. One ride I was hoping to do during summer and early fall but didn't get a chance to was to ride around Fredericksburg, I heard it's a beautiful spot. One time I rode with another friend from Austin to Johnson City passing thru the Perdanales State Park, that was a pretty route. Take care!

weisan

[MartyE]

Also not inexpensive but Brian Baylis is pretty good with paint.

check him out at:
http://www.vintagecyclestudios.com/index.html

Marty

[cpg]

I think that you will find that good paint costs about the same throughout the country. JB really isn't anymore than the other shops in his league although it could be argued that there isn't anybody in his league. Painters to check out (in no particular order)

-JB
-Brian Baylis
-Peter Weigle
-Chris Kvale
-Serotta
-Acme

I think this list should satisfy if you are looking for a top quality and high buck paint job. If you want cheap paint you're on your own but the above list of painters will deliver something that's superior to what's considered production quality paint. Good luck.

[SGP]

I used the Color Factory. They have an ad in the back of Velonews. The turn around time, including there and back, was less two weeks. They did a fantastic job.

[eisenm]

I have had a great experience with Spectrum Powder Works in Colorado Springs. They do powdercoating, which may be more durable than liquid paint. They claim to be able to do almost anything with powder, and the website pictures support this claim. Turnaround time about 1 month. I had them do 2 frames in the past year (including one Serotta!).

http://www.spectrumpowderworks.com

if you are interested.

[gnolo]

I've had bikes painted by both. Billy is a cool guy, quick turnaround. Nice paint job. Nothing fancy.

Hot Tubes is on par with the best in the country IMHO. Toby can do anything you can think of. He can paint the logos vs. applying decals if you want. I watched him paint my bike at his shop. He's a fanatic.

[kenyee]

FWIW, Hot Tubes also does custom paint jobs for Cervelo customers...

[little.man]

Somewhat biased since I live in New Orleans, but Danny Green and Allan Edwards of Creative Cycle Works - http://www.creativecycleworks.com - do excellent work and have quite an imagination when it comes to unique designs and paint schemes. Cost is reasonable and will be turned around in a fairly short timeframe. If you have any questions for them, you can e-mail them and you will receive a prompt reply. Check out their website. Great pics of some of their work.

I talked to Allan recently and he said that they are painting some of Seven's frames. I am not sure how much work they do for Seven, but sounded like they have a pretty good business from them.

I have not heard of any complaints about their work.

[dave thompson]

Joe Bell e-mailed this to me, and asked that I post it here, to clear up a posters mistaken mention of Joe subbing out paintwork and to share information:

To the Serotta discussion group,

I would like to throw my 2 cents in on last week's thread concerning painters.
I've heard people say I'm the most expensive painter out there, but I am not sure I deserve bragging rights to this honor. I know most of the best bicycle finishers in the USA and consider them to be my friends. I'll bet that my price structure is within a hundred bucks of ANY of these top level painters for a given paint job.
While it may appear to some people that I am charging big bucks for my work, the truth is that ALL full time bicycle painters (ie. no other job) live modest lives. My family lives in a small house and I drive a 20 year old truck. My wife also works to help make ends meet. I am not funding a retirement plan for myself because after vendors, employees and bills are paid, there isn't much left.
For us lifers, there simply IS NO retirement. We will continue with our work until we are found one morning with cold, dead fingers wrapped around a spray gun.
I have been doing this full time since 1978. I could have chosen another path and made more money, but satisfaction of a job well done has kept me here. I continue to paint because I'm good at it and the element of fun is still present.
Most of my refinisher friends have similar stories. We're all doing this by hand and there is no automation. All paint jobs are different and it takes cubic time to get the details right. There is no substitute for this level of craftsmanship.
Unfortunately, it's difficult to make a good living from this nowadays. This is why the attrition rate in bike painting is very high.
Eventually, most people tire of living hand to mouth and find real jobs.
The Bottom Line: Making a living with your hands has many rewards, but good financial compensation is not one of them!
Please don't write in and tell me that if I am burned out then look for another line of work; I'm too old for a career change now and this is all I really know how to do anyway. This may sound like a rant but I don't want it to. I never would have said anything at all, but my name is being mentioned here and I wanted to help clear up misconceptions and hearsay.

Speaking of misconceptions, a member of this forum mentioned that a JB paint job could be had cheaper by cutting the middleman (me) out of the picture. This is not true. I do not subcontract work to other painters.
Occasionally I refer people to other refinishers because of geographical reasons or because I feel another painter's talents may be more suited for that client than mine. I do not "wet my beak" on these occasions; I merely give somebody a phone number or two and then forget about it.
I do this because I am interested in the end user getting what's best for him or her and not trying to hog all the business for myself. If I am unable to accomodate a customer's wishes for any reason, I try to refer them to a painter who I feel will take care of their needs. All the best painters are constantly busy and there is enough work to go around.
It is good for the bike paint business in general when enamellers cooperate and try to help others when they can. The community is a very small one and those favors eventually make their way back.

My greatest pleasure in this work has been all the happy, satisfied customers I've had over the years. I'm glad I've been able to get this far in the game. Having the respect of my peers and being touted as one of the best encourages me to continue keeping the quality level as high as I can. My customer's confidence in me assures that I will not become complacent.
I apologize for this being long-winded, but I wanted to show people a perspective from behind the spray gun. I cannot speak for all the painters out there, but I know a few who will smile and say "Right On" when they read this.

Thank you,
Joe Bell

[Len J]

Joe Bell e-mailed this to me, and asked that I post it here, to clear up a posters mistaken mention of Joe subbing out paintwork and to share information:

To the Serotta discussion group,

I would like to throw my 2 cents in on last week's thread concerning painters.
I've heard people say I'm the most expensive painter out there, but I am not sure I deserve bragging rights to this honor. I know most of the best bicycle finishers in the USA and consider them to be my friends. I'll bet that my price structure is within a hundred bucks of ANY of these top level painters for a given paint job.
While it may appear to some people that I am charging big bucks for my work, the truth is that ALL full time bicycle painters (ie. no other job) live modest lives. My family lives in a small house and I drive a 20 year old truck. My wife also works to help make ends meet. I am not funding a retirement plan for myself because after vendors, employees and bills are paid, there isn't much left.
For us lifers, there simply IS NO retirement. We will continue with our work until we are found one morning with cold, dead fingers wrapped around a spray gun.
I have been doing this full time since 1978. I could have chosen another path and made more money, but satisfaction of a job well done has kept me here. I continue to paint because I'm good at it and the element of fun is still present.
Most of my refinisher friends have similar stories. We're all doing this by hand and there is no automation. All paint jobs are different and it takes cubic time to get the details right. There is no substitute for this level of craftsmanship.
Unfortunately, it's difficult to make a good living from this nowadays. This is why the attrition rate in bike painting is very high.
Eventually, most people tire of living hand to mouth and find real jobs.
The Bottom Line: Making a living with your hands has many rewards, but good financial compensation is not one of them!
Please don't write in and tell me that if I am burned out then look for another line of work; I'm too old for a career change now and this is all I really know how to do anyway. This may sound like a rant but I don't want it to. I never would have said anything at all, but my name is being mentioned here and I wanted to help clear up misconceptions and hearsay.

Speaking of misconceptions, a member of this forum mentioned that a JB paint job could be had cheaper by cutting the middleman (me) out of the picture. This is not true. I do not subcontract work to other painters.
Occasionally I refer people to other refinishers because of geographical reasons or because I feel another painter's talents may be more suited for that client than mine. I do not "wet my beak" on these occasions; I merely give somebody a phone number or two and then forget about it.
I do this because I am interested in the end user getting what's best for him or her and not trying to hog all the business for myself. If I am unable to accomodate a customer's wishes for any reason, I try to refer them to a painter who I feel will take care of their needs. All the best painters are constantly busy and there is enough work to go around.
It is good for the bike paint business in general when enamellers cooperate and try to help others when they can. The community is a very small one and those favors eventually make their way back.

My greatest pleasure in this work has been all the happy, satisfied customers I've had over the years. I'm glad I've been able to get this far in the game. Having the respect of my peers and being touted as one of the best encourages me to continue keeping the quality level as high as I can. My customer's confidence in me assures that I will not become complacent.
I apologize for this being long-winded, but I wanted to show people a perspective from behind the spray gun. I cannot speak for all the painters out there, but I know a few who will smile and say "Right On" when they read this.

Thank you,
Joe Bell

By such a class response from an (obviously) class guy.

Len

[Climb01742]

agree. joe bell sounds like a class guy. glad he wrote to clarify outsourcing rumor. someday i'll have a joe ball painted frame because someday, oh someday i'll make it to the top of e-richie's list. ;)

[davids]

I think Hottubes paints Seven's frames, too.

[Jeff N.]

JB. Don't settle for less. (619) 469-4312 Jeff N.

[Tom Kellogg]

Dave:

Thanks for posting the note from JB. I have known Joe for many years and he and I have swapped tips, tricks (and quite a few decal sets) over the years. The picture one gets from his letter is dead-on. This is not a line of work to be in if one wants to retire. It simply can't be done. Just trust that if you get a frame with the finish work of the few left who can do Joe's level of work, you are getting a piece of art.

One who works with his hands is a laborer.
One who works with his hands and his mind is a craftsman.
One who works with his hands, his mind and his heart is an artist.

[Serotta PETE]

And JB is a true artist when it comes to bikes................Pete

[LegendRider]

I had a Pegoretti Fina Estampa repainted by Airglow in GA (http://www.airglowpainting.com). They did a nice job.

[bulliedawg]

I had a Pegoretti Fina Estampa repainted by Airglow in GA (http://www.airglowpainting.com). They did a nice job.

Wow! These guys are about 30 miles from me, and I've never heard of them. Their portfolio is nice. I might have to use them. Washington, Georgia is a beautiful little southern town.

[Tom]

Next time the CSi gets painted, that's where it goes. Conventional platinum to maroon harlequin fade, anyone?

[Keith A]

Hey Tom K,

I really liked your statement about an artist. Is the text authored by you? If so, can I quote you?

[Keith A]

Ha...check out Airlglow's pricing page (http://www.airglowpainting.com/pricing/index.html) -- does anyone recognize that bike brand?

[Tom Kellogg]

Hey Tom K,

I really liked your statement about an artist. Is the text authored by you? If so, can I quote you?

An old artist friend of mine painted up a beautiful plaque for me years ago with the saying on it. I don't know its source. Sorry.
:beer:

[Len J]

agree. joe bell sounds like a class guy. glad he wrote to clarify outsourcing rumor. someday i'll have a joe ball painted frame because someday, oh someday i'll make it to the top of e-richie's list. ;)

is far away.........I think my e-richie frame will come in early 2007! I hope i"m lucid enough to appreciate it....LOL.

Len
Someone who wouldn't be waiting if he didn't think it was worth the wait.