Painting the bike

Jose Capco said:

Dear NG,

Ok .. I have 0 experience in painting. But my bike frame is getting
rusty and I need to do something about it. The question is.. What
should I buy? What should I look for and what should I be aware of when
buying paints for bike? I would prefer an easy job, like spraying
(because its faster and I dont need any extra thing like a brush or any
other tools that I dont have at home) or something but Im not sure if
its better than painting with the brush.

Sincerely,
Jose Capco

Hello again Jose.

I have two old Miele bicycles I stripped to the bare metal and
repainted using Weather Shield (TM) Rust Coat paints in spray cans.

One bike was a mountain bike which I converted to drop handlebars and
bar-end indexed shifters.

The other is a road bicycle which I upgraded with Campagnolo
components.

You can see an image of the repainted and converted mountain bike here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/73832500@N00/193571690/

You can see an image of the repainted and upgraded road bike here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/73832500@N00/199568357/

Spray paint is much easier to apply than brush painting. It also gives
a much smoother finish and I think it drys faster too.

The paint I used is very durable. Tremclad rust paint is another good
low cost paint to consider.

You need to remove just about all the parts to do a thorough job of
painting although you can mask the bottom bracket cups and headset to
simplify things a bit.

Frame preparation depends on how smooth you want the repainted finish
to be.

If all you want to do is hide the rust then a light sanding of the
ENTIRE frame to remove the surface rust and to slightly roughen the old
paint surface so the new paint will bond is okay. After doing that the
frame needs a really good scrubbing tp remove ALL traces of dust, oil
and grease. I used TSP to do that and then rinsed with copious
quantities of very hot water.

Do not touch the frame with bare hands once it's prepped or oil from
your skin can interfere with good paint adhesion.

I'd also remove the frame's decals prior to painting.

You want to apply the paint in light coats using a sweeping motion so
the paint doesn't pool and/or run which creates soft areas that never
fully cure.

Most spray paints let you pply a 2nd coat within 1 hour or AFTER 3
days.

To hold the bike while painting it I had a L-shaped stand built from a
thick piece of doweling and a 2x2 (5cm x 5cm) in piece of lumber. The
doweling was bolted to the 2x2 so the dowel could pivot when the wing
nut was loosened slightly. the 2in. x 2in. was driven into the ground
and the dowel was inserted into the seat tube and lightly wedged in
place. This allows me to turn the bike as I painted it.

To sum up you would need wet/dry paper to sand the frame, TSP or
similar to clean the frame after, rubber gloves to protect your hands
from the cleaner, a cheap pair of cloth gloves to handle the prepped
frame with and spray can paint in the colour you like.

I hope this gives you a starting point. It really isn't that hard to
spray paint a bicycle frame.

Good luck from Peter

"Sir Ridesalot" wrote: a lot of good advice on spray painting, but I would
like to add some things I think were overlooked. I can tell at a glance by
watching, who knows how to spray paint, and who doesn't. The difference is
critical to getting a good smooth paint job.

1.) An experienced painter holds the nozzle about 8--10" from the surface,
and at right angles to it.
2.) An experienced painter always starts the sprayer moving at the same
time as the spray is started, or a little earlier, and has "follow
through." That is, keep the nozzle moving until after the spray is shut
off. NEVER reverse the travel with the spray turned on. Don't wave it back
and forth--that's the sure sign of a beginner, and a sure way to get runs.
3.) It is better to apply a few thin coats, rather than piling on a very
wet layer at once. However, the closer you can get to a wet layer WITHOUT A
RUN, the smoother and shinier the finished coat will look.
4.) Spraying into a corner, like where the down tube, seat tube and bottom
bracket meet, is tricky, because the paint tends to pile up and run on the
more exposed surfaces, while not fully covering the more sheltered parts.
The only way I know to do this is in very short bursts. Paint the
hardest-to-reach parts first, and the rest will be easy.
5.) Turn the frame as often as you need to, so you can see how the paint is
landing, and so you can keep the proper angle and distance. If you have to
wait for the paint to dry to handle it, that's better than messing it up by
rushing things.
6.) You will make mistakes while you are learning. When this happens,
there is nothing wrong with wiping it off and starting again. Or let it dry
thoroughly, sand it smooth, and fog on a light coat to fix it.