Painting a road frame

zscioli said:

Hey there,

I am looking to paint a (poorly desinged color pattern) cannondale ALUMN. frame.
The paint is original clean coat with logos.
I want to paint the frame a blank color.

Looking for advice on what kind of coat, clear or power, ANd most importantly the cost, i'm looking to save money (college is expensive)
where and who could do it

Thanks y'all

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Hi. If all the paint is sound(no flaking etc) then you just need to take off the decals etc carefully, clean the frame with thinners or a paint specific degreaser and sand it. Fill any chips etc with filler(the area may need roughening up first) and sand those sections and the entire frame. I would probably used about 240 grit with wet and dry paper(use a bucket of water with a small amount of dish washing liquid in it).
It doesn't sound like you've got spray gear(and you may not be allowed to spray paint where you live) so you'll probably have to take it to a car painter to be undercoated, sanded again, topcoated and depending on if you want it clearcoated.
He will lightly sand over the work you've done too. To keep the costs down ask him what colours he has left over from car work and choose one of them rather than buying more 'new' paint.
Have the decals/transfers applied over the topcoat and then the clearcoat can be sprayed over that to keep them looking nice.
He may want to cut and polish the clearcoat - you decide. Often it isn't necessary and the gloss from the new clear is nice enough anyway.

A good thing to do would be to read up about car etc paint work to get some better ideas too.

Happy preparing🙂