frame repaint 101

Matthew Paterson said:

Has anyone got any good guides to respraying my frame? I want to
respray my scabby AC2, and want to do a good job.

I am in the UK so if there are any good companies that anyone knows of
that would be good also.

Thanks

When my car went into the bodyshop for repair the guys
volunteered to spray the bike the same colour as the car, all I
had to do was prep it. I didnt take them up on it.

I recall several posts in the past on uk.rec.cycling
Perhaps you could search the archives in Google Groups.

Matthew Paterson said:

Has anyone got any good guides to respraying my frame? I want to respray
my scabby AC2, and want to do a good job.

It's a lot of effort to do right - even with the right tools and paints,
it's still an expensive business. I'd stump up the extra cash and get it
done professionally.

Quoted message said:

I am in the UK so if there are any good companies that anyone knows of
that would be good also.

Argos (no, not the department store): http://www.argoscycles.co.uk/

Quoted message said:

It's a lot of effort to do right - even with the right tools and paints,
it's still an expensive business. I'd stump up the extra cash and get it
done professionally.

Strangely enough, that's exactly the thought process that caused me to
paint my own frame. I asked myself why I should pay good money (And
probably a lot of it) for what likely will be a mediocre paint job.
Combine that with rocks eating my paint monthly during summer and I
decided to give it a go myself.

I found that a decent look could be had with 2 hrs of sanding and a
half-can of well-covering paint (usually metallic). Of course if you
get a few coats in and find you're having coverage issues, you'll end
up adding pounds of paint to your bike (that happened to me with OSHA
orange).

It probably depends if you want your bike to look good up close; or
look good from 10 yards (or more) away.