Frame painting: whats next?

[rfoubi]

My friend had an old GT tequesta frame thats about 5 years old and he doesnt need it anymore, and i have enough spare parts to build a complete bike, so i decided as a project, to build up an xc / light DJ and street bike. Of course i wanted to change the teal green colour before i started building though, so ill get to the point:

I read some of the threads on here about painting frames, and someone suggested aircraft coating remover to strip the frame (Loopie i think?) so anyway i bought 2 aerosol cans from lordco. HOly fuck that stuff works well....spray on the frame, wait 10 minutes and just scrape it off with a plastic scraper, it goes right down to the base metal with no effort. I used just over one can to get the frame done, but there is still some faint residue in places, and some small scratches...I know that scratches wont really come out and obviosly i dont care much about this frame anyway as its old and ghetto, but what is the next step in the process?

Do i wire brush the frame? sand it? i know obviously that after that i start the priming process, but how do you guys prepare the base frame metal ?


I'll post some pics of the frame before, during and after stripping and painting later..


sorry for the long thread

[IFO]

get some P320 grit paper and a RED scotch pad...

clean the frame VERY well with clean water then again with a prep solvent...

finally apply a metal etch primer (3/4 coats)... allow 10 mins to dry between coats..

allow to dry for a couple of days...

next sand the primer with a P500 and RED scotch pad...

wash/rinse as above...

then proceed to paint... use as many coats of color as required to get the desired effect...

allow 10-15 mins between coats...

allow to dry for several days...

build bike and enjoy....

oh yeah dotn forget to post up pics...

[rfoubi]

so let me get this straight.. 320 and red pad, water, solvent, then primer...can i get this metal etch primer at Lordco or similar places? And i believe people were saying to use the same brand of primer as paint? And also, are you saying that once i sand with 500 after priming, i dont prime again? oh ya and should i clearcoat? how many coats? thanks, you sure know alot about painting, do you have pics of any custom jobs youve done


ps. anyone what colour should i go with

[PegCityThrasher]

I would say raw with a coloured clearcoat. But I'd have no idea how to achive a finish like that.

[IFO]

wow thats alot of questions...

Lordco might sell a etch primer u can use on your frame (is it steel or Alloy?)

ur better off going to a autobody supply shop thou..

good idea to use product from teh same company but not vital...

after final sanding the primer in 500, u dont need to reprimer... unless u burn throu to bare metal...

C/C is always a good idea but not needed for certain types of finish... depends on what kind of paint and overall effect u are after...

PM Rossco, he has some pics of his HT i painted...

heres a decent shot of the paint i put on my BIGHIT

http://idriders.com/cgi-bin/album.pl...O/IMG_2064.jpg

[eddiebrannan]

dude it's a pain in the ass and it comes off. get it done at an auto paint shop or something. i spent days and days stripping and repainting my bike. got about as perfect a finish as you can get with cans and although it wasn't un-fun as a project it was extremely laborious, and more importantly any minor contact with anything (lock etc, slight bump on something) and off it comes again. so now after three days work and a fair bit of cash invested in stripper, sandpaper, wire brush, primer, paint and clearcoat i have a beat-up looking bike. i don't mind having done it once for the experience, but i would never do it again. it's just not worth the time and effort to have your bike look mint for one day

[PegCityThrasher]

Holy god IFO, that is some sweet paint.

[IFO]

thx you....

u should see it in person...

[PegCityThrasher]

Well, if I make it out to BC this summer, I just might.

[rfoubi]

damn IFO thats sick paint, is that like a pearl paint or whatever the hell you call it? thanks for answering all my questions

eddie: Like you say, i pretty much just want to do it once for the experience sort of thing rather than for a sick frame.

I mean, its a beat up 5 yr old xc bike, i dont really have high expectations for it.

[Rosscofat]

Mine also looks like that! thx IFO

[IFO]

no prob glad to help out...

p.s. refinishing a frame is NOT a easy thing to do...esp. if u want a professional result...

yeah my bike's paint uses a specail Pearl toner... its called a Zraylic pearl...

which is a 3D pyramid-shaped flake, instead of a flat flake...thats what gives it the ability to have the supa-bright Golden flash...



but its nothing compared to the new Blue Zraylic pearl toner we got recently..

i have a specail job lined up for that color... but i cant say who's bike its going onto...

[Loopie]

Glad to hear the Stripper worked for ya ....
Do what IFO said. The only thing that I've never thought of before...and I'm sure IFO can step in here....you're painting an aluminum frame, so I'm not sure how important/specific the "self etching" primer is.....with a cromo frame, it's a must I know...but not sure about aluminum. It probably won't hurt either way???

For a noob painter, and when low cost is a concern, there isn't a more predictable and easier to use spraybomb than Tremclad. I'll warn you though...the colors turn out exactly like the caps...very "flatish" colors. My Giant frame is "just" Tremclad semi-gloss white and holy crap it turned WAY better than expected. If you want white, use that.
Like black? Use Tremclad semi-gloss.
Want an extra durable black with a TINY bit of texture? Use Candian Tire's Motomaster Truckbed liner...the only problem I can think of with a textured paint though is it may impair the ability to spot a crack???
Tremclad yellow turns out very nice...for a yellow.
All the blues suck...as do the reds.
The greens turn out well also if you like the greens.
Wait AT LEAST a week before handling the frame though if you spray in Tremclad. It stays soft for quite a while.
PM me for specifics if you use Tremclad.

Alternately, while still on the cheap...go see my Brother Corey....he's doing tons of cheapy/quicky repair/sprays for used car dealers....if all he has to do is hang your frame up and include it in a project he's doing at the same time, same color of course....it should be cheap for ya PM for info.
Also.....decals are only $20 and make all the difference.

[switch]

Originally posted by IFO
after final sanding the primer in 500, u dont need to reprimer... unless u burn throu to bare metal...

heres a decent shot of the paint i put on my BIGHIT

http://idriders.com/cgi-bin/album.pl...O/IMG_2064.jpg

That's amazing - you did that with a spray can?

Awesome finish - best I've ever seen for sure.

[bighitbikerNS]

Most body shops will paint bike frames for really cheap. My friend had his down for about 70 bucks for a metallic paint job here in calgary.