Painting Frames

[the666ers]

Here's my contribution to the FAQ for anyone wanting to do a home job of spraying their frame-

I think the keys to success when spraying a frame are:

1. Patience

2. Accuracy

3. Condition your painting in

4. Preparation

5. Quality of paint used

I don't really think the amount of layers has much to do with it. If you let each coat fully harden then it should be fine.

I'll do a little guide:

The obvious things:

Shake the can's for 2 minutes before using them, this way the paint will be even.

Paint in a well ventilated space, out side if possible and make sure it's not humid or damp. Make sure it's not windy eithere..

Room temperature is the perfect condtions for the paint to set. If possible, buy all the same brand as then there won't be any conflicts between types of paint and reactions. Halfords is good for this. They also have good colour charts so you can get the right match for what you want (all paint is coded)

Wear gloves and old clothes, and paint away from anything you don't want to get over spray on. Paint will get everywhere so be aware, use dust sheets and your common sense.

1. Preparation

Prepare your current frame by stripping or sanding to a finish that the paint will grip to. If stripping right back to the metal a grey "Primer" will be needed as the first coat so that the base/main coats will grip to the frame. If sanding clean the frame with white spirit or some kind of alcohol based cleaner, then sand the frame with a light grade of sandpaper (1000 grit wet n dry as someone suggested). Your aiming to roughen up the surface enough for paint to grip to it, but not so much that the sanding shows through your first coat. (If you have done this, jump to step 3 as 2 is for people who stripped right back to the bare metal)

If stripping right back to the metal, get a paint stripper like Nitro Mors and some rubber gloves. This stuff really burns. Clean the frame up, then get your mix of nitro mors and a brush (the lid that comes with nitro mors can hold it without burning) and begin to evenly coat the frame with the stuff. Leave for a minute or so (until it starts to bubble) and wipe it off with wet newspaper. If you have left it long enough the paint should peel off fairly easily. Repeat this step till the whole frame is back to the metal.

2.(Follow this step if you stripped right back to the bare metal)

Now your back to the metal. If your frame is steel and there are any patches of rust, get them off with a wire brush or wire wool.Once this is done clean the frame so you get rid of ALL TRACES of the nitro mors. If any is left on at all the paint will come straight off as soon as it goes on and ruin your work. What I did is cleaned the frame with a hose, dried it with a towell, then cleaned it again with white spirit on kitchen cloths. I then left it to dry in the house for 40 minutes so there was no moisture on the frame.

3. Masking and preparing for primer/base layer.

I find the best way to have a frame when spraying it is hung from something outside like washing line, by a bit of string from the headtube. This way you can get at most parts of the frame nice and easily, and when you want to move the frame you can do it without touching the paint. (un doing the string and carry it from that) You should mask any parts with thread, or areas which use "Inteferance fit". This is the headtube, bb, rear hanger if not replaceable, and disc tabs. The best way to mask these off is with blue tac as it fits in to the threads and stays there, unlike paper which can fall out... Make sure you take your time when doing this as you dont want to screw up any threads.

Once your all masked up and the frame is in situe to be sprayed, give it a good dust and once over with a lint free cloth (non static if possible) and get rid of any dust etc. Non static cloths are particularly good as it stops dust from being attracted to the frame, and effectively the paint when you start spraying.

4. Base coat (Primer, or chosen colour if spraying onto paint)

When spraying theres one word I think describes the best way to do it. Slowly. Be patient and take care while doing it and your result should be quite professional. Test the paint on a inconspicuous area of the frame and make sure it takes ok, and the colour is right. When your happy, clear the nozzle by spraying the can upside down. Then your ready to start doing the frame. I don't think there is any rule of which order you do it in, but I tend to go from one end to the other to make sure I know i'm doing it evenly. Hold the can about 25cm from the frame and hold the nozzle of the can down confidently and spray in 15cm strokes (imagine how you would stroke a cat, about that speed) don't do any more than 2 passes on the same area to start with, you should aim to build the paint up slowly. Most parts should be fairly easy to get at, but if you can't get areas like the seat stay join, don't aim to cover it as you will cover it to heavily. In the other coats it will be covered, so dont worry.

Once you have done your first coat leave it to dry for as long as possible. A minimum of 4 hours in my opinion, but if you can wait 12 the paint should be really hard and your finish will be much stronger. Once your first coat has dried come back and do another. Give the frame a light dust down and repeat what you did last time, and make sure you are paying attention to getting an even finish.

If your not happy, do another coat after letting this one dry. Remember that 4 thin coats is better than 2 really thick ones.

After the final coat, you should have a even smooth finish and you shouldn't be able to see any metal or traces of the original colour at all. After this coat allow to dry for 4-12 hours again in a dry warm place, any room in the house should be about right temperature.

5. Laquer, or base colour if frame was primed.

I think these steps ar going to be similar as at the end of the day it's another layer of paint going onto a new layer.

Again, test the paint on a inconspicuous area and if all is well repeat the technique from step 4. I think 3 thin coats should be sufficiant in this case, provided you leave a good drying time between coats. Remember, you want the paint to be as hard as possible before adding new coats on.

Build the layers up nice and evenly until you get a deep finish on the frame. Some people say to get a deep finish you need loads an loads of layers, the same for a durable one, but if you use the right method then you shouldn't need any more than 2 layers of each paint.

Once you have finished this step you will either have a fully painted frame, or one which still needs laquering. Just repeat this step with laquer for the latter of the two scenario's, after leaving a good 12 hours to dry, as there are 3 new layers of paint so it will need that bit more to harden fully.

6. Final drying, polishing.

Once you have completed the spraying process leave the frame in a warm room inside for 24 hours to fully dry. Most professionals have ovens to bake the frames in which fully hardens the paint, but I'd imagine you neither have an overn big enough to get a frame in or one which will get hot enough. Your best bet is to leave it as long as you can in a room, with all the masked parts still on.

Now you have left it for this long, the paint should have fully hardened. At this point you should remove all the parts you masked up and check no paint has leaked in. If it has I'd reccomend getting the areas cleaned up at a bike shop so you don't mess anything up.

You should be pleased with your finished product, but if areas are looking slightly dull you should use a high resin polish (auto glym super polish is really good) and it will brighten the paint up and protect it from the sun etc.

I think if you use this method you should have a nice strong finish that looks good and will last. If you want a really strong finish, powder coating is tougher than normal paint, but make sure you get laquers and primers suitable for it.

When you build your bike up take care and try not to bash it too much, I think after a week the paint will reach it's full strength so if you can avoid smacking it till then that's good.

Hope this is of some help. If you have any relevant questions not answered by the above leave them in this topic and I'll reply a.s.a.p

James

[Fishwog]

Very good guide, apart from saying to hang it from a tree, you should never spray anything outdoors, as the temperatures can affect the paint, and it does not apply it evenly. Also you waste around 60% of the paint as it blows away (Y)

[mark-399]

id sugest hangin inside a shed but have all windows and dorrs open that way when your done you can just lock up an leave no need to move th frame

[rich4130]

What about flatting down the paint between eash coat with wet n dry, is that nessessary?

[the666ers]

It depends what the finish is like in my experience, you want to be painting over a fairly smooth yet grippy surface so if you have done your primer and its still really rough, take some super fine wet and dry to it after plenty of drying time just to get it nice and even.

The main thing is to just pay attention in between coats really, as long as you ensure you are building up nice and even you should be able to maintain a smooth finish throughout every coat.

[Endohopper]

Very helpful guide , I'd read it a while back out of casual interest , but it seems I'll be needing your apparent expertise on this subject soon .

I'll be recieving my new frame ( a BASE TA26 ) soon , and want to paint it white before installing Headset cups etc . I'm not entirely sure whether it'll be Black , Red or scotchbrite on arrival , because it's a warranty replacement , so I can't be picky .

Given that the frame is entirely new , fresh out of the box , will this require stripping at all or can I simply degrease and apply primer before spraying ?

Any tips or information would be greatly appreciated .

Thanks in advance .

[the666ers]

You'll still need to get some light wet and dry on it so that the primer adheres to the frame. The only time you need to completely strip a frame is if it's really old and haggard I suppose. As yours is new you'll just need to roughen up the paint and then follow the rest of the instructions above.

Once you have roughened it though make sure you get rid of any dust, it's vital.

Good luck with it.

James

[Endohopper]

Thanks for your response , James . I'll do exactly as you say :

Lightly sand the existing paintjob , apply primer then paint then lacquer . I've actually contacted a professional respray company , who quoted me 135 euro for the whole job . Cheaper and more interesting to do it myself .

As for the paint itself , Halfords spraypaint OK ? Or do you have any reccomendations ? I want a clean , bright white , like BT's Raven for example .I'll let you know how I get on , probably post pictures up if it ends up lookin' good . Thanks again .

[the666ers]

Don't forget to clean off any dust after sanding down.

Halfords paint is fine really. They can also mix you any colour from their chart which is pretty much anything. One thing I'd reccomend though is using the same brand for every layer, e.g. Halfords primer, Halfords base coat (or colour), Halfords laquer. Just to be on the safe side you could ask someone at the parts desk if they are all compatible too.

Hope this helps.

James

[Brettoll]

Cheers guys. Muchos gacias

[sfboy]

Here with some pics.

1. Strip the frame down

I know this may seem simple but a mate of mine thought it would be a good idea to spray his frame without taking any bits off. Yeah - it was shite.

Put tape on the headset cups and on the inside of the bb thread, or put in an old bb.

2. Remove all the existing paint using any means necessary

This can be quite difficult, if you're repainting you can just sand the frame down. If you're after the stainless look you may have to use paintstipper

3. Sand the frame down

i. With rough sandpaper

ii. With smooth sandpaper

Leave a rasonabily cause finish will help the paint 'stick'

4. Laquer the frame

2 coats approx 700ml, proping the frame will allow you spray without requiring you to switch the frame. Maintain a minimum spraying disptance of 30cm (12 inches) to ensure paint does not run, allow to dry thoghrougly before the next coat.

5. Apply main coat

>3 coats, 1 litre of paint is required (I ran out) Again ensure you maintain a minimum distance, don't become impatient you will need about an hour between coats for it to work properly or you may ruin your look.

6. Apply decals

Think carefully about positioning, remember to wait for the paint to dry thoroughly before applying stickers or decals, and ensurre they line up both sides

7. Apply a clear laquer

At least 2 coats 700ml it's queit difficult to see the laquer so ensure you are smooth and methodical.

Done!

So? Was it worth it? You can get your bike frame stripped at painted from argos cycles from about £40, I spent £25 in paint and about 10 hours, I was impatient and the layers haven't adhered together properly, I may have another go.. but this time I'll get the professionals in.

Edited July 12, 2005 by sfboy

[Joe_Elding]

Cheers for the guide man...

five days worth of painting and I came up with this...

I'm really happy with the finish, and also the texture.

Sorry about the poor quality pics.

[bquamb]

:(

THansk you so much! this is what i have been looking for for about 2 months!

:)

[BONGO]

i beg to differ, on the procedures to spray a frame....

to spraye frame, cling film wheels, cranks, bars/stem and forks, then spray desired colour, don't bother removing brakes / cables.

To spray forks, bar, stem etc, cling film the rest, then spray over current colour, not forgetting to leave the whole bike in one fully built piece!!!

Or is that just how i do it (Y) lol

john