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DIY bike painting

post #1 of 7
2/8/06 at 9:31pm
Thread Starter 
Bo,

Any recommendations as to which kind of paint is best?

Also i understand that after painting a bike and pressing the BB cups back
in (old style) the paint will likely crack (in that area) due to the force,
any ideas how to overcome this other than filing the paint on the edges
away, somthing to do with painting technique perhaps?

Lastly, need a good name for my bike, in the kona stylee. a mate came up
with "cyclo-path", any advances?

cheers
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post #2 of 7
2/8/06 at 9:54pm

Re: DIY bike painting

"Keir" wrote: (clip) Also i understand that after painting a bike and
pressing the BB cups back in (old style) the paint will likely crack (in
that area) due to the force, (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Are you worried that the expansion of the bottom bracket will stretch the
paint, and cause it to crack? I have no experience with painting bicycles,
but I am the former owner of a paint store, and I have dealt with a great
many painting problems. In order to crack the paint, the bottom bracket
would have to expand by an amount that would put the metal under very high
stress. I don't think that is likely. Since paint continues to harden for
some time after it dries, you can lessen the risk somewhat by assembling the
bottom bracket sooner aftetr painting, rather than later. Worst case--the
paint does crack. Use a little masking tape, and respray locally.
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post #3 of 7
2/8/06 at 10:10pm
Thread Starter 

Re: DIY bike painting

"Leo Lichtman" <l.lichtman@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
news:XowGf.360323$qk4.261450@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...

> Are you worried that the expansion of the bottom bracket will stretch the
> paint, and cause it to crack? I have no experience with painting
> bicycles, but I am the former owner of a paint store, and I have dealt
> with a great many painting problems. In order to crack the paint, the
> bottom bracket would have to expand by an amount that would put the metal
> under very high stress. I don't think that is likely. Since paint
> continues to harden for some time after it dries, you can lessen the risk
> somewhat by assembling the bottom bracket sooner aftetr painting, rather
> than later. Worst case--the paint does crack. Use a little masking tape,
> and respray locally.
To be honest i'm not sure what i meant (d'oh) but i think what i read was
merely that the compression of the cups on the newly painted frame may cause
cracking/flaking by the paint compressing the adjacent paint, not any BB
expansion. However, it seems logical that your suggestion might account for
this too. i'll give it a try, cheers.
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post #4 of 7
2/8/06 at 10:36pm

Re: DIY bike painting

On Thu, 9 Feb 2006 00:31:39 -0000, "Keir" <keir@stthomasrd.plus.com>
wrote:

>Bo,
>
>Any recommendations as to which kind of paint is best?

I painted a frame bike with Krylon spray paint. Looks pretty bad but
works OK.

JT

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post #5 of 7
2/8/06 at 11:55pm

Re: DIY bike painting

I like this approach with self etching (gray) primer:
1. Take off as many parts as you can. The more the better.
2. Clean, clean, clean. A first cleaning with soap and hot water.
Rinse. Then clean with rubbing alcohol and elbow grease.
3. Hang it up on a single line, so you can rotate it as needed for
painting. Spray several (the more the better --- to a point) light
coats of self etching primer. Lightly sand with wet fine as you can
get sand paper between coats. Let it dry for much longer than you think
you need to -- at least a week in >60 degree.
4. Put it back togeather and ride. When it looks like you need a
touch up, it's easy to do. The primer is forgiving.
5. Paste anything you like on it for a head badge.

BTW. I happen to like the pseudo-ti effect. Looks great. You can
even wax to protect it, after a month or so. It's a different,
utilitarian look.

Regards,
Larry
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post #6 of 7
2/9/06 at 12:39am

Re: DIY bike painting

LF wrote:
> I like this approach with self etching (gray) primer:
> 1. Take off as many parts as you can. The more the better.
> 2. Clean, clean, clean. A first cleaning with soap and hot water.
> Rinse. Then clean with rubbing alcohol and elbow grease.
> 3. Hang it up on a single line, so you can rotate it as needed for
> painting. Spray several (the more the better --- to a point) light
> coats of self etching primer. Lightly sand with wet fine as you can
> get sand paper between coats. Let it dry for much longer than you think
> you need to -- at least a week in >60 degree.
> 4. Put it back togeather and ride. When it looks like you need a
> touch up, it's easy to do. The primer is forgiving.
> 5. Paste anything you like on it for a head badge.
>

This sounds good for my old rainy-day peugeot. This does hold up well
in then rain, right?
\\paul
--
Paul M. Hobson
Georgia Institute of Technology
..:change the f to ph to reply:.
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post #7 of 7
2/9/06 at 4:01am

Re: DIY bike painting

Paint from an automotive parts store will likely contain hardeners,
unlike regular Krylon.

Colors are limited though.

I just did a coffeetable with those "decorator" spray paints they sell
in the major home centers, and it cured up in just a couple days, so
the formulation on those is likely different.

Mine's standard Krylon. I pressed in my BB bearings first, then masked,
and cut away the excess with a razor. Hung bike by the derailleur
hanger so it could be swung around before spraying.

Looks great a year and a half later, with just a few chips I need to
touch up.

Prep is everything, painting's the fun part.
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